The 2021 Le Désir is a blend of 87% Cabernet Franc,11% Merlot and 2% Malbec and was matured for 16 months in new French oak. Currently resting in the tank, it explodes with gregarious aromas of blueberry, dried thyme and lavender, fennel, coffee grounds and truffle. The medium to full-bodied palate is light on its feet, with ultra-powdery tannins, fi reworks of fresh acidity and a youthfully coiled finish featuring mineral, floral fruit.

The 2020 La Muse is a barrel-sample blend of 95% Merlot and 5% Malbec. Opaque ruby-purple, it has pretty aromas of cured meats, coffee beans, aniseed, underbrush and Morello cherries, with a streak of graphite. The full-bodied palate is powerful, with a dense core of black cherries and blueberries, a touch of chew to its tannins and bright acidity.

Tasted as a barrel sample, the 2020 Le Desir is made from 80% Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot, and 5% Malbec. Deep purple-black colored, it sets off with fragrant scents of kirsch, redcurrant preserves, and black raspberries with wafts of dried roses, garrigue, and aniseed, plus a hint of black pepper. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a solid structure of ripe, grainy tannins and just enough freshness to support the intense, tight-knit fruit, finishing long and mineral-tinged.

The 2020 La Muse, tasted as a barrel sample, is made from 95% Merlot and 5% Malbec. Deep purple-black colored, it comes bounding out of the glass with eager, exuberant notes of baked plums, black cherry compote, and blackberry pie with touches of licorice, sauteed herbs, and black soil plus a hint of graphite. Medium-bodied, the palate is surprisingly elegant, featuring a solid frame of grainy tannins and lovely, seamless freshness, finishing on a lingering licorice note.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages A barrel sample blend of 75% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot and 5% Malbec, the 2017 Le Désir is very deep purple-black in color and sings of crushed black cherries, black raspberries and kirsch with hints of black tea, cigar box, new leather, licorice and forest floor. Medium to full-bodied, firm and grainy, the palate offers beautiful depth and perfume with firm, grainy tannins and long, lively finish. One of the few 2017s to rival its 2016 counterpart.

Seillan said that 2015 (which was still in barrel at the time of my tasting) was the finest vintage of his lifetime, which is strong praise indeed. Certainly, he has three titanic wines aging in the wine cellars. The 2015 La Muse is a blend of 89% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 4% Malbec. Sweet notes of unsmoked cigar tobacco, mocha, espresso bean, chocolate, plum, Asian spice, blackcurrant and black cherries soar from the glass of this opaque-colored wine. It has great fruit, real sucrosity and lushness in the mid-palate, and a super-duper inner core of glycerin followed by sweet, refined tannins in the finish. It is a strikingly flashy and flamboyant style of wine that should drink well for its first 30+ years of life.

Inky/purple/black in color, with a nose of graphite intermixed with acacia flowers, blackberries, cassis, and charcoal, this 2001 reveals profound intensity, superb purity, and a mulitlayered finish of more than 60 seconds. Aromatically, flavor-wise, and texturally, it is a spectacular tour de force in winemaking. More accessible than the structured, delineated 2001, the 2002 should be drinkable between 2005-2022+.

A barrel sample, the 2016 Hartford Court Chardonnay Far Coast Vineyard features fresh grapefruit, lemon curd and white peach notes with wafts of crushed stones and lime blossom. The medium to full-bodied palate is super intense and wonderfully layered, packed with citrus, floral and mineral notes packaged in a creamy texture and defined by a racy backbone, finishing very long. Wow!

USA, California, Napa Valley: More New 2018 ReleasesThe 2018 La Joie was tasted as a final-blend barrel sample, due to be bottled in January 2021. Composed of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Malbec, it will have been aged for 16 months in 100% new French oak. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a little coaxing to reveal fragrant roses, violets, chocolate box and pencil shavings notes with a core of black currant pastilles, mulberries and warm plums. Medium to full-bodied, very tightly knit, elegant and refreshing in the mouth, the intense black fruits are mineral laced and perfumed, finishing with great length.

USA, California, Napa Valley: 2017 — Napa's Perfect Storm When I tasted this last year as a barrel sample, it was blended with some Cabernet Franc and Malbec. This is a finished tank sample made of 100% Merlot, the first time La Muse has been entirely made of Merlot. It is due to be bottled in January 2020 and will be bottled as a 20th anniversary edition (it will also be the 50th year of winemaking for Pierre Seillan). The 2017 La Muse is a little reticent to begin, giving glimpses at black cherries, fresh blackberries and warm cassis with hints of violets, star anise, charcoal and damp soil with a waft of tapenade. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is wonderfully spicy/minerally with a firm backbone of rounded tannins and plenty of freshness to lift the earth and mineral-laced black fruit to a long finish. 2,500 cases are to be made.

USA, California, Napa Valley: 2017 — Napa's Perfect Storm When I tasted this as a barrel sample last year, it was made up of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot and 4% Malbec. This is a new barrel sample blend, made up of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot. Deep purple-black colored, it comes striding out of the glass with bold, confident notes of warm red and black currants, boysenberries and ripe black plums with hints of pencil shavings, rose hip tea, underbrush and Marmite toast. Medium to full-bodied, it has a firm structure of grainy tannins and just enough freshness to lift the dense, muscular black fruit and earthy layers to a long finish. 3,000 cases are to be made.

A barrel sample, the 2016 Hartford Court Chardonnay Jennifer’s Vineyard gives intense lemon drops, pineapple, guava and passionfruit notes with wafts of orange blossoms, brioche and ginger. The medium-bodied palate is positively electric, featuring super-charged citrus and tropical notes with mineral and spice layers in an elegant frame, with a seriously zippy backbone and very long, layered finish.

USA, California, Napa Valley: More New 2018 ReleasesThe 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana Vineyard (100% Cabernet Sauvignon) was tasted as a finished blend that has come out of barrel in preparation for bottling. It spent 12 months in 100% new French oak and is due to be bottled in April 2021. Deep garnet-purple in color, the nose is very primary, revealing pure blueberry, plums and crushed black currants scents with nuances of cedar, cloves and dried Provence herbs. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a firm, grainy texture with concentrated black fruits leading to a very long, fruity finish.

A barrel sample, the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana Vineyard bursts forth from the glass with vibrant crushed black currants, black cherries and wild blueberries with hints of espresso, sage, dark chocolate and anise plus a waft of violets. Medium-bodied with taut, tightly wound muscular fruit, the palate features a rock-solid structure of firm, grainy tannins and great freshness, finishing long and layered.

A barrel sample, the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota Vineyard gives up intense baked blackberries, crème de cassis and preserved plums notes with hints of iron ore and underbrush plus a touch of black truffles. Medium to full-bodied and firmly textured with ripe, grainy tannins, it has just enough freshness lifting the densely packed black fruit flavors, finishing long and earthy.

Composed of 93% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec, the very deep garnet-purple colored 2016 La Muse (a barrel sample) hits the ground running with gorgeous plum pudding, chocolate-covered cherries and blueberry compote notes over touches of dried herbs, violets, black tea, tilled soil and fungi. Medium to full-bodied with a firm line of soft, satiny tannins and oodles of freshness lifting the profound black fruit and earthy layers, it finishes with lingering notes of black truffles and stones.

The 2015 Le Désir, Vérité's Cabernet Franc-based red, is racy and sumptuous in the glass. Bright floral notes give lift to the red-toned fruit as this silky yet powerful wine shows off its alluring personality.

The 2010 Le Desir is a gorgeous wine. In 2010 the Cabernet Franc is 51%, considerably lower than it was in 2009, but the blend works beautifully here. Cabernet Franc provides the aromatics, while Merlot yields the fruit in this super, dense, powerful wine. All of the elements come together beautifully in this sumptuous, gracious wine. I can't wait to taste this when it is ten years old. The 2010 Le Desir is 51% Cabernet Franc, 41% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2030.

The 2002 Le Desir may be the finest example of this cuvee yet produced. A blend of 52.7% Merlot, 41.2% Cabernet Franc, and a tiny dollop of Cabernet Sauvignon as well as Malbec, it performs like a ballet dancer. Magnificently muscled, symmetrical, and stunningly proportioned, it is medium to full-bodied with explosive aromatics reminiscent of a charcoal fire combined with blackberry and currant fruit as well as violets. It possesses layers of concentration, a massive yet surprisingly light mid-palate, and a huge rich finish. Somehow, it does not come close to tasting over the top, heavy, or forced, but is clearly a blockbuster. This thrilling 2002 should hit its prime in 2-3 years, and last for two decades.

The 2005 La Joie is rocking, and if La Muse was closed and dominated by tannin at my tasting, the La Joie was strutting its considerable potential. A blend of 66.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12.7% Merlot, and 12.3% Cabernet Franc as well as some Petit Verdot and Malbec, this is a wine with a dense ruby/purple color, a glorious nose of lead pencil shavings intermixed with cedar wood, black currant liqueur, espresso roast, and chocolate. It also possesses huge amounts of fruit and tannins. The tannins are elevated, but the wine is so enormously endowed, I don’t think there’s a doubt that it will come together brilliantly, as everything seems to be in proper proportion. This a colossal/compelling proprietary red wine that should be at its prime in about 2015 and last for 30+ years.

The 2015 Le Désir brings together striking aromatic lift from the Cabernet Franc with the dark, sumptuous fruit of the year. Chocolate, mocha, plum, licorice, crème de cassis and pencil shavings add striking aromatic nuance. This is a dazzling wine from the Seillan family.

A barrel sample, the 2016 Hartford Court Chardonnay Seascape Vineyard has a ripe apple, warm peach and green mango-scented nose with hints of yuzu zest, honeysuckle, crushed rocks and powdered ginger. Medium to full-bodied, the palate reveals fantastically intense, tightly wound citrus and perfumed stone fruit flavors with a very racy backbone and epically long, mineral-laced finish.

The 2013 Le Désir is a 2,500-case blend of 61% Cabernet Franc, 23% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Malbec. It exhibits nearly surreal notes of blueberry liqueur, black raspberries, graphite, vanilla and spring flowers. Deep, dense and velvety textured, it combines great intellectual interest with sensational hedonism in a full-bodied, voluptuously textured style. All three 2013s appear to have incredible potential. I look forward to tasting them out of bottle.

The 2013 La Muse (a 3,800-case blend of 89% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 3% Malbec) boasts an inky, opaque purple color as well as abundant aromas of pen ink, chocolate, mocha, black cherry jam, mulberries and a touch of oak. Opulent and full-bodied with terrific acidity and richness as well as a 50-second finish, this is the most forward of the three 2013 cuvées. It should drink well for 25-35 years. All three 2013s appear to have incredible potential. I look forward to tasting them out of bottle.

Made from a blend of 65% Cabernet Franc, 25% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Malbec, the 2012 Le Desir should turn out to be one of the most explosively fragrant wines in this portfolio (primarily because of the significant Cabernet Franc in the blend). A sensational black/purple color is followed by gorgeous aromas of blueberries, black raspberries, lead pencil shavings, incense and camphor. With excellent concentration, a full-bodied mouthfeel and an amazingly long finish, it should be cellared for 5-7 years, and drunk over the following three decades.