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Tasting notes
90% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 4% Malbec. Deep ruby colour. Smoky nose, with game, blueberry and ripe dark cherry all coming through. An excellent bouquet. The palate is fleshy but refined. Polished but deep tannins set a perfect frame for the fruit to shine. This is spherical, as Merlot should be, but there are layers of spice and floral accents to the fruit core to bring both complexity and balance. Long and harmonious on the finish. (TP)
Critic scores
Average Score
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
One of the most refined and tight Muses with blackberries, milk chocolate, pine needles and hints of dried herbs. Full-bodied, yet so in check with a great finish. It�s seamless and goes on and one. Intellectual, compared to past vintages. 90% merlot with some malbec and cabernet franc. Try after 2026, but attractive now.
A blend of 90% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 4% Malbec, the 2018 La Muse was matured 16 months in 100% new French oak barrels. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the nose delivers a powerful perfume of cherry pie, blackberry preserves and baked plums, followed by suggestions of red roses, cast-iron pan, underbrush and unsmoked cigars, plus wafts of licorice and oolong tea. Medium to full-bodied, the black fruit and exotic spice layers flow so gracefully over the palate, textured by plush tannins and lifted with seamless freshness, finishing epically long and achingly fragrant. The intensity and complexity of aromas and flavors�all waltzing in captivating harmony�cannot fail to make your head spin in the best possible way. Electrifying!
Checking in as 90% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Malbec that was raised in new French oak, the 2018 La Muse reveals a dense purple hue to go with plenty of black cherry and currant fruits as well as cedar pencil, graphite, dark chocolate, and smoked tobacco. Ripe, full-bodied, and brilliantly balanced on the palate, with both elegance and incredible opulence, it's a hypothetical mix of Châteaux Canon and Lafite. This masterpiece of a Merlot can be drunk any time over the coming 20-30 years. Give bottles an hour in a decanter if drinking any time soon.
About the producer
The winery was the dream of Jess Jackson, the man who founded the incredibly successful Jackson Family Wines. He, however, wanted to produce truly fine wine in Sonoma County.