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The 20th Vintage of La Muse is 100% Merlot for the first time since its inception. 2017 will be remembered for the devastating fires in Sonoma County, but the vineyards thankfully escaped unharmed for Vérité. Harvest finished a week before the fires hit, meaning all the fruit was either in barrel or finishing fermentation at the time the smoke hit, preventing any smoke taint in the wines. Deep ruby colour. Meaty and really quite oaky at this stage on the nose. Big, chocolatey plum fruit too. The tannins are grippy but ripe – there seems to be a mixture of fruit and oak tannin here which will need time to settle. Intense cherry and blueberry fruit drive the palate to the toasty, long finish. At the moment, the oak is too much but, if it can integrate, the underlying fruit and structure are there. (TP)
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Tom Parker MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jeb Dunnuck
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Not far behind, the Merlot-dominated 2017 La Muse offers a big, rich nose of chocolate-covered black cherries, espresso, damp earth, and leafy herbs that gains more bass notes and richness with time in the glass. It tastes like a great Pomerol from La Conseillante. Full-bodied, it has an incredible sense of elegance and purity, plenty of mid-palate stuffing, and a great, great finish. Made from 100% Merlot (this is the first time this cuvée has been all Merlot), it’s another incredible wine from this estate that has the flesh and texture to shine today yet the freshness, purity, and balance to evolve for 30 years or more.
“Our Malbec in 2017 was awesome, it usually gives the spice,” Pierre Seillan told me during the tasting of the 2017s with his daughter and one day successor, Helene. “But this year, we didn’t need it. The alcohol is only 14.2% this year—it has the energy, the minerality. I think it will age for 40 years at least. I think it is the best I’ve made.” Composed of 100% Merlot for the first time this year, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2017 La Muse rolls sensuously out of the glass with scents of black raspberries, Black Forest cake, boysenberries and cinnamon toast, followed by nuances of a garrigue, forest floor, beef drippings and clove oil. Medium to full-bodied, the richly fruited palate slowly builds in the mouth to a crescendo of black fruit preserves and exotic spice layers, framed by exceptionally ripe, round tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and fragrant. Stylistically, it stands apart from previously vintages, possessing the same magical intensity, but with less weight and more pop. 2,500 cases were made.
The 2017 La Muse is 100% Merlot for the first time. In this vintage, La Muse stands out for its freshness, energy and red-toned fruit. It will be interesting to see if the 2017 represents a longer-term shift. To be sure, the 2017 is aromatically deep, beautifully persistent and just impeccable in its balance. I liked it more than the 2016.
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.