TN: Verite '99 La Joie Red Wine

I hadn't seen a real TN, so I started a new topic.

59% Cabernet Sauvignon and 41% Merlot

Ok.... I really doubted myself on this one for a long long time, while drinking this wine tonight over 4 1/2 hour time period.. but since I still pick it up now, I must comment... and I'm not joking and very serious... the nose of this wine brings out every now and then, a scent I'm very familiar with..... and I swear it's there.. and it's the first thing that popped into my mind and it seemed absolutely right. Seriously now.... I smelled freshly laid, greasy dog sh*t on the nose of this wine. Was happening all night. It was the oddest thing! It was mostly present right upon opening, and most of it blew off as the wine opened up.... but my goodness... what the hell is going on here?????!!!

So anyway, I proceeded forward... it was closed for the first three hours... but it seemed a very sudden turn of events when it opened... it was not a gradual change... happened very fast. So I'll now proceed with the real TN... now that the dog crap is gone. :-/

Dark purple/garnet in color, legs are fairly fast... suggesting lowish glycerin.... not very "sticky" on the Riedel.

Plum, black cherry, mountain berry, and spices on the nose (dog crap still lingers every now and then, but never on the palate).

This wine was fairly amazing to me since I was able to distinguish so much. On the palate shows plum, DARK unsweetened cherry, mountain berry/currant, pepper and spices, little bit of blueberry, chocolate, tobacco and a mineral type of earthy taste. I was contemplating adding tar to this... not sure.

The balance between extraction, oak, acidity, complexity, and structure is amazing. Not overly extracted, which I sometimes like, but not overly oaky either. So this is by no means a fruit BOMB, but rather is a medium to full bodied wine that borders on fruit forward, with very present tannins that aren't overpowering or sticky.

The cherry/spice/mineral/oak finish was a tiny bit hot and not overly long, but the aftertaste with its mineral/tar? and slight chocolate stuck with me for a long time.

In rating this wine, I'm reminded again what I enjoy. Sometimes the huge extraction bombs really catch my fancy.... but this wine's nuances and complexity with impeccable structure really get me going this time. Definitely more of a bordeaux style than Californian style.... and the mildly tart mountain berry was too strong for me in the beginning, but it really smoothed out nicely as this wine opened up revealing everything it has.

*phew* The novel is over... but I stand by my dog sh*t nose as well. I literally checked my shoes/clothing/glass etc.etc. for any trace of something not of this wine... to no avail. I only smelled it when my nose was buried in the glass. Thankfully it mostly blew off and didn't detract from the wine at the end at all.

Rev rates it: 95. Still young, wait on it... if you open to try it... let it sit at least three hours... hopefully more.

Lastly, word has it, the La Muse is even more closed up and youthful. Local wine shop guy says 20 years... but he was the one I didn't really trust. So who knows.


I just looked at what Parker says... He mentions it has a lot of "ripe fruit", which I just learned the other day is evidence of a very young wine, and with age can become more mild in nature and go away. I believe it more now since that "mildly tart mountain berry" did blow off at the end. So definitely hold onto this one for a few years.

Anyhow, to learn, I love looking at parker's ratings AFTER I do my own. :-) I'm happy to know I'm not far off, and just say things a little differently.


[ 08-25-2002, 10:59 PM: Message edited by: Revlis ]