California

Rating

97

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2011 - 2025

Reviewed by

 Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

2nd May 2011

Source

195, The Wine Advocate

A blend of 89% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Sauvignon (84% of the fruit from Sonoma and 16% from Napa), the 1999 is soft enough to be considered fully mature. Sweet aromas of espresso roast, plum sauce, black currants and forest floor are followed by a delicious, chewy, complex wine that should drink well for another 12-14 years.

Rating

98

Release Price

$75

Drink Date

2010 - 2020

Reviewed by

 Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

27th Feb 2010

Source

187, The Wine Advocate

The amazing 2007 Chardonnay Cuvee Indigene reveals plenty of waxy, leesy, honeysuckle notes intermixed with orange marmalade, brioche, pineapple, and white citrus scents. The wine is buttressed by considerable acidity and a remarkable finish. This extraordinary effort may be the finest Cuvee Indigene I have ever tasted. Drink it over the next decade.   

Chardonnay Cuvee Indigene Sonoma County

Hazy, pale chartreuse color. An exotically perfumed nose displays heady aromas of citrus and orchard fruits, minerals, nougat and dried flowers, with a slow-mounting saffron quality. Deep, weighty pear and Meyer lemon flavors are underscored by smoky mineral and lees notes, which gain power with aeration. Smooth, spherical and strikingly persistent on the very long finish, which repeats the floral and smoky notes.

-- Stephen Tanzer 94 Stephen Tanzer $110.00 May 2009

v

ating

96

Release Price

$240

Drink Date

2015 - 2045

Reviewed by

 Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

30th Oct 2015

Source

221, The Wine Advocate

The flagship wine of the estate in reds is their Insignia, which has been one of the great Bordeaux blends made in California since the debut vintage in 1974. It usually has 30+ years aging potential, even in lighter vintages, of which the 2012, 2013 and 2014 are decidedly not. The 2012 Proprietary Red Insignia, a final blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot and the rest Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc all from estate vineyards, was aged 24 months in 100% new French oak. There are 15,000 cases of it, and it’s a fabulous, classic Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. Inky purple to the rim, with notes of lead pencil shavings, incense, camphor, blackberry and creme de cassis, the wine is full-bodied, offering a multi-layered, textural, skyscraper-like mouthfeel, terrific purity, density and richness. All of this is achieved without a sense of heaviness or anything aggressive. This is a beauty to drink now and over the next 30 years.

Shafer’s flagship wine, and one of the world’s greatest Cabernet Sauvignons, is the Hillside Select, which comes from the rocky, volcanic soils on hillsides above the winery. Vineyard production is small, and the wine an incredible example of Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged in 100% new oak for 32 months and bottled unfiltered, this can generally be expected to be one of the top dozen or so Cabernet Sauvignons in virtually any vintage in Napa, and certainly possesses 25 to possibly 50 years of aging potential. The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is a perfect wine. It elicits more than a few “wows” when you smell the incredible notes of charcoal, graphite and subtle toast, buttressed and dominated by blackcurrant, blackberry and blueberry fruit. The purity of these fruits, the multidimensional mouthfeel, the seamless integration of acid, alcohol, tannin and wood are all flawless. The 2012 signature adds an extravagant opulence and density that is just mind-boggling, and the wine is a total hedonistic and intellectual turn-on already, although it has 30+ years of life ahead of it.

Score: 100 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (227), October 2016

Rating

97+

Release Price

$280

Drink Date

2016 - 2046

Reviewed by

 Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

30th Dec 2016

Source

228, The Wine Advocate

The 2013 Opus One, a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Malbec, is a beauty. Velvety textured, without a had edge to be found, notes of crème de cassis, blueberry, subtle wood and floral notes gently rise from the wine’s dense purple color. Beautifully full-bodied and extraordinarily elegant and pure, this is certainly one of their great achievements over the last 37 years. The wine has an exquisite finish and can be drunk now or cellared for 25-30 years.

The 2013 La Muse is wonderfully vivid and expressive from the outset, especially in the aromatics. Graphite, smoke, lavender, menthol and licorice are all super-expressive. Those notes carry through to the palate, where the wine is dense, powerful and bursting at the seams with energy. Hints of mocha, chocolate, spice and leather add the final shades of nuance. Today, La Muse is the most expressive of Vérité's 2013s, with plenty of floral and savory notes that add complexity to the super-rich dark fruit. I tasted the 2013 from tank just prior to bottling.

-- Antonio Galloni (92-95) Antonio Galloni 2020 - 2033 $390.00 Feb 2016

Tasted from tank just prior to bottling, the 2013 La Joie is dense, powerful and rich, with notable depth. Still remarkable embryonic the 2013 remains deep, fruit driven and backward. This is a wine for the long haul. Crème de cassis, blackberry jam, spice, menthol, game, licorice and smoke flow through to the powerful, incisive finish. This is a strong showing.

-- Antonio Galloni (93-96) Antonio Galloni $390.00 Feb 2016