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Decanter at Home: Vérité masterclass 2008 and 2018

In this exclusive Vérité masterclass, part of the Decanter at Home virtual event, our California correspondent Clare Tooley MW looks back at the history of this noted California estate, meets the father and daughter winemakers and gives her verdict on the comparative verticals of 2008 and 2018 La Muse, La Joie and Le Désir.

Last chance: You can still buy tickets to watch this Vérité virtual masterclass and taste the wines, via the Decanter at Home series – book here


Driving to Vérité on a sunny day in November is as I imagine arriving in The Shire in Tolkien’s fiction.

As you leave the constant stream of traffic on Highway 101, within moments you are winding down narrow country lanes, through rolling countryside, under arching trees that lattice frame the Pacific blue sky. You pass burnished vineyards bright with ruby and orange leaves, the new green grass already pushing through the rows after the longed-for rainfall.

Bucolic, verdant, there is more fresh air than you know what to do with as you roll down the window. There is so much beauty. Little wonder Pierre Seillan chose this corner of Sonoma County to animate the late Jess Jackson’s request to ‘Make me a great Merlot’.


Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the six Vérité masterclass wines


Of course, Pierre saw far beyond the surface of the region’s natural beauty – or, rather, far beneath. He recognised the power of the shifting tectonic plates, resulting in myriad volcanic, living soils.


See tasting notes and scores for the six Vérité masterclass wines


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