Verite, La Muse

The wine has a high concentration of color, with a dark, deep purple ruby leading to a brilliant amber rim. A remarkable multitude of flavors show through velvety layers of brooding damson plum, bright strawberries and maraschino cherries. Red licorice, mint and roasted meat are held evenly on the mid palate and followed by spiced undertones of cocoa powder, cardamom and vanilla bean. Mature aromas of worn leather and rope, pressed violets and truffles show the beauty of its age. The 1998 La Muse has structure; it both contains and illuminates the complexity of its earth aromas in notes of clay, volcanic rock, silt and iron. A well-integrated tannic mouthfeel matches a silky, expansive texture. A wine of deep presence, the fruit flavors persist on the finish: most notably the strawberries, as if growing wild on forest floors. The expression of earth in the 1998 La Muse fully encompasses the diversity of soils and the careful cultivation by micro-cru that would one day become the winery’s signature.