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 Simply put, but profound in its intent, Vérité is dedicated to producing red wines of style and substance along a traditional model, using the finest fruit from mountain vineyards throughout Sonoma County. The winery selects Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from a handful of outstanding mountain sites, or micro-crus, in Sonoma County. Estate vineyard sources include Alexander Mountain Estate (Alexander Valley), Jackson Park (Bennett Valley), Kellogg (Knights Valley) and other pristine sites along the Mayacamas Mountain Range. Winemaker Pierre Seillan guides the Vérité winegrowing and winemaking team's commitment to selecting and blending micro-crus for the final Vérité wine blends. The Vérité collection reflect Pierre's three decades of experience, primarily in Bordeaux, and the tradition of marrying classic Bordelais varieties in varying proportions to create a stylistic personality. Each vintage, after envisioning the model of the wine he plans to create Pierre sets out to obtain precisely the fruit needed to express that vision. Pierre uses the term micro-cru to define this approach. Micro-cru is indicative of a particular plot within an already outstanding vineyard. Pierre is a champion of terroir (the soil and climatic conditions in which vines grow), and his micro-cru philosophy defines terroir even further. Each Vérité wine spends 12-14 months in new French oak, but the wood is simply a softening influence, not a distinct flavor element. Quoting Pierre, "Oak in wine should be like a ghost. You sense its presence, but you don't actually perceive it." This approach to the use of oak gives the wines a signature of impeccable balance and texture that are drinkable when first released, but can also age for decades. The Vérité wine collection represents a meticulously considered convergence of grape varieties, climate, soil exposition and winemaking technique. Pierre refers to this conjunction as droit du sol or "right of the soil". |