Verite Le Desir 2019

Professional Ratings

• 100 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

  The 2019 Le Désir is just as stunning as the first time I tasted it from bottle. It's pure and layered, with alluring scents of Morello cherries, dried mushrooms, cigars, sage and aniseed wafting from the glass. The palate strikes a fine balance of concentrated fruit, loads of powdery tannins, and energetic bursts of fresh acidity. It has a deep core of concentrated, perfumed fruit with the first faint touches of umami character and a long finish driven by floral and iron tones. I can't get enough of this wine!

  
  

• 100 James Suckling

  Sublime cabernet franc aromas of currants, flowers and citrus. Full-bodied with incredible purity of fruit and length. You don’t feel the tannins, but they are there. The acidity gives you dynamic reality and perfect length. A truly great wine. 83% cabernet franc, 8% merlot, 5% malbec, and 4% cabernet sauvignon. Best from 2026.

• 98 Jeb Dunnuck
  The 2019 Le Desir is based on Cabernet Franc, with the remainder 8% Merlot, 5% Malbec, and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. It is complex and layered, with hints of saddle leather, pencil shavings, tangy red cherry, and blackcurrant. The palate is full and elegantly structured, with mocha, red plum, and turned soil. This is an incredible wine with lots of underlying tension that will be a pleasure to revisit if afforded the opportunity. Drink over the next 20 or more years.
• 94 Decanter
  Such a beautiful fragrance to the nose, you can really tell the three wines apart and identity the aromatic Cabernet Franc on this one. Chewy and ripe fruit on the palate, this has grip and flesh from the start but also a nice liquorice spiced aspect which combines well with the pink rose, cherry, blackcurrant and cinnamon aspects. Tannins are fine and powdery, just a touch dry and chalky but this has nice detail and vibrant acidity. 4% Cabernet Sauvignon completes the blend. Ageing 16 months in French oak (95% new).