One of Sonoma’s Best Wineries Has a Luxe New Tasting Room. Here’s a Look Inside.
When the first vintage of Vérité was produced in 1998, the project did not even have a name, much less a home. That year Jess Jackson and Barbara Banke—the married couple behind Jackson Family Wines—collaborated with French agronomist Pierre Seillan and his wife Monique to create a blend of 90 percent Merlot and 10 percent Cabernet Sauvignon from select Sonoma vineyards. This passion project sprung up thanks to Jess and Barbara’s desire to create a world class Sonoma Merlot and the Seillans agreeing to leave Bordeaux and join them. As Monique Seillan told Robb Report during a visit to Vérité’s new winery and tasting room, “In 1998, we named the very first Vérité, which became the name of the program, not the place. This place did not even exist.”
That has certainly changed now. After many years of what Monique Seillan described as “a humble place, not suitable or impressive enough for the collectors who visit,” Vérité has unveiled a new hospitality center featuring a classic Bordelais-style chai, or above ground barrel room. Situated in the Chalk Hill AVA between Healdsburg and Windsor, Vérité makes three wines, La Muse, La Joie, and Le Desir using fruit from their onsite vines and two other estate vineyards in nearby Alexander Valley and Knights Valley. Made in classic Bordeaux style, La Muse is predominantly Merlot, while La Joie and Le Desir are mainly made with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, respectively. Since its inception, Vérité’s wines have received 17 100-point scores, with every vintage consistently scoring in the high 90s.
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Taking the cloister concept and sense of balance from the Abbaye de Moissac in the south of France, the Jackson and Seillan families’ plan was to integrate the exterior of the new building with its natural surroundings while spotlighting wine production inside. A series of tasting spaces designed with the “personality” of the wine in mind seamlessly flows from one area to the next. The sunlit main salon and its light, neutral palette takes inspiration from La Muse, which is described as “feminine and elegant,” while the chai and tasting lounge that overlook it owe their character to “proud, dominant, and confident” La Joie. “Complex, in the moment, and intelligent” Le Désir influenced the choice of deep, rich colors and textures of the cave and vaults that house library vintages of Vérité.
Appointment-only tasting experiences guided by a small team of knowledgeable concierges include the Estate Tasting, featuring the three current vintage Vérité wines (now 2019) and one library vintage, for $200 per person and a Library Comparison Tasting showcasing the current wines alongside three library vintages for $350 per person. Monique and Pierre Seillan and their daughter Hélène, who trained with her father at their Saint Emilion estate Château Lassègue and now makes wine here alongside him, are often onsite and may stop in to say hello during a tasting. The same is true of co-owners Chris and Julia Jackson. While a full kitchen and formal dining room are planned for the future, tasting experiences also feature house made charcuterie prepared by the estate’s full-time chef.
Click here to see all the photos of Vérité Estate.
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