The 2009 Le Desir blasts across the palate with layers of deep, sumptuous fruit. This is an especially deep, plush wine packed with fruit. Hints of mocha, espresso, licorice and tar wrap around the finish in this muscular wine as varietal Cabernet Franc notes take shape in the glass. Today this comes across as understated and not as expressive or fully realized as the other wines here. The 2009 Le Desir is 74% Cabernet Franc, 13% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Malbec. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2029. Pierre Seillan thinks of himself as a master blender and vigneron, an intriguing combination. Seillan sources fruit from a wide number of vineyards in the Kendall-Jackson empire. He employs the same approach to cooperage, mixing and matching barrels from various barrel makers to come up with the perfect combination of component wines. It works. All of the Verite wines are aged in 100% new oak, but Seillan keeps the time in oak moderate, such that these wines hardly ever show signs of oakiness, even when they are young. Seillan’s goal is to make wines that improve in bottle and that are capable of lasting 30 years. The 2009s and 2010s are both exceptional vintages. I have a slight preference for the 2010s, a vintage with more aromatic and flavor delineation, firmer tannin and more long-term potential, all results of a season with large diurnal shifts. The 2009s are the product of the vintage with much more even ripening. They will offer terrific early appeal, but also have more than enough stuffing to age well for years. I also tasted the 2010 Tannat, a new wine in its first vintage. The last bottle of the morning was the 1998 La Muse, a wine from a very challenging year that is still youthful and full of life. I have little doubt these 2009s and 2010s will prove to be superior wines. My only hope is that Verite and Kendall-Jackson will keep prices for these wines reasonable. Tel. (707) 431-3930

A barrel sample (70% Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Malbec) of the 2009 exhibits a deep ruby/plum/purple color in addition to aromas of black currants, sweet cherries, loamy soil, coffee and Christmas fruitcake. Medium-bodied, soft and fleshy, it may not reach the level of the 2008, 2007 or 2005, but will be a top-notch effort.

The 2009 Le Desir is a blend of 74% Cabernet Franc, 13% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Malbec. Deep garnet in color, it possesses a maturing, flamboyant nose of plum preserves, mulberries and Black Forest cake with underlying cassis, pencil shavings, tilled soil and fallen leaves scents, plus wafts of leather and tobacco. Firm, medium to full-bodied and densely packed with taut, evolving fruit, it has loads of mineral sparks and a long, chewy finish. 1,500 cases were made.

Bright dark ruby. Distinctly wild aromas of blackberry, minerals, game and leather, plus a whiff of Band-Aid. Dense, powerful, Cabernet Franc-dominated wine with vibrant, downright penetrating black fruit and licorice flavors. Fairly thick but still tight in the middle palate, with flavors similar to the aromas. Finishes with slightly edgy, building tannins that saturate the front teeth and incisors. Twenty-four hours in the recorked bottle brought a somewhat plusher texture and more breadth, but the leathery quality still impinged on the wine's fruit, limiting its complexity. While the wine's superb density of grain is undeniable, there's ultimately a bit too much Old World funk for me. I tasted two similar bottles. (14.5% alcohol)