The Omaha
Event Report.
The IWFS Napa Valley Festival: Verité Estate wines Upcoming Events.
What’s New
Don’t forget, the Omaha Branch has moved to stags on odd months, with joint couples’ events in February and December with the Omaha Metro Branch. This started in May. The benefits of this move are:
• Higher-quality food and wine experiences – with more time to curate the perfect pairings.
• Aged-to-perfection wines – by using fewer bottles per year, we can let our cellar selections reach their peak.
• More value for your membership – with fewer events, part of your annual dues can help offset event costs, ensuring premium experiences at great value!
Cheers!
Tom Murnan
“Middle age: when you are sitting at home on a Saturday night and the telephone rings and you hope it isn’t for you.”
- Ring Lardner
Best of the Cockle Bur compiled & edited by Harry
B.
Otis, 3rd President 1973-1974
The IWFS Napa Valley Festival: Verité Estate wines
Story by Tom Murnan, Photos by Tom Murnan
Verité Estate was not a wine on my radar, and technically, it is in Sonoma County, not Napa Valley, near Healdsburg. It is near the Napa border, however, so I guess that counts for the Napa Valley Festival. It has a fabulous background story. Part of the Jackson Family empire, it was founded when Jess Jackson met Pierre Seillan while visiting France in the 1990s. Pierre had spent years with his family’s vineyard in Armagnac, then properties in the Loire, then at several Bordeaux estates. With 30 years of experience, Jess was looking to make a world class wine in Sonoma, something similar to a Bordeaux First Growth or Grand cru Classé on the Right Bank, such as Château Petrus. The two hit it off, sharing a similar vision of making a world class wine and in 1997 Pierre came to California and started to look for vineyards. He liked how the climate cooled down every night due to the proximity of the Pacific Ocean. Plus, there were numerous soil types in Sonoma. Jess agreed to give him free rein to do whatever it took to make the wine of their dreams. He wanted a great California Merlot like Petrus. Jess provided the capital and Pierre the know-how. Pierre brought his 10-year-old daughter, Hélène, and she started going to grade school in Sonoma. She went on to study Viticulture and Oenology at the Institute Rural de Vayres in Bordeaux.
The Jackson Family allows Verité to own its own estate vineyards, and it has about 50 micro-crus, so the wines don’t just come from the vineyard contiguous to the winery. The winery makes three Bordeaux inspired wines. Verité is French for truth. They now use Verité as the name of the winery. But after tasting the first Merlot-based wine made, Jess called it Verité. The next vintage, Pierre made another wine, and Jess called it La Joie, or joy in English. It was a Medoc styled Left bank Cabernet Sauvignon dominant Bordeaux blend. The
Merlot-styled wines went from strength to strength, and Jess called it La Muse, his muse or inspiration. These are a Right Bank Pomerol, Merlot dominant styled wine. The third wine was a Saint-Emilion twin in the style of Château Ausone which can have 55% Cabernet Franc or more in its blend. Pierre asked to name this style, and he called it Le Désir, or desire. No expense is spared in the élevage of these three wines, and all of them are meticulously raised and pampered in various types of French oak.
In one of the finest winery buildings in the world made with exacting specifications with stunning architecture and interiors, the Verité winery is something to behold. Its different areas reflect the three different wines, La Joie, La Muse and Le Désir. At the entrance, the salon reflects La Muse, with a feminine touch and Merlot fruit. The high vaulted ceilings are reminiscent of a French château. The dining room overlooks the aging chai and is inspired by La Joie, the Sauvignon based wine. Finally, the aging chai looks like a modern Gothic styled space with cathedral windows allowing light to enter. This area was inspired by the Cabernet Franc based blend of Le Désir. The aging chai was the space for our luncheon at a long table in the middle of the barrels.
Verité has had at least 26 perfect 100-point wines from various reviewers. After a tasting of 2021 wines, led by current winemaker Hélène Seillan, we ate lunch in the cellar. There, to accompany a Bacon & Onion Quiche that was so good we got the recipe, we had three older vintages. The 2010 La Muse received a 97/100 score from Stephen Tanzer, the 2011 La Joie received 96/100 from Jeb Dunnick, and Le Désir received a perfect 100 points from Rpbert Parker Jr. Mightily impressive.
2025 UPCOMING OMAHA BRANCH EVENTS
JUL
24
MAHOGANY
Theme TBD.
Producers: Mark Stokes and Mike Wilke