2007 Le Desir
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Tasting notes
(14.4% alcohol): Bright ruby-red. Black fruits, tobacco leaf, licorice and violet on the nose; a bit like Cheval Blanc on steroids. Broad, ripe and plush but still a bit youthfully aggressive and in need of softening. Showing little easy sweetness; in fact, there's an inky, graphite mineral character that makes this wine seem a bit youthfully brutal. Finishes firm and alive, with the spine and energy for a long evolution in bottle. The broad tannins became increasingly chewy--even a bit youthfully tough--with air. This is still a baby. Extended time in the recorked bottle brought sexy game and coffee elements without any loss of freshness, and, if anything, the wine gained a bit in sweetness.
Critic scores
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Robert Parker
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
Good deep red-ruby. Complex aromas of cherry, plum, musky brown spices, licorice and menthol lifted by a floral topnote. Quite dry and youthfully imploded initially, then opened to show a creamy sweetness and growing pliancy to its red fruit and mineral flavors. This has firmed up since I saw it in barrel a year ago, while La Joie has become more harmonious. The most tannic of this outstanding trio of 2007s today, with the structure for a long and positive evolution in bottle.
Full, saturated ruby. Superripe, almost liqueur-like aromas and flavors of black fruits, violet and dark chocolate. Wonderfully lush and dense, combining the firmness of its 44% cabernet franc component, with the broad, violety thickness of its 44% merlot. Spreads out to saturate the palate on the very ripe, classically dry back end, where the tannins melt into the wine. This has the highest pH of these 2007s but is still a moderate 3.71.
About the producer
The winery was the dream of Jess Jackson, the man who founded the incredibly successful Jackson Family Wines. He, however, wanted to produce truly fine wine in Sonoma County.