Le Désir
2008
Vintage
Great wines are often created in difficult years. The 2008 is no exception: at times it was hot, at times it was cool and at times it was humid. These three conflicting elements have resulted in great wines with balanced acidity, fruit, body and alcohol. Harvest took place September 4th through September 25th.
– Pierre Seillan, Vigneron
Notes
Vibrant, youthful reds and purples set the visual stage for this timeless varietal, here presented in its top form. Cabernet Franc is the centerpiece of the wine, highlighting black raspberries, black cherries and a complex, spiced bouquet of Herbes de Provence and dried thyme. Grown in the iron-rich soil of our Sonoma County vineyards, and tended in the legendary tradition of Pierre Seillan, this most structured and precise wine finds perfect balance in a high center of gravity and a long finish. – February 2018
Composition
61% Cabernet Franc
31% Merlot
4% Cabernet Sauvignon
4% Malbec
Pierre Seillan believes the Chalk Hill fruit provides a truffle-like character and the Alexander Valley gives minerality, structure, tannin and intensity. The 2008 will be fascinating to taste next to the 2007 over the next 30+ years. Sweet mulberry, blueberry and blackberry fruit intermixed with notions of black truffles, damp earth and forest floor emerge from this beauty of stunning intensity, purity and texture.