Pierre Seillan of Verite Vigneron has a lot of fingers in a lot of pies. That is to say, the winemaker has holdings in Bordeaux, California and Tuscany. Three very different regions mean three very different wines but his heart lies, not in his native France as one might expect, but rather in the Sonoma Valley, where he has been making rather good wines for over 30 years.

A seventh-generation winemaker, it was only natural that Pierre Seillan would carry on the family tradition. After an internship in Temecula, Seillan decided that Napa, with its hot, hot summers, would not be the ideal choice to make the refined Bordeaux-style wines he so wanted, and he quickly returned to France. Two decades and seven chateaux later, an invitation by Jess Jackson drew him to Sonoma with its cooling Pacific breezes. At the time (the 1990s), Califonian wines were mainly single varietal Cabernet Sauvignons and some Pinot Noirs, and Seillan started experimenting with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. So called the “terrorists of Sonoma”, Jackson and Seillan promoted the region’s superb topography and varied soils, not the typical California style. Today it is a badge he still wears with pride.

It seems that what started as a bit of a gamble has paid off. In 1998 the pair released La Muse, a Merlot-based blend inspired by Pomerol; and La Joie, Cabernet Sauvignon made in the Pauillac style; (followed by Le Désir in 2000, a Cabernet Franc similar to Saint-Émilion). These world-class wines are some of the best expressions of these grapes in the world and reflect the unique terroir of Sonoma. Clearly a success, Robert Parker gave 13 of his vintages a whopping 100-points while others consistently hit the high 90s year after year. Of these, La Muse, with its minuscule (4,000 case) production and superlative ageing (up to 40+ years for better vintages) shows the best returns on investment, with an above average rise of 24% in 24-months from May 2017.