Vérité

Jess Jackson (1930-2011), the founder of Kendall-Jackson, met Pierre Seillan during a visit to France in the 1990s, and a friendship developed between the Jackson family in California and the Seillan family in Bordeaux. When Seillan visited California in 1997, Jackson asked him to come to Sonoma County, and Vérité followed: it was founded in 1998 with the aim of combining the winemaking craft of Bordeaux with fruit from Sonoma's premier sites. Vérité is French for truth. Seillan's career began at Bellevue, his family's estate in Gascony, where he learned to grow Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and several white varieties. He later focused on Cabernet Franc at Château de Targé in the Loire Valley, then spent two decades in Bordeaux making wine at several châteaux for Raoul and Jean Quancard. Working across eight appellations there became the backbone of his micro-cru philosophy. Vérité has been located on its property since its launch in 1998, initially occupying the former tasting room and production facility of Stonestreet Winery, also owned by Jackson Family Wines.

• Founded in 1998 by Jess Jackson and Pierre Seillan.
• Vérité is French for truth.
• Seillan's career began at Bellevue, his family's estate in Gascony.
• Seillan spent two decades in Bordeaux making wine at several châteaux for Raoul and Jean Quancard.

Vérité is one of the Sonoma wineries of Jackson Family Wines, which names Pierre Seillan as its vigneron. Chris Jackson, Jess Jackson's son, is second-generation proprietor at Jackson Family Wines. Pierre Seillan has crafted the wines of Vérité since 1998, and under his leadership his daughter Hélène Seillan has stepped into the role of assistant winemaker; she joined Vérité as assistant winemaker in 2009. Starting in 2006 she had served as assistant winemaker for her father at the family's Bordeaux estate, and she studied viticulture and oenology at the Institut Rural de Vayres in Bordeaux. As of April 2023, Chris Jackson and Hélène Seillan were working alongside Pierre Seillan to continue the vision of the estate. Monique Seillan is vice president of communications at Vérité, and Nicolas Seillan, Pierre's son, designed the new estate.

• Owner: Jackson Family Wines.
• Vigneron: Pierre Seillan, crafting the wines of Vérité since 1998.
• Assistant winemaker: Hélène Seillan, Pierre's daughter, at Vérité since 2009.
• Vice president of communications: Monique Seillan.

Jackson and Seillan selected Sonoma County for Vérité's vineyards, which lie in the Bennett Valley, Alexander Valley, Chalk Hill and Knights Valley appellations, and across these four appellations Seillan works with more than 50 micro-crus. Vérité's named sites include Jackson Park in Bennett Valley, Alexander Mountain Estate and Cougar in Alexander Valley, Coyote Hills and Vérité Vale in Chalk Hill, and Helena Montana in Knights Valley; the highest block Vérité lists, Block 81 at Alexander Mountain Estate, sits at 2,249 feet. In Chalk Hill, Vérité's Merlot blocks face northwest, Cabernet Franc east and Petit Verdot south, and the vineyard's elevation varies from 160 to 500 feet above sea level. Vérité's Knights Valley vineyard lies between 500 and 960 feet. In Bennett Valley, Vérité's vineyards lie between 580 and 850 feet on northwest-facing foothills in well-draining sandy loam.

• More than 50 micro-crus across four appellations.
• Chalk Hill: Merlot faces northwest, Cabernet Franc east and Petit Verdot south; 160 to 500 feet.
• Knights Valley: 500 to 960 feet.
• Bennett Valley: 580 to 850 feet, sandy loam that is ideal for Merlot.

Each micro-cru is harvested and fermented separately, then aged in French oak barrels of various custom toasts. Seillan tailors his winemaking techniques and oak regimens to the personality of each lot, which gives him hundreds of unique components from which to build the final blends of La Muse, La Joie and Le Désir. His philosophy is centered on le droit du sol, the right of the soil: wines should express the unfettered voice of the terroir, through a holistic approach to site selection, vineyard design, farming, vinification, barrel selection, blending and bottling. In Seillan's own words: 'I am a servant of the soil. My job is to listen and convey the unfettered voice of the terroir.'

• Each micro-cru is harvested and fermented separately.
• Aged in French oak barrels of various custom toasts.
• Guiding principle: le droit du sol, the right of the soil.
• Varieties in the palette: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Malbec.

La Muse, crafted primarily from Merlot, was first produced in 1998 and is inspired by the finest wines of Pomerol. La Joie, inspired by the classic wines of Pauillac, is blended from mature plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot grown on the steep hillsides and volcanic benches of the Mayacamas Mountains. Le Désir is a Cabernet Franc-based blend inspired by the wines of Saint-Émilion, made from Cabernet Franc grown in the cooler micro-crus of Sonoma County. In 2023, La Joie was 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot; La Muse was 89% Merlot, 6% Malbec and 5% Cabernet Franc; and Le Désir was 85% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot and 5% Malbec. Le Diamant, grown in the volcanic soils of Vérité's highest-elevation Sauvignon Blanc micro-crus, is the first white wine from Vérité Estate and is inspired by the winemaking traditions of Pessac-Léognan; the 2024 was harvested on August 26 and 27. Connaissance, French for knowledge, is a collection of wines from individual Vérité micro-crus, produced in very limited quantities and offered once a year. The 2023 Connaissance wines are The Philosopher, a Malbec from Franz Creek Vineyard in Chalk Hill; The Premier, a Merlot from Vérité Vale Block 601, the first Vérité micro-cru harvested in each vintage; and The Embellisher, a Petit Verdot from Vérité Vale Block 606A, directly east of the Vérité winery.

• La Muse: Merlot-based, first produced in 1998.
• La Joie: Cabernet Sauvignon-based, with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
• Le Désir: Cabernet Franc-based.
• Le Diamant: Sauvignon Blanc, the first white wine from Vérité Estate.
• Connaissance: wines from individual micro-crus, offered once a year.

Vérité Estate is at 4611 Thomas Road, Healdsburg, twenty minutes by car from Healdsburg, and is open by prior appointment only. Jackson Family Wines broke ground on the new estate in 2018, building it in three parts so as not to interfere with the continuity of winemaking. Nicolas Seillan and Taylor Lombardo Architects of San Francisco designed the winery, and Nicolas Seillan counts the Abbaye de Moissac in southern France as inspiration, particularly its symmetry and use of cloisters. The hospitality space opened in August 2022 after nearly four years of construction, and the second major phase, a 9,000-square-foot, two-story barrel chai kept at 50 degrees, was completed by May 2023; barrels were installed at the end of March 2023. The building added several tasting parlours, a large kitchen for food pairings, and three separate cellars for vintages of La Joie, Le Désir and La Muse. In April 2023, three stainless steel eggs in the barrel room each held a single variety from a single cru, with a direct-to-consumer release planned for Spring 2024.

• Address: 4611 Thomas Road, Healdsburg; visits by prior appointment only.
• Designed by Nicolas Seillan with Taylor Lombardo Architects of San Francisco.
• Hospitality space opened in August 2022; barrel chai completed by May 2023.
• Three separate cellars hold vintages of the three blends.

By August 2022 the wines had received 17 perfect, 100-point scores from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, a count given by the San Francisco Chronicle; the Press Democrat put the total at seventeen 100-point scores in May 2023.

• Seventeen 100-point scores from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, as counted by the San Francisco Chronicle in August 2022.

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.veritewines.com/one-vision, https://www.veritewines.com/two-generations, https://www.veritewines.com/vigneronpierreseillan, https://www.veritewines.com/philosophy, https://www.veritewines.com/right-soil, https://www.veritewines.com/sonoma-county, https://www.veritewines.com/palette-verite, https://www.veritewines.com/connaissance, https://www.veritewines.com/visit, https://www.veritewines.com/wine/la-joie, https://www.veritewines.com/wine/la-muse, https://www.veritewines.com/wine/le-desir, https://www.veritewines.com/wine/le-diamant, https://www.veritewines.com/wine/le-diamant/2024, https://www.veritewines.com/wine/la-joie/2023, https://www.veritewines.com/wine/la-muse/2023, https://www.veritewines.com/wine/le-desir/2023, https://www.veritewines.com/press, https://www.veritewines.com/vintages. Owner group: https://www.jacksonfamilywines.com/wineries/verite. Secondary sources: Decanter (Shana Clarke, 20 April 2023), The Press Democrat (Sarah Doyle, 9 May 2023; Bill Swindell, 4 October 2019) and the San Francisco Chronicle (Jess Lander, 11 August 2022). Last verified 2026-10-19. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.