Limited Morlet Wines

2012 Morlet La Prooportion Doree White Blend...$69.99 / 750ml
(a blend of 66% semillon, 32% sauvignon blanc and 2% muscadelle): Light-medium straw-tinged yellow. Aromas of orange blossom, waxy semillon, apricot pit, minerals and nutty vanillin oak reminded me of a dry white Bordeaux wine. Dense, spicy and rich; viscous and voluptuous without being heavy, offering terrific chewy depth to its fruit and mineral flavors. Boasts the texture of a much sweeter blend of these two grapes yet retains a juicy freshness. Lovely combination of richness and acidity here. This reminded me of a top Pessac-Leognan white wine but with more early texture and thickness.
Rated 93/100 Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

2012 Morlet Chardonnay Ma Douce....$79.99

The 2012 Chardonnay Ma Douce reveals more tropical fruits (pineapple) along with lots of honey, a great texture and a full-bodied richness. The good news in 2012 is that there are 650 cases of Ma Douce. 

Rated 94-96/100 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate


2012 Morlet Chardonnay Ma Princesse...$85.99
The 2012 Chardonnay Ma Princesse is slightly more structured and mineral-dominated with crisp acids. The good news in 2012 is that there are 550 of Ma Princesse .
Rated 93-96+/100 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate

2012 Morlet Pinot Noir En Famille...$106.99
Softer and darker with lots of strawberry and black cherry fruit, the 2012 Pinot Noir En Famille possesses slightly more texture and substance as well as a long finish. All three of these 2012s are best consumed during their first decade of life.

Rated 91-94/100 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate


2011 Morlet Coeur de Vallee Red....$164.99
Even better is the 2011 Coeur de Vallee, a 225-case blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Cabernet Franc, all from the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard. This sexy 2011 is a candidate for the wine of the vintage. Its deep ruby/purple color is followed by notes of forest floor, violets, bouquet garni, black currant and blueberry fruit, stunning richness and no herbaceousness or astringency, and a long, lush finish. A terrific effort in this challenging vintage, it can be enjoyed over the next 10-12 years.
Rated 94/100 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate

2011 Morlet Mon Chevalier Red...$144.99
More chocolaty notes intertwined with hints of blueberries, damp earth and burning embers jump from the glass of the structured, medium to full-bodied 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Mon Chevalier. A blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest mostly Cabernet Franc from Knights Valley, it reveals firmer tannins and more structure than the offerings from Napa. Give it several years of bottle age and consume it over the following decade.
Rated 91+/100 The Wine Advocate

This is one of the up-and-coming superstar producers in Northern California. Owned by Luc Morlet, who comes from a French family that has long been making wines in Champagne, and who cut his Napa Valley teeth first for Newton and later Peter Michael. His American wife, Jodie, assists Luc Morlet, who still does consulting work at Peter Michael, although it is brother Nick who runs the show at Peter Michael from a winemaking perspective. The debut vintage for the Morlet Family Vineyards was 2006, and they have hardly missed a beat since then in turning out sumptuous Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs, Bordeaux-based blends, smaller proportions of a killer Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc blend, and a Cote Rotie-like Syrah. All of the following wines represent striking examples or Morlet-s talents. As for the 2012 Chardonnays, all will be bottled over the next four or five months. It is another great vintage for Morlet. All the wines come from the same sources, are 100% Chardonnay, see full malolactic fermentation, and are bottled unfined and unfiltered. Fermentations are all done by indigenous yeasts and the wines are aged sur lie with lots of lees stirring. The 2012s are slightly more intense. The Pinot Noirs come from a vineyard on the second ridge of the Sonoma Coast appellation, all planted between 1,000 to 1,250 feet with a field selection brought in from one of the great grand cru vineyards in Vosne-Romanee. The 2011 production ranged from 150 cases of the Joli Coeur to nearly 200 cases each of the Coteaux Nobles and En Famille. Readers should not forget about the Morlet Family Vineyards- remarkable Syrah, which is a dead-ringer for a top-notch Cote Rotie given its floral character. I was sure some Viognier was included in the blend, but that-s not the case. The wines from this small boutique winery are not to be missed.