Morlet Family Vineyards: Cabernet Sauvignon Mon Chevalier 2007-2019

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | OCTOBER 17, 2024

Knights Valley is one of the most fascinating regions in Northern California. The AVA lies just north of Calistoga and is nestled between Alexander Valley, Chalk Hill and Fountaingrove in a corner of Sonoma County that feels quite remote and pastoral. Knights Valley excels with red and white Bordeaux varieties. The reds are marked by distinctive savory and mineral notes that, at times, recall the great wines of Pessac-Léognan. Luc and Jodie Morlet’s Cabernet Sauvignon Mon Chevalier is a terrific example of what Knights Valley has to offer. This retrospective back to the inaugural 2007 provided a fascinating opportunity to see how the wine ages.

Morlet Family Vineyards is one of the few Napa/Sonoma wineries that have made the transition from a startup project relying on purchased fruit and shared production spaces to a true estate. It’s a remarkable American success story. Originally from Champagne, Luc Morlet is a fifth-generation winemaker. Morlet first gained recognition for the wines he made at Peter Michael. He later left to make wines at several estates while continuing to consult at Peter Michael. In 2006, Morlet and his wife, Jodie, founded Morlet Family Vineyards.

Luc Morlet’s pursuits touch many areas in the world of wine. He patented a design for a vibrating sorting table I first saw at Vineyard 7&8 about a dozen years ago. Morlet has long represented barrel cooper Darnajou in the United States, placing these barrels prized for their signature sweetness at numerous top addresses in Northern California. Morlet is also the first winemaker I know of to bottle Cabernet Franc-based wines from Andy Beckstoffer’s To-Kalon Vineyard, something that has now become quite popular as Franc continues to gain a presence in Napa Valley.

Luc and Jodie Morlet bought their Knights Valley property in 2005. Estate vineyards in St. Helena and Oakville followed in 2010 and 2015, respectively. At the time, the Knights Valley site was pretty much abandoned, although a few remaining Zinfandel and Petite Sirah vines dating back to the 1920s harkened back to another era, a time when grapes had been grown here in the past. The ranch spanned 12.5 acres, of which six were plantable. Cash was tight, so the first vines were planted only in 2008. Today, the estate vineyard is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, approximately 2/3rds Clone 4 Cabernet Sauvignon, chosen for contributing body and texture, and 1/3rd Clone 337, which is prized for its aromatics and silkiness, on 3309 and 101-14 rootstocks. Smaller sections of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot round out the ranch.

During this first phase, the Morlets purchased fruit from a neighboring vineyard in Knights Valley. The wines were made at Chateau Boswell and Vineyard 7&8, where Luc Morlet worked as a consulting winemaker. Fruit from the estate vineyard was gradually incorporated into the blend starting in 2011, also the first year the wine was made at the Morlets’ own facility. In 2014, Mon Chevalier became a true estate wine.

Vinification is done in stainless steel tanks and foudres. Time on the skins is about 30 days, a bit less than the 34-35 days Morlet prefers for his Napa Valley Cabernets. Wines are pressed dry into barrel for the malolactic fermentation. Time in barrel is about 16 months. Stylistically, the Morlet wines have long been marked by considerable textural opulence and richness. In recent years, Morlet has pulled back from that a touch, but the house style remains intact. I found most vintages have aged beautifully.

I tasted these wines in September 2022. At the time, this report was scheduled to be published in early 2023. Josh Raynolds’ passing was an enormous shock to our company and to me personally. By the time we began to recover, our office was full of new releases that required prompt attention, so several Napa Valley articles remained in my archive, including this one.

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