Wine reviews
A wine that may merit a three digit score is the 2012 Coeur de Vallee, a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Cabernet Franc. A seamless piece of haute couture as winemaking goes, crème de cassis, spring flower, blueberry liqueur, charcoal ember and graphite notes are all present in this complex, full-bodied, multidimensional, flawlessly constructed 2012. Drink this gorgeous effort over the next 25+ years. The Morlet brothers, Nick, who works at Peter Michael Winery and Luc, who has his own family estate and also works as a consultant, are two of the hot commodities in northern California, both producing world class wines. From fruit purchased from some of the finest Napa Valley vineyards, the Morlet Family Vineyards is making some of the most exciting wines of the region. The Cabernet Sauvignon cuvees range in production from 200 to 1,200 cases, and their newest project, a mindboggling 2012 Cabernet Franc Force de la Nature is likely to be a game changer once it’s released. The 2012s appear to be spectacular efforts. Kudos to Morlet Family Vineyards! - RP
The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Coeur de Vallée is made from a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Cabernet Franc (350 cases produced). While revealing some complexity, it is more primary and backward than the 2012. It is an impressive wine with great aromatics, and should turn out to be as strong as the 2012, but it just needs time. Give it 5-6 years in the cellaring and drink it over the following 25+ years. Luc Morlet has a new estate winery located in an old stone building on Route 29, north of St. Helena and across from the Markham Winery. A native of France, Morlet was mentored at Newton Vineyards between 1996 and 2001 by the likes of John Kongsgaard and Michel Rolland. From there, he became the key winemaker at Peter Michael Winery, where he still consults along with his brother, Nicolas. His Sonoma bottlings will be reviewed in the next issue of The Wine Advocate, but these Napa cuvées come from both estate vineyards and purchased fruit (primarily from the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville). All of these Cabernet Sauvignon as well as the Cabernet Franc are fabulous wines. Although they are undoubtedly expensive, they are all at the top end of the qualitative hierarchy in Napa Valley.RP