Morlet Billet Doux Late Harvest Semillon (375ml half bottles) 2010
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When Luc left France in 1996 to join his wife Jodie in her native California, his goal was to adapt the old world principles he knew so well to his new home. The Morlet style results in wines which are harmonious in their intensity, richness, complexity and refinement. Morlet wines clearly display personality, seamless character and graceful ageing capability.
In 2006, Luc and his wife Jodie began crafting wines, in limited quantities, from unique vineyards of Napa Valley and Sonoma County, under the Morlet Family Vineyards label. In 2010, the couple restored a pre-Prohibition winery located in the beautiful St. Helena appellation, as their family’s winery. With over 20 vintages under his belt, and with his own zest for innovation, Luc uses century old principles and classic Burgundy and Bordeaux methods adapted to California’s natural conditions. Passionate for both the expression of terroir, as well as for the continuous pursuit of ultimate quality, Luc calls his winemaking philosophy ‘neo-classic laissez-faire without compromise.’
Apart from the classics, we find many regional gems of different styles.
Late harvest wines are probably the easiest to understand. Grapes are picked so late that the sugars build up and residual sugar remains after the fermentation process. Ice wine, a style founded in Germany and there referred to as eiswein, is an extreme late harvest wine, produced from grapes frozen on the vine, and pressed while still frozen, resulting in a higher concentration of sugar. It is becoming a specialty of Canada as well, where it takes on the English name of ice wine.
Vin Santo, literally “holy wine,” is a Tuscan sweet wine made from drying the local white grapes Trebbiano Toscano and Malvasia in the winery and not pressing until somewhere between November and March.
Rutherglen is an historic wine region in northeast Victoria, Australia, famous for its fortified Topaque and Muscat with complex tawny characteristics.
Nearly a northern extension of Napa Valley, Alexander Valley starts just north of the small, Knights Valley, and is just a few minutes drive from the Napa town of Calistoga. It is Sonoma County’s hottest AVA. But the Russian River, which runs through the valley, creates cooler pockets and its soft, alluvial soil is ideal for grape growing, especially Cabernet Sauvignon. In fact, some believe that Alexander Valley Cabernets truly rival the best from Napa Valley and many of the heavy-hitter producers have largely invested here.
In addition to Cabernet Sauvignon, which makes up over 50% of plantings, Merlot and old vine Zinfandel thrive here. Ample, fleshy Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc dominate white wine production. Some old-vine plantings of Grenache have also been discovered and more recent experiments with Sangiovese and Barbera show great promise.