Winemaker Notes
Intense red color with black cherry and raspberry coulis flavors, boasting earthy notes (graphite). Rich and concentrated with a lingering finish, the Joli Cœur Pinot Noir will age gracefully for decades.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
With a dark magenta/ruby hue, the 2021 Pinot Noir Joli Coeur is a highly compelling red with an introspective nature. It’s initially reserved on opening before revealing pure, concentrated aromas of kirsch, dark mineral earth, roses, mossy forest floor, cinnamon, and cola spices. The palate springs to life with incredible energy on the palate, with an electric personality, finely coiled tannins, refreshing acidity, and a compact, racy core with sanguine underpinnings of iron-rich earth and blood orange. A structured and noble wine, it’s going to take its time to reveal its full potential, but it will have great potential for aging over the coming 15 or more years. Drink 2026-2046.
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James Suckling
Perfectly balanced, elegant and tangy but full, alive with great fruit flavors and complemented by floral, spicy, forest-floor nuances. Sour cherries, cloves, black tea, graphite and star anise give so much to savor. Vivid acidity, moderate tannins and a medium to full body.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Morlet's 2021 Pinot Noir Joli Coeur comes from an east-facing slope with shallower soils and smaller berries, hence it is a tighter, more tannic version of Pinot Noir that needs some time in the bottle to fully develop. But even now, it offers delicate floral notes, ripe raspberries and hints of orange zest and dried spices on the nose. It's medium to full-bodied, firm on the palate, with a long, slightly reticent finish.
Rating: 94+ -
Vinous
The 2021 Pinot Noir Joli Cœur is the most reticent of the 2021 Pinots. It will clearly need a few years to come into its own. Today, the 2021 is marked by strong mineral and savory accents. Shallow top soils in this block yield small canopies and small berries. This needs time.
Rating: 94+
The Sonoma Coast AVA is large in area but, not counting overlapping regions like Russian River Valley, only has a few thousand acres of grapevines—and it’s no wonder. Much of the region is rugged and not easily accessible. Its proximity to the Pacific Ocean’s fog and cool breezes limits the varieties that can be cultivated, but it proves to be an ideal environment for high quality Pinot Noir.
Since fog is a frequent fact of life here, as are heavy marine layers that sometimes bring rain, the best vineyards are wisely planted above the fog line, on picturesque ridges that capture enough sun to provide even ripening. That, with the overnight drop in temperature that reliably preserves acidity, results in fine expressions of Pinot Noir that often receive tremendous critic and consumer praise alike, and are often in high demand.