Morlet Family Vineyards

Beginning with the 2006 vintage, Luc & Jodie Morlet have been handcrafting vineyard designated wines and unique cuvées of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc from the Napa Valley as well as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, a Proprietary white Bordeaux-style blend and a Late Harvest Sémillon from Sonoma County. Meticulously farmed vineyards and low-intervention winemaking techniques produce powerful yet refined wines.

By taking old world principles and adapting them to California, the Morlet style results in wines which are harmonious in their intensity, richness, complexity and refinement. It is this notion of harmony that inspired their logo, based upon 19th century French artist Mathurin Moreau’s sculpture entitled, ‘L’Harmonie.’ The Morlet wines clearly display personality, seamless character and graceful ageing capability.

In August 2010, Luc and Jodie purchased a charming estate, just north of the town of St. Helena. Since then, they have been busy converting the historic stone building, built in 1880, into their family’s winery. This building was originally the Castner Winery, until its closure during Prohibition. Located in the beautiful St. Helena Appellation, the estate is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon and is the exclusive fruit source for their ‘Morlet Estate’ label.

The Morlet’s ‘Mon Chevalier’ vineyard is located on the hillsides of Knights Valley, overlooking the western slopes of Mount St. Helena. The vineyard benefits from its proximity to this majestic mountain, whose warm and windy climate is ideal for the long ripening of the red Bordeaux varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Luc and Jodie most recently planted their twenty-acre ‘Cœur de Vallée’ vineyard. These Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc vines are located on the world renowned Oakville Bench. In addition to these family acres, they direct the farming under long-term contracts in Fort Ross-Seaview, Russian River Valley, Bennett Valley, Dry Creek and Napa Valley.

All of the Morlet’s wines are handcrafted using classical winemaking techniques from Burgundy and Bordeaux and matured in only the finest 100% French oak barrels. Sold in the spring and the fall of each year through an online mailing list offering and in fine restaurants around the world, the highly acclaimed wines from Morlet Family Vineyards are served at the most prestigious tables and are shared by wine connoisseurs and collectors.

Morlet Family Vineyards uses sustainable, organic and biodynamic winegrowing methods in its own vineyards in Knights Valley. This is in keeping with Luc Morlet’s minimalist approach to winemaking which includes letting the indigenous yeast conduct fermentation naturally so as to preserve the unique flavors and aromas characteristic of the vineyard site. With its own vineyards as well as with its growers’, Morlet Family Vineyards strives to use farming practices that create lasting conditions for growing the cleanest and highest quality grapes and that conserve resources, sustain the land and are safe for people.

For example, at the planning stage, the vines are planted with a space and a row orientation based on the land contour and prevailing wind in order to limit erosion issues and to provide maximum air circulation, which diminishes spore deposition and insect cover. In addition, in the summer the vines are trained and thinned to present maximum exposure to moving air. At the winery, resources are conserved whenever possible. For example, the caves were drilled into the volcanic rock and therefore naturally provide the cool temperatures needed for both fermentation and maturation of the wines. In addition, production wastes are controlled and carefully recycled.

Living in St. Helena, the Morlet family participates in a number of community organizations in the Napa Valley. Morlet Family Vineyards also participates in numerous charity events throughout the U.S.A., with an emphasis on health and education. 

The winemaking approach of Morlet Family Vineyards starts in the vineyards. Particular attention is given from the preparation of the soils before planting to canopy management and harvest. The fruit is carefully hand-picked at physiological ripeness and gently carried over to the winery in small lugs by refrigerated truck. A double sorting of the fruit cluster by cluster, and then berry by berry assures that only the very best fruit is used.

The wines are crafted with a passionate, uncompromised and ongoing pursuit of quality. They mature in a naturally cool cave, which was drilled into the volcanic rock. Morlet’s low-intervention winemaking techniques were inspired by the very best producers of millennium old viticultural areas such as Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne and the South of France. They forbid any type of artifice, addition or technology which would compromise the natural aspects of the wines.

The oak wood is selected from the very best forests of the center of France. The staves are carefully and appropriately weathered before going through the crafts of exclusively talented and passionate artisan coopers, from both Bordeaux and Burgundy, with whom we have an ongoing relationship. Only the bottling supplies with the highest quality standards are used for the bottling of the Morlet wines. The long corks come from Sardinia and are carefully tested, selected and systematically double sorted. The glass is imported from France. The foils and labels are manufactured locally.