2008 Joli Coeur Pinot Noir

Compact, medium-bodied and pleasant, the 2008 Pinot Noir Joli Coeur offers blue and red fruits intermixed with hints of charcoal, burning embers and spice box. This exceptional group of wines is limited in quantity (from a low of 125 cases to a high of 400+ cases for several of the Chardonnays) cuvees. This is the visionary project of Luc Morlet, a Frenchman who worked for Peter Michael and still consults there with his brother, Nicolas. In issue 192 I reviewed the Morlet Family’s Cabernet Sauvignons from Oakville. The following reviews include his brilliant Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs and Syrahs from cool climate sites primarily located on the Sonoma Coast, but also in the Russian River and Bennett Valley. The 2009 Chardonnays are as concentrated as the 2008s, which is rather remarkable since the yields were higher in 2009. The alcohols are slightly lower, but these are some of the finest 2009 Chardonnays I tasted in California. Like the 2008s, Morlet believes in the old Wente clone of Chardonnay as opposed to some of the newer Dijon or older Davis clones. Tasted from barrel, all three 2009 Chardonnays are perfumed and perhaps that’s what sets them slightly apart from the brilliant 2008s. The Pinot Noirs, which tend to come from suitcase clones taken from several of the most famous vineyards in Vosne-Romanee, are all destemmed. The vines are planted between 1,000 and 1,250 feet on high ridges in the Sonoma Coast. The 2008 Pinots are a good beginning, but the 2009s show where Luc Morlet wants to go. Tel. (707) 967-8690; Fax (707) 967-8590