2019 Morlet Family Cabernet Sauvignon Coeur de Vallee

Includes 6% Cabernet Franc. Champenois Luc Morlet , who has worked at Newton and Peter Michael in his time , presented this . P ale-rimmed wine that erred on the side of sweet and porty but was actually fun to drink and (just) not over the top. (JR)

I have long been a fan of this wine, and am happy to see it getting a wider distribution. An excellent example of dense but soft tannins, billowy, brushed velvet, beautifully bright and sappy damson and black cherry fruits, gentle cocoa bean, white pepper and sage spices. Fragrant floral edges, well integrated oak, clear freshness. Luc Morlet is one of the more restrained winemakers in Napa, and you see his European sensibilities with this wine, as you often do with the Morlet range of multiple single-plot vineyards. Picked in small crates of 10kilos, arriving to the cellar by 7am in the morning. Delicate but expansive, elegant, clear precision. I rarely say this, but you truly can't feel the high alcohols (drinking at a slightly cool temperature helps). 600l oak casks for 2/3 of ageing, with the rest in stainless steel. This is their biggest site in terms of production, around 10ha of their own vines in Oakville, with the estate crossed by To Kalon creek, planted to Cabernet Franc (2 blocks) and Cabernet Sauvingon (4 blocks), currently bottling around half of it to the Coeur de Vallée bottling. Great stuff.

Mostly Clone 4 Cabernet Sauvignon with 6% Cabernet Franc, all from a site next to To Kalon, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Coeur De Vallée offers lots of darker currant and black cherry fruits as well as notes of cedary spice, new leather, and dried herbs. These carry to a full-bodied, concentrated, incredibly complex Oakville Cabernet with sweet tannins, a great mid-palate, and one heck of a finish. Drink it over the coming 20-25 years.