Marquee Cabernet Sauvignon Region: Maipo Valley, Chile

As part of our contribution to last year's #Cabernet Day celebration, this blog published a number of posts on notable Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc regions to include Margaret River, Chile (as a whole), and New Zealand (Hawkes Bay and Waiheke Island). Since then we have added posts on Cabernet Sauvignon regions such as Graves, the Medoc, and Bolgheri.  Over the course of the next few months I will seek to round out the Cabernet Sauvignon picture by publishing posts on such marquee Cabernet Sauvignon regions as Napa Valley (Rutherford, Oakville, Stags Leap District), Coonwarra, and Columbia Valley.  I will begin this initiative with a post on Chile's Maipo Valley.

As stated in a previous post, Chile is a long, narrow country -- dominated to the east by the Andes and to the west by the Pacific Ocean -- with vineyards located along an 800-mile stretch of land from the Atacama Desert in the north to the Bio-Bio region in the south. Chilean vineyards are allocated to one of four regions based on Denominacion de Origin laws introduced in 1994. The major regions are, from north to south, Coquimbo, Aconcagua,

Valle Centrale, and Southern Regions and each region is, in turn, further subdivided into a number of sub-regions.

The vast majority of Chilean wines are produced in the Valle Centrale region.  Valle Centrale, in general, and more specifically, Maipo Valley, one of its four sub-regions, is renowned for its Cabernet Sauvignon.  Valle Centrale is the fertile basin that lies between the Andes and the Chilean Coastal Range and runs north-south from approximately 50 miles north of Santiago to 250 miles to its south.  Vineyards in the valley benefit from: the Andean snowmelt that is carried from east to west across the valley by the Maipo, Rapel, Curico, and Maule Rivers; the cooling effect of the Antarctic Humboldt Current in the Pacific off the Chilean coast;  the protection from the Pacific winds afforded by the Coastal Range; and the rainshadow effect of that selfsame range that causes the bulk of the rainfall to be deposited on its western side.  Valle Centrale is divided into four sub-regions: Maipo Valley, Rapel, Curico, and Maule.

Maipo Valley is the northernmost of the four regions and stretches from the capital Santiago eastward to the Andes and westwards to the Chilean Coastal Range.  Due in large part to its proximity to the capital, it is one of the oldest wine regions in the country.  Maipo Valley's climate is Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool, rainy winters.  Temperatures are modified by both the Andes and the Pacific Ocean with the afternoon warming the vines as it comes over the mountains while the cool night-time breezes drive grape-beneficial day-night temperature differentials.

Maipo Valley Wine Region (Source:http://www.ladatco.com)

Maipo is itself divided into four communes: Pirque (a small commune around the capital with elevations up to 2300 feet), Puente Alto (commune of alluvial soil with high stone content) Santiago, and Talagante.  A more-recent sub-region formulation that divides Maipo Valley into Alto Maipo, Central Maipo, and Pacific Maipo is gaining currency with the realization that east-to-west terroir differentials are much more meaningful than north-south differentials.  Moving from east to west, Alto Maipo is the area closest to the Andean foothills and ranges in elevation from 1300 to 2600 feet.  Some of the leading Cabernets from Maipo Valley originate from this "sub-region."

Maipo Valley is planted to 10,800 hectares of vines to include 6411 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon, 1168 hectares of Merlot, 961 hectares of Chardonnay, 548 hectares of Carmeneré, 427 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc, and 380 hectares of Syrah.  Some of the leading estates of Maipo Valley are Concha y Toro, Santa Rita, Almaviva, Don Melchor, Domus Aurea, and Vineda Chadwick.

The best Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon's are from Maipo Valley and these wines have been variously characterized as bold, elegant, rich, complex, and balanced with a signature "powerful eucalyptus and blackcurrant flavor." I recently tasted four Chilean "Icon" wines at a Wines of Chile-Guild of Sommeliers event and, because of its relevance to this post, I will reprise my notes of the Casa Real and Concha Y Toro Don Melchor tastings below.

Casa Real is a "super-premium" wine which is only produced in years of "exceptional" vintages.  The vineyards are located south of Santiago in the Maipo Valley at elevations varying between 1200 and 1500 feet.  The climate is Mediterranean with 350 to 450 mm of rain annually and thermal oscillation in excess of 68 degrees.  The soil is a combination of riverine deposits and eroded rock.  The grapes are sourced from 50-year-old vines and are hand-picked and double-selected.  The fermentation process includes a 10-day cold soak followed by a 12-day oak-vat fermentation and 15-day post-fermentation maceration.  Malolactic fermentation occurs in new French oak barrels where the wine matures for 16 months prior to bottling.

The 2005 Santa Rita Casa Real is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon with 14.5% abv.  This wine exhibited rich, ripe black fruit and wet stones on the nose.  On the palate it was all primary fruit and oak, with a hint of spiciness.  The 1998 -- also 100% Cabernet Sauvignon -- was markedly different and presented tasters with the opportunity for a classic old/new comparison.  This wine showed browning and orange tones in the glass and secondary characteristics on the nose to include a green note, richness, leather, and dried fruit.  The oak has become better integrated into the wine and the fruit is toned down.  On the palate the wine is round, balanced, rich, and soft.

The second "Icon" considered was the Concha y Toro Don Melchor.  As is the case for the Santa Rita Casa Real, the Don Melchor grapes are grown in the Maipo Valley and on similar soil.  The winery contends, however, that its proximity to the Maipo Canyon renders its vineyards the coolest in the region.  The Don Melchor vineyard consists of contiguous sub-divided plots with each of the six Cabernet Sauvignon blocks having its own distinctive style.  The vineyard is also home to 7 hectares of Cabernet Franc vines.

The Don Melchor 2006 was tasted first.  This wine, a blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Cabernet Franc, had a deep, extracted color in the glass and black fruit, oak, dankness, and green notes on the nose.  A cool refreshingness on the palate accompanies medium acidity and ripe fruit.  The wine is rich and creamy with soft tannins.  The Don Melchor 2000 (similar blend as for the 2006) threw off tar, asphalt, and eucalyptus on the nose.  On the palate a mintiness and sour eucalyptus.  Good balance with a hint of salt accompanying a long finish.

A comprehensive approach to maintaining the integrity of the contents of a wine cellar in hot-weather environments

Maintaining a wine cellar in a hot-weather environment presents a number of challenges to a wine collector; challenges that have to be recognized and addressed in a timely fashion in order to maintain the integrity of the cellar contents.  I live in Central Florida (hot) and recently had a sphincter-muscle-popping issue with my cellar which led me to exhaustively catalog my vulnerabilities and implement appropriate gap-closing solutions.  In this post I will share my views on the important issues that need to addressed in order to maintain cellar integrity in hot-weather environments.

A demonstration of concern for cellar integrity begins in the design/build phase of the effort.  It is preferable that the cellar be located in a basement (no such animal in Central Florida) or in an inner portion of the house.  If the cellar has to fall along an external wall, west- or south-facing walls should be avoided as they take the brunt of the sun's rays.  While this is good advice, it is not always possible to heed it.  For example, given the orientation of my lot, and the fall of the house on that lot, I was forced to place my cellar against a west-facing wall.  The upshot of this is that the cooling system has to work longer and harder to maintain the cellar at the desired temperature.  I have attempted to mitigate the problem by using the highest available R-value insulation in the ceilings and exterior walls and by planting trees so as to provide both low and high cover for diffusion of the intensity of the sun's rays.

The second piece of advice in this vein is that you build a tomb with a door.  Avoid using any glass in the walls or door (do what I say and not what I did).  Glass may be esthetically pleasing, and allow you to caress your collection with your eyes without opening the door, but it increases system inefficiency, putting additional pressure on the unit's cooling system.  The cellar should keep light out and keep cool air in and a cooled tomb does that effectively.

Once construction is complete, the cellar has to be stocked.  You will stock it with wines that you already own and, over time, with wines that you procure from local and distant sources.  Hopefully the collector is buying wines from reputable suppliers and constantly enquires after provenance.  It would not be fun finding out that you have expended a lot of money and energy amassing and maintaining a cellar of below-par wines.  If you buy wines locally, and take responsibility for transportation between the retail shop and your cellar, do not dally along the way.  In Florida, temperatures in a parked vehicle can climb to the high 90s within a few minutes of parking.  It does not take long to cook wines under those conditions.  If you are having the wine shipped in, ensure that temperatures at the destination is favorable before allowing it to leave the vendor's establishment and choose a suitable shipping option. If possible, the wine should be delivered to a business establishment to avoid an un-airconditioned UPS truck driving around all day with your precious wines in tow.

The watchwords (watch numbers?) in cellar management are 55 (degrees) and 65 (percent humidity) and the resultant environment is considered optimal for the long-term storage of wine.  Just like a good data center, redundancy and contingency plans are keys to maintaining the integrity of the managed environment.  The first link is this chain is maintenance of the desired operating environment.  Cellar owners use either one-piece or split-system chillers to create wine-friendly environments.  The temperature within the cellar should be continuously monitored with a mechanism for providing alerts when the threshold is breached.  Many alarm monitoring companies provide such a service and will call you when the cellar temperature falls outside of the set parameters.  There are a number of devices that monitor cellar temperature and humidity and provide audible, text, or email alerts when temperature/humidity rise above acceptable levels.  I utilize a system called Weather Direct which monitors the temperature with a device installed in my cellar and posts the information to a web site based on a monitoring periodicity that I have established.  Those data are available to me online 24 hours a day.  In addition, I receive email and text alerts in the event of rising temperature.

Rising cellar temperature is generally associated with a cooling system problem and this requires immediate attention.  There are a number of issues to consider here.  If the wines were stored at 55℉, it would take a while without the cooling system for them to be in harms way.  If you have a split system with the condenser housed on the outside, the system will continue to work and will begin to blow the hot outside air into the cellar. 

Two things should be done to address this problem: the cellar should be equipped with a lower-capacity cooling system as a backup unit for just this type of emergency.  This system will not be expected to maintain the environment at 55℉ but it will be expected to maintain a degraded cooling environment in the cellar until full-service is restored.  Secondly, some sort of cut-off switch should be employed to halt the operation of the defective unit and its continued introduction of hot air into the environment.  This system could be as unsophisticated as tripping the breaker that controls the flow of electricity to the unit but should probably be more of an electrical/electronic process.

The last major hurricane in Central Florida left a number of areas without electricity for more than a week.  In addition, Florida is subject to random power outages (lightning strikes, wandering backhoes, etc.), a risky proposition for a collector's wine cellar.  Serious wine collectors will install gas-powered generators to provide a level of protection against the interruption of power to the home and cellar. 

A second hazard in the Florida environment is electrical surges caused by lightning storms or other such anomalies and these events can wreak havoc with electrical equipment such as condenser units.  Progress Energy sells a service called Residential Surge Protection which is aimed at protecting large-sized electrical equipment from the effects of surges.  If you live in an environment that is prone to electrical surges, such protection should be considered.

 The final safety measure for the collector to consider is insurance.  Wine, as is the case for any other valuable, should be insured against loss.  Some insurance companies will not offer insurance coverage for wine collections in Florida (based on the hurricane threat in the region) but will do so in other states.  The company will insure the contents of your home, however, and this provides a path to insuring your wines as household contents.  Regardless of the procurement mechanism, the contents of your cellar should be insured.

Here's to wine integrity.

Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Visit

The first winery we were scheduled to visit in our Bordeaux Index Taste of Tuscany was Tenuta dell'Ornellaia, one of the stars of Bolgheri DOC.  We set off at 9:15 am from our hotel on a bright, sunny morning and this made for a beautiful drive through the countryside.  We headed west on Strada di Grande Communicazione, then south along A12 and SS1, then east on Localita San Guido -- noted for the serene and stately cypress trees lining both sides of the street -- before making a right turn into Via Bolgherese and then a left turn into the Tenuta dell'Ornellaia entrance.  We were let in through the gate and met on the other side by Viola, our winery tour guide.  Viola showed us where to park and after we disembarked she began the tour with remarks on the history of the estate.

The winery was founded in 1980 by Lodovica Antinori.  In the late 1990s, Robert Mondavi took a minority stake in the enterprise and owned it fully by 2002.  Mondavi brought in the Frescobaldi's as 50% partners shortly after gaining control and they acquired full control by buying the Mondavi shares when Constellation Brands bought Robert Mondavi's holdings.

According to Viola, the estate encompasses 180 hectares, 97 of which are planted to vine, and are divided between two properties.  The facility on Via Bolgherese has 37 hectares of vineyards and the winery and is the location of the original estate.  This particular property backs up against the Sassicaia property and shares many of its characteristics.  There is another 60-hectare property called Bellaria which is located to the north of Bolgherei.  Our tour plan called for visiting both vineyards and the winery after which we would lunch in the winery dining room.  So we piled into the van and made our way to Bellaria.

We drove back the way we came on Via Bolgherese to "Cypress Avenue" and turned right to continue our transit of this wonderful thoroughfare.  We turned left into the road at the end of the Castello di Bolgheri vineyard and continued along that road until we arrived at Bellaria.  Once on the property we drove to an elevated wooden platform from which we could view the entire vineyard and the sea in the distance.  Breathtaking.

As we took in the view, Viola peppered us with vinous tidbits.  The vineyards are planted at elevations ranging between 50 and 120 meters above sea level on slopes ranging between 5 and 20 degrees.  Here at Bellaria, the hills above the vineyards protect the vines from cold winds while the sea moderates the temperature and reflects sunlight, a boon to grape ripening.  The soil composition changes every 500 meters or so and dictates the estate's planting strategy: Petit Verdot on sandy soils; Cabernet Sauvignon on clay-limestone soils; and Merlot on clay soils.  The average age of the vines at Bellaria is 8 years.

At the conclusion of the Bellaria visit we retraced our course to the original property.  The main property is divided into a 30-hectare vineyard dedicated to Ornellaia fruit and 7 hectares dedicated to fruit for Masseto.  The soil in the Ornellaia vineyard is reddened by the presence of iron and yields high-tannin, age-worthy wines.  The first parcel was planted in this vineyard in 1982.  The Merlot grapes for the Masseto are planted on clay soils.  The average age of the vines on this property is 15 years.

The Tenuta dell'Ornellaia winemaker is Alex Heinz and the winery's philosophy is "quality without compromise."  The quality begins in the vineyard and continues throughout the winemaking process.  Grapes are hand-harvested and subjected to a three-part selection process which ensures that only the best berries make it to the fermentation tanks.  Grapes from the estate's 60 parcels (37 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon, 38 hectares of Merlot, 12 hectares of Cabernet Franc, 10 hectares of Petit Verdot) are vinified and stored separately prior to the construction of the final blend.

The estate's first wine is Ornellaia, a Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (25%), Cabernet Franc (12%), and Petit Verdot (3%) blend.  This wine is fermented (natural yeasts) and macerated in stainless steel tanks and then transferred to oak barriques (70% new, 30% second year) where malolactic fermentation occurs.  The wine is aged in oak for 12 months before final blending after which it is bottled and aged for an additional 12 months.  The 1998 vintage of this wine was named wine of the year by Wine Spectator in 2001.

The second wine is Le Serre Nuove, a Cabernet Sauvignon (35%), Merlot (50%), Cabernet Franc (10%), and Petit Verdot blend.  This wine is made from grapes that did not make the Ornellaia cut as well as fruit from the Bellaria vineyard.  It is fermented in stainless steel tanks and macerated for 30 days.  Malolactic fermentation occurs both in the tanks and in barriques.  The wines are aged for 12 months before final blending and are then aged in oak for an additional 6 months before bottling.

Le Volte is a 50% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 30% Merlot blend, with the Sangiovese fruit sourced externally.  Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation take place in stainless steel tanks before the wine is transferred to 2- to 4-year-old barriques for 10 months of aging.

The jewel in the Ornellaia crown is the 100% Merlot Masseto.  This wine has received both critical and pecuniary acclaim.  It is fermented in oak vats and stainless steel tanks with malolactic fermentation in new oak barriques where it is aged for 24 months.

At the conclusion of the winery tour, we tasted some of the wines and then repaired to the dining room for lunch.  The traditional Tuscan lunch was pleasing to the eye and, especially so, to the palate and was paired

impecably with examples of the estate's offerings.

All in all, a super Tuscan day.

Bolgheri DOC, home of the Super Tuscans

After our fabulous night at Enotecha Pinchiorri, we rendezvoused at our hotel's breakfast room to reflect on the brilliance of the previous night and to fortify ourselves with a solid food base before venturing out on a day of tastings.  Our entire day was going to be spent in Bolgheri.

Bolgheri, situated south of Livonia on the Ligurian coast, is part of the Maremma sub-region of the broader Tuscany wine region.  The Maremma sub-region is warmer overall than the rest of Tuscany resulting in a

                                    Source: http://www.wine-toscana.com/tuscany.htm

two-week-earlier harvest start than its regional counterparts.  Bolgheri (click here for a map of the DOC) experiences sunny, dry, and moderately windy conditions which allow the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes to ripen fully but with its exuberance restrained by the moderating influence of cool Mediterranean breezes.  The topography slopes gently from the base of the eastern hills to the sea and the highest-quality vineyards are concentrated in the foothills running between Bolgheri and Castagneto.  The hills protect the vineyards from the cold northern winter winds.  The vineyards are bathed in cool winds from the sea during the summertime and this, combined with a significant diurnal shift, causes  slow maturation of grape quality components and retention of high acidity.  There are approximately 1600 hectares under vine in the Bolgheri DOC today.

There is significant soil variation in the Bolgheri DOC: alluvial soils with round pebbles (ancient riverine deeposits); Aeolian sands, limestone, and clay (marine origin), and volcanic rock from the hills to the east.  The oldest alluvial deposits are found in the Hill zone, the area in which the pebbly, iron-rich Sassicaia vineyard is located.  The Intermediate zone has younger alluvial soils while the area closer to the sea consists of an alluvial-deposit and marine-deposit mix.

The first Bordeaux-style vineyards were planted in Bolgheri in 1944 by Marquis Mario Incisa della Rochetta who favored the wines of the Medoc and saw some similarity between the gravelly soils of the Medoc and Bolgheri.  After a period of experimentation, including maturing the wine in barriques in the French manner, the wine, the precursor of today's Sassicaia, was introduced to the market in 1968.  The wine flew below the radar until Hugh Johnson of Decanter arranged a tasting which featured Cabernet-based wines from France, the U.S, and Italy.  The relatively unknown Sassicaia stunned by besting the more established competitors.  Fame and fortune followed thereafter; as did other producers who jumped in to produce what was now being called "Super Tuscans."

These Super Tuscans, even though of high quality, and carrying hefty price tags, did not merit any higher than an IGT (table wine) designation in the Italian regulatory scheme because they were made from non-region-typical grapes.  This state of affairs was maintained until 1994 when a Bolgheri DOC was granted for non-traditional grapes and a Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC was granted for wines grown in the Sassicaia vineyard.  The following are included in the Bolgheri DOC:

• Bianco
• 20 - 70% of each of the following: TrebbianoToscana, Vermentino, or Sauvignon Blanc
• Up to 30% of other authorized varietals
• Released the Spring following harvest
• Yields of 100 quintals/hectare allowed
• Vermentino
• 85% Vermentino
• Released the Spring following harvest
• Yields of 100 quintals/hectare allowed
• Sauvignon Blanc
• 85% Sauvignon Blanc
• Released the Spring following harvest
• Yields of 100 quintals/hectare allowed
• Rosato
• Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, other approved varietals
• Released the Spring following harvest
• 11.5% minimum alcohol
• Rosso and Rosso Superiore
• 10 - 80% Cabernet Sauvignon
• Up to 70% Merlot
• Up to 70% Sangiovese
• Up to 30% of other authorized varietals
• Rosso aged a minimum of 10 months; Superiore a minimum of 24 months, 12 in wood and 6 in bottle
• Yields of 90 quintals/hectare for Rosso and 80 quintals/hectare for Superiore
• 11.5% minimum alcohol for Rosso, 12.5% for Superiore
• Sassicaia
• Produced in Sassicaia subzone
• Aged for 2 years, 18 months in barrique
• Yields of 60 quintals/hectare allowed
• 12% minimum alcohol

Some of the most acclaimed wines from Bolgheri include Sassicaia (Tenuta San Guido), Ornellaia (Tenuta dell'Ornellaia), Masseto (Tenuta dell'Ornellaia), and Messorio (Le Macchiole).

Wine and Birthdays

Birthdays often make wine drinkers out of folks who don't normally drink wine, and can make normal wine drinkers consume bottles they were saving for special occasions. Bring together a group of wine hoarders (nee collectors) and the results (and bottle count) can be spectacular.

I attended such an occasion for the birthday of my friend Marshall. Marshall has been a collector and connoisseur in the Orlando area for many years, and has hosted many tastings, several that have raised money for local charities.

Marshall called me on a Wednesday and told me that he was having his birthday gathering at the Wine Room, a posh local wine bar. I asked if I could bring anything, and he noted that he would be opening some bottles, but we all would gladly sip through whatever anyone brought. I selected a bottle of red and a bottle of white as Friday evening approached.

When I arrived, Marshall had already opened his warm-up wine - a 1996 Bouchard Chevalier Montrachet. The wine was stunning, and, tasted blind, could have easily been mistaken for a wine 10 years younger. There was no hint of color change or oxidative aromas, just pure fruit and mineral aromas and flavors.

The next salvo was a 1995 Kistler Chardonnay from the Hudson Vineyard in Carneros. We had high hopes for the wine, but it appeared that the Kistler may have been "the portrait of Dorian Gray" for the Bouchard, as the wine was deeply colored and oxidized and well past it's prime.


As I had a brought a white from that era, I gamely produced my 1997 Stony Hill Chardonnay. What a relief... The wine was well-preserved and showing years younger than its chronological age, although nowhere near the class of the Bouchard. It showed just a hint of color, and is beginning to develop some of the butterscotch type aromas and flavors to complement the green apple and stone fruit.

Having three whites open, it was time for reds. Marshall went to his cellar and reappeared with a "starter" red, a 1997 Harlan 'The Maiden.' I have always wanted to like the wines from Harlan but, having tasted them dozens of times, have only been WOWed once or twice, so the QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) does not thrill me. The Maiden was drinking well and starting to show some mature edges, but still did not really knock my socks off.

My socks were knocked of by the next wine to appear, a 1976 Camus Mazoyeres Chambertin. The aromatics on this Burg were just stunning, with flavors to match. Typically earth, leather, tobacco aromas, but also red fruit and white flowers. Amazingly youthful fruit flavors and a fair amount of tannin and acid as well. I am constantly amazed that so much nuance is packed into a wine you can read the New York Times through.

Next to appear was a Germano Barolo Riserva from Marshall's birth year of 1958. The wine still had scents of rose petals, cinnamon, and cloves, with flavors of wild strawberry and raspberry.

After this point, several people showed up to celebrate with Marshall, and the tasting fragmented as some folks moved to more comfortable accommodations in a seating area, leaving my friend Russell and me at the original table with the open bottles. Marshall would appear from time to time to make sure that Russell and I were getting to try each of the new wines as they were opened.

In order to make sure Russell and I had something tasty on hand, I popped the red that I had brought - a 1998 Pichon Lalande. The wine was stunningly rich relative to the other wines opened to that time. Deep dark red and black fruits, earth, leather, and cedar on the nose and palate.

In quick succession two classic Bordeaux appeared for us to sample - a 1982 Chateau Montrose and a 1995 Chateau Haut Brion. Both of these wines showed the power and longevity that wine lovers hope for - deep rich flavors, firm tannins, and a good level of acidity. It was a good thing that Russell and I were between the cellar and the main group, as Marshall poured us some from each bottle in succession as he came by. By the time I had sampled and assessed the wine and went to find another pour, each of the bottles were empty.

The evening ended with a Porto - a 1963 from Cockburn's. The wine showed a lot of alcohol on the nose, as well as caramel and some cooked red fruits. The palate was rich and full of red cherry, berries, caramel, and almost a hint of milk chocolate.

All in all, a fabulous evening celebrating life, wine, and friendship. I look forward to many more years of helping Marshall enjoy his wine!

Wines of Luc Morlet and Carte Blanche

I recently had the opportunity to attend a tasting of the wines of Morlet Family Vineyards (Luc Morlet) and Carte Blanche.

Luc Morlet comes from a Champagne producing family (Pierre Morlet & Fils, in Avenay-Val-d’Or) that spans five generations in the business. Luc earned his Viticulture degree from Ecole Viticole de Champagne, a Masters degree in Enology from Reims University, France, and an MBA in Wine Business from Dijon Business School, Burgundy. He interned throughout Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Champagne, with stops at Champagne house Duval-Leroy during graduate school, and then Val d’Or Champagne Cellars and Chateau Dauzac in Bordeaux. He replaced an assistant winemaker in St. Helena, California for a year in 1993; while there, he met a woman (Jodie) who he would subsequently marry.

As the eldest son in a French family, he would have been expected to assume control of the family business. But instead, he followed his heart to California. He started at Newton Vineyards where he replaced John Kongsgaard as Driector of Enology. He was responsible for the fabulous "Unfiltered Chardonnay" in the late '90s, and collaborated with Michel Rolland on Bordeaux blends .

In spring 2001, Luc joined the staff of the Peter Michael Winery as winemaker, and then in early 2005, joined the staff at Staglin Family Winery. A year later, Luc and Jodie began producing wines under the Morlet Family Vineyards (MFV) label.

We tasted through six (6) selections:

2008 MFV 'La Proportion Doree'
2009 MFV 'Ma Princesse' Chardonnay
2009 MFV 'Ma Douce' Chardonnay
2008 MFV 'Coteaux Nobles' Pinot Noir
2008 MFV 'Mon Chevalier' Cabernet Sauvignon
2008 MFV 'Passionnement' Cabernet Sauvignon

The 'La Proportion Doree' is inspired by the Bordeaux Blanc wines of Pessac-Leognan (more on this later), and is composed of a "golden blend" of Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle. The wine is actually golden in color, with a profusely floral and lemony nose. The wine is full-bodied on the palate with flavors that tend towards ripe apricot, white peach, and quince.

The two Chardonnays we sampled come from the cooler areas of Sonoma - the 'Ma Douce' coming from Sonoma Coast vineyards and the 'Ma Princesse' from the Russian River Valley. Both are Burgundian in style, with the 'Ma Douce' showing aromas of candied lemon, panna cotta, and orange peel, with wet stone and fresh hazelnut. The wine is full, rich and creamy on the palate, with a long, mineral-driven finish. The 'Ma Princesse', from cuttings of the Old Wente clone, shows more green apple to accompany the lemon candy aromas, and this wine is equal to its sister in richness, body, and minerality.

The Coteaux Nobles comes from the Noble family vineyard along the Sonoma Coast. This wine, although also made in a Burgundian (and feminine) style, shows the exuberance of California fruit in big raspberry and cherry flavors and aromas, almost tending to the point of liqueurs. There was also a pencil-lead-like minerality that I typically sense from Cabernet-based Bordeaux.

Luc and Jodie make three Cabernet-based wines, two of which are terroir driven. The Coeur de Vallee (which we did not get to try) is made wholly from Beckstoffer To-Kalon fruit - 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Cabernet Franc.

The 'Mon Chevalier' is from the Knights Valley AVA in Sonoma, and is a blend of the five typical red Bordeaux grapes. The wine is intensely aromatic, yielding scents of dark red and black fruit, a hint of barrel spice, flowers, tobacco, and earth. The wine is full, rich, and intense with a very long finish.

The 'Passionnement' is a barrel select wine made from only the best barrels produced from each vintage, regardless of the vineyard. This wine reminded me of the early Garagiste wines from Bordeaux. It was dark purple to the point of opacity, with intense aromas of blackberry, blueberry, black currant, cigar box, and a hint of earth. This wine, for all of its intensity, is much more approachable right now than its sister. Luc dedicates this wine to his wife, and considers it the ne plus ultra of his wine portfolio.

The other winery at the tasting was Carte Blanche, for whom Luc Morlet is also the winemaker. Carte Blanche is an apropos moniker for this enterprise once you learn its background. The proprieter is an unassuming-looking young gentleman named Nick Allen who, in passing, will tell you that his family has been in the wine industry for 75 years or so. He also casually mentions while you are trying his Proprietary White Wine (a blend of 2/3 Sauvignon Blanc and 1/3 Semillon) that the blend his family produces in France from these grapes utilizes a slightly different proportion.

It isn't until you delve deeper that you discover that Nick is the great-grandson of Clarence Dillon, and the white wine his family produces in France is Chateau Haut Brion Blanc from the Pessac Leognan commune in Bordeaux (I told you we would come back to it). The family also owns La Mission Haut Brion.

The stars of the Carte Blanche portfolio are the red wines. We started with the 2008 Carte Blanche Proprietary Red Wine. Luc explained that it is called this because it is "too French to be Meritage," the term developed in California for Bordeaux-style blends. The grapes come from a variety of elite vinyards in Napa - 40% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper vineyard in Oakville, 20% Cabernet Franc from the Beckstoffer To-Kalon vineyard in Oakville, and 40% Merlot from the Newton vineyard on Spring Mountain. The wine is deep purple in color, with aromas of baked cherries, cassis, tobacco, dark chocolate, and a hint of tar. The palate follows through with currant, plum, cedar, espresso, and mocha. The tannins are very fine, and contribute to a very long finish.

The 2008 Carte Blanche Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper vineyard in Oakville, the McBride vineyard in Calistoga, and the Link vineyard in Knights Valley, with 4% Petite Verdot (also from the McBride vineyard) and 1% Malbec from the Knights Valley. This wine is is more fruit-driven than the Proprietary Red, with blackberry and currant aromas and flavors, accompanied by hints of mocha, black pepper, and black cherry. The tannins are also fine-grained in this wine, and the wine appears to have the structure for some cellar aging.

All of these wines come from people whose families have a long and storied tradition in the wine industry, but who are making their own marks and doing things their own way. Production levels are small - from 125 to 300 cases for Carte Blanche, and from 150 to 500 cases for Morlet Family - but worth seeking out.

Icon Wines: Old and New -- A Guild of Sommeliers and Wines of Chile Tasting

A tasting co-produced by the Guild of Sommeliers Education Foundation and the Wines of Chile, and titled The Real Deal in Chile, was held at the Downtown-Fort-Lauderdale location of Morton's Steak House on April 26th.  The tasting was presented in two flights of six wines each -- Undiscovered Gems of Chile and Icon Wines: Old and New -- and was led by Fred Dexheimer, Master Sommelier and Wines of Chile Educator.  I reported on the first flight in a previous post and will cover the "Icons" flight here.  The Icon flight featured 6 wines from three producers: Santa Rita Casa Real (2005, 1998); Concha y Toro Don Melchor (2006, 2000); and Los Vascos Le Dix (2006, 2000).

The Casa Real is a "super-premium" wine which is only produced in years of "exceptional" vintages.  The vineyards are located south of Santiago in the Maipo Valley at elevations varying between 1200 and 1500 feet.  The climate is Mediterranean with 350 to 450 mm of rain annually and thermal oscillation in excess of 68 degrees.  The soil is a combination of riverine deposits and eroded rock.  The grapes are sourced from 50-year-old vines and are hand-picked and double-selected.  The fermentation process includes a 10-day cold soak followed by a 12-day oak-vat fermentation and 15-day post-fermentation maceration.  Malolactic fermentation occurs in new French oak barrels where the wine matures for 16 months prior to bottling.

The 2005 Santa Rita Casa Real is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon with 14.5% abv.  This wine exhibited rich, ripe black fruit and wet stones on the nose.  On the palate it was all primary fruit and oak, with a hint of spiciness.  The 1998 -- also 100% Cabernet Sauvignon -- was markedly different and presented tasters with the opportunity for a classic old/new comparison.  This wine showed browning and orange tones in the glass and secondary characteristics on the nose to include a green note, richness, leather, and dried fruit.  The oak has become better integrated into the wine and the fruit is toned down.  On the palate the wine is round, balanced, rich, and soft.

The second "Icon" considered was the Concha y Toro Don Melchor.  As is the case for the Santa Rita Casa Real, the Don Melchor grapes are grown in the Maipo Valley and on similar soil.  The winery contends, however, that its proximity to the Maipo Canyon renders its vineyards the coolest in the region.  The Don Melchor vineyard consists of contiguous sub-divided plots with each of the six Cabernet Sauvignon blocks having its own distinctive style.  The vineyard is also home to 7 hectares of Cabernet Franc vines.

 

The Don Melchor 2006 was tasted first.  This wine, a blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Cabernet Franc, had a deep, extracted color in the glass and black fruit, oak, dankness, and green notes on the nose.  A cool refreshingness on the palate accompanies medium acidity and ripe fruit.  The wine is rich and creamy with soft tannins.  The Don Melchor 2000 (similar blend as for the 2006) threw off tar, asphalt, and eucalyptus on the nose.  On the palate a mintiness and sour eucalyptus.  Good balance with a hint of salt accompanying a long finish.  McNamara thought that this wine had some closed characteristics.

 

The third producer in this flight was Los Vascos, a Lafite operation in Chile's Colchagua Valley.  The associated wine, Le Dix, is only made in good years and, according to Lafite, was introduced to commemorate its 10 years of work in Chile.  According to Nick Passamore, writing in Forbes, Le Dix is a stylish wine of great depth and character, qualities resulting from: (i) the Lafite technical staff supervising the end-to-end winemaking process; (ii) >50-year-old vines with reduced yields; (iii) classic Bordeaux vinification methods; and (iv) rigorous barrel selection.

 

The vineyard, a single, 500-hectare plot, is the largest vineyard in the central Colchagua Valley.  It rests on volcanic sandy clay and granitic soils.  Grapes for Le Dix are sourced from a parcel called "El Fraile" that is home to 70-year-old vines.

 

The 2006 edition of this wine was 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Carmenere, and 7% Syrah.  It had 14% abv and was aged for 18 months in new French oak and 15 months in bottle.  The wine is redolent with black fruit and vanilla.  The 2000 version of the wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon that had been subjected to the same aging regime as the 2006.  On the nose stewed, overripe fruit, sweet baking spices, vegetality in the form of green beans and eucalyptus, and saddle leather.  The MSs talked of a hint of Brett. On the palate, dark ripe fruit, unbalanced, and a retiring finish.  Drink now.

 

This tasting was thoughtfully organized and impeccably executed.  It was organized to take the attendees up the ladder -- from unknown (undiscovered gems) to known (Icons) wines and then through a temporal shift (new Icons versus old).  It was artistic in its conception and was much appreciated by the roomful of aspiring Master Sommeliers.