As we know, California’s most coveted Cabernet Sauvignon blockbusters have long been parceled out via mailing list, with perhaps a handful of bottles reserved for elite restaurant wine lists. So, when my old college buddy Armen called to tell me he had taken a position with one of the most exclusive wineries in Napa, I had to ask if we could get a small allocation for our SommSelect faithful. Undoubtedly, the 650 cases of this Cabernet blend has been sold out for some time, but the winery agreed to part with a tiny allocation of “Mon Chevalier” from their private library. 

Sourced entirely from Knights Valley, one of Sonoma County’s first AVAs, this is a Cabernet-driven wine of immense concentration and refinement. Better still, it’s got some bottle age, demonstrating beyond any doubt that Knights Valley, and Morlet, can do “cellar-worthy” just as well as Classified Growth Bordeaux. Given Luc Morlet’s extensive background in his native France, not to mention the hands-on experience he gained while working at Peter Michael Winery, this doesn’t surprise me one bit. And I’m not alone: As eminent critic Robert Parker once said about Mon Chevalier, “Peter Michael was the first to exploit just how superb Knights Valley Bordeaux varieties can be, but Morlet has certainly proven with this wine what is possible.” So, whether you are looking for a special wine to celebrate with or a collectible for your cellar, this is one of those offers that only comes around once in a blue moon.

Born into a fifth-generation grape-growing family in Champagne, wine has always been a way of life for Luc Morlet. Equipped with degrees in Enology, Viticulture, and Wine Business from some of the most prestigious wine schools in France, and having worked in Burgundy, Champagne, and Bordeaux, Luc set out to create his own legacy in the US. He returned to the Napa Valley in 1996 to marry his American sweetheart, Jodie Hauser. It was then that he worked with legendary consultant Michel Rolland and ultimately became the winemaker for Peter Michael Winery. In 2006, the Morlets began crafting wines, in limited quantities, from unique vineyards of Napa Valley and Sonoma County, under the Morlet Family Vineyards label. Luc uses centuries-old principles and classic Burgundy and Bordeaux methods adapted to California. He calls his winemaking philosophy “neo-classic laissez-faire without compromise.”

Located on a hillside in Sonoma’s Knights Valley AVA, near Calistoga, the “Mon Chevalier” vineyard benefits from its proximity to Mount St. Helena, whose warm and windy climate is ideal for the long ripening of the Bordeaux varieties grown there. The soils of Mon Chevalier combine gravelly loam with some volcanic material, typical of many “mountain” appellations, and Morlet’s work in the site qualifies as fanatical: The grapes are picked by hand and painstakingly sorted—initially cluster by cluster, then ultimately down to the berry—thanks to a specialized grape sorter that Luc designed and patented. Technically, the wine could be labeled as Cabernet Sauvignon (it represents 86% of the blend), but Morlet opts for the “château” model, bringing the art of blending to the forefront—8% Cabernet Franc, 3% Merlot, 2% Malbec, and 1% Petit Verdot complete the blend. The five grape varieties are fermented separately in tank and puncheon, using only native yeasts. The wine is then aged for 16 months in French oak from select artisan Coopers prior to bottling, which occurs unfined and unfiltered.

Napa wine observers characterize 2013 as one of the most age-worthy vintages in recent memory, the wines just beginning to showcase their vast aging potential. While Morlet’s Old World style shines through, so does the luxurious concentration California achieves so consistently: In the glass, we see a deep red-purple, almost perfectly consistent from core to rim.  Make no mistake, this a youthful wine with vibrant notes of black currant, blackberry, and chocolate up front with more subtle undertones of graphite, pencil shavings, cedar, and loamy soil. It is full-bodied with a firm yet well-integrated tannic structure, and more importantly, a hedonistic richness on the mid-palate that transitions seamlessly into a long, smooth finish. There is no rush to pull this out of the cellar, but if you do, decant for at least an hour and enjoy in Bordeaux stems with whatever hearty classic you most enjoy with a great bottle of California Cabernet: braised short ribs?  grilled NY strip steak?  standing rib roast?  Whatever you decide, go big on flavor and if it wasn’t already a special occasion, it will be.