2008 Morlet Family Cabernet Sauvignon Passionnement
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I was blown away by the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Passionnement, which is showing marginally better than the 2012, despite 2008 being a more difficult vintage. Black fruits, licorice, black olives, and meaty notes give way to a rich, powerful Cabernet Sauvignon that has a great mid-palate, full body, no hard edges, and remarkable purity of fruit. I loved these latest releases from Luc Morlet and family, and they show a sensational mix of classic, balanced, even old-school, characters mixed with killer California fruit. As a whole, the 2014s show more elegance and complexity, with the 2015s possessing more power and richness. These are rockstar wines.
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Punteggio medio
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Altre recensioni e punteggi
(15.2% alcohol): Bright, dark ruby. More lift and nuance to the aromas of dark berries, violet, truffle, dark chocolate and smoky herbs. Creamy-sweet, seamless and rich, but with more suavity and verve to the silky middle palate than the Coeur de Vallée. Boasts plenty of dark berry and chocolate power but there's more rocky mineral energy and less evolution here. And considerably longer on the finish, showing firm, dusty, broad tannins and lovely rising persistence. Perhaps not quite as broad and thick in the mouth as the Coeur de Vallée but shows more focus and sweetness of fruit and better integration of tannins. In fact, this is still quite young and could use more time to shed some of its baby fat. Both of these wines strike me as slightly high-toned in a positive way.
(100% cabernet sauvignon; a selection of the best barrels): Bright ruby. Aromas of blackberry, bitter cherry and crushed rock. Superconcentrated if a bit youthfully aggressive today, with lovely purity to its flavors of blackberry and graphite. At once sweet and penetrating, finishing with powerful tannins that will require patience. Much more to come here: I would not be surprised to see this merit an even higher score in six or seven years.
The exquisite 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Passionnement, my favorite of this trio, is a 250-case cuvee of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. It boasts an opaque purple color along with an extraordinary perfume of graphite, blueberries, blackberries, flowers and cassis intermixed with hints of white chocolate and toast. The wine possesses terrific concentration, full-bodied power and a stunning, multidimensional mouthfeel and finish. This exceptional wine should drink well for 30+ years. One of northern California’s most talented wine producers is Frenchman Luc Morlet, who is also a consultant at Peter Michael Winery where his brother is firmly in charge. All of his Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from the Sonoma Coast and Russian River as well as his Syrahs from Bennett Valley will be reviewed in the February, 2011 issue. His extraordinary Cabernet Sauvignon portfolio include two offerings from Oakville (which emerge from the Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vineyard) and one from Knight’s Valley. The stunning 2008s are as good if not better than the Morlet 2007s. The 2009s appear to be among the most promising wines of the vintage which will be much more irregular than the 2007s or even the 2008s in Napa. Tel. (707) 967-8690