2011 Morlet Family Billet Doux Late Harvest Sémillon

The 2011 Billet Doux, Morlet's Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc sweet wine from a site in Alexander Valley, is terrific. Then again, the cool, rainy vintage provided optimal conditions for achieving rot in the vineyard, which gave growers fits with the reds, but was a positive here. Orange peel, burnt sugar, apricot jam, coconut and tropical frits honey and wild flowers are all beautifully delineated in the glass. Ample, rich and super-expressive, the Billet Doux is superb today. The 2011 has 95 grams of residual sugar, but tastes and feels quite a bit richer than that.