Winemaking
“Few in Napa Valley are as driven, ambitious, and committed to winemaking as Luc Morlet.”
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW
Meticulously farmed vineyards, along with Luc’s unwavering commitment to quality, low-intervention winemaking techniques, and zest for innovation (designer of Le Trieur™ and the Gyrobox™), produce powerful, yet refined wines that display personality, seamless character, and graceful aging capability. Luc takes great care in his picking decisions each harvest to obtain fruit that will best express both terroir and vintage.
“By harmoniously blending farming, science and art, I aim to express both the terroir of each vineyard site as well as the unique characteristics of every vintage. My desire is always to craft multidimensional wines which exhibit a complex bouquet, display a seamless character, and that are filled with personality, concentration, richness, and finesse while culminating with a lingering finish. Already enjoyable upon release, the wines age beautifully for decades.”
Luc Morlet
Classic French Winemaking Techniques:
White Varietals
Sorted cluster-per-cluster, the white grapes are swiftly placed in the pneumatic press. Gently extracted over four hours, the white juice is then racked into small French oak barrels. Natural fermentation is achieved solely by native yeast and takes place at ambient cellar temperature. Élevage sur lies (aging on the lies) and bâtonnage (stirring) develop the mid-palate and the complexity of the future white wines.
Red Varietals
The red Burgundy, Rhône and Bordeaux varietals are sorted berry-per-berry by a conscientious ten-member team. One-third of the red grapes naturally ferment and macerate in 600-liter French oak puncheons and the remaining two-thirds of the red grapes naturally ferment and macerate in small capacity stainless steel tanks. Punchdowns bring aromatic complexity, aid in extraction and lead to rounder and softer tannins. The wines are aged exclusively in French oak barrels from selected artisan coopers, benefiting from optimal élevage. Each barrel is carefully racked prior to bottling.
Bottling
Sourced from the best forests in Portugal, our extra-long corks (54mm) undergo One by One™ testing to prevent cork spoilage, including TCA. The wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Balancing Classic Winemaking Techniques with Innovation
Luc developed the concept for «Le Trieur »™ in 2001. Similar to a sluice box on four springs, «Le Trieur »™ is operated by an off-centered cam. The innovation resides in the wedge-wire screen technology. Removing both extremes of the ripeness spectrum, this revolutionary device proved to be an effective solution to berry sorting.
- Removes nearly 100% of the shot berries
- Removes approximately 85% of the raisins
To this day, «Le Trieur »™ is used by Morlet Family Vineyards and other ultra-premium wineries who share the same passion and commitment to quality.
Luc designed the «Gyrobox »™ in 2009. The innovative device facilitates the draining and devatting of puncheons by gravity. Operated with a forklift, this gentle method preserves the wine’s aromatics. Further, when tilted in the opposite direction, the «Gyrobox »™ removes the pomace.
An Unwavering Commitment to Quality
An unwavering commitment to quality leads to small yields, attentive sorting, and the highest standard when blending. Thus, a very limited amount of each wine is ever produced.
Luc blind tastes each barrel, looking for the synergy among the barrels in order to best showcase both terroir and vintage. After eight months of blending sessions, Luc determines the final blend for each wine. His remarkable ability to express individual vineyard sites and vintages, as well as his talent for l’art d’assemblage, have led to our internationally acclaimed vins de terroir and cuvées.
