Morlet Family Vineyards Mon Chevalier Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Mon Chevalier comes from the Knights Valley, just north of Napa Valley in the larger Sonoma County, and it always seems to me to have one foot in Napa and one foot in Sonoma. Boasting a similar ruby/purple color (as do all of the releases here), it's slightly more reserved and stately (knightly, if you will), with building aromas and flavors of blackcurrants, toasted bread, dried violets, baking spices, and loamy earth. These carry to a pure, full-bodied, multi-dimensional Cabernet that's flawlessly balanced, has ripe yet certainly present tannins, a notable sense of minerality, and a great, great finish. It's just another incredible wine from Luc Morlet that can be drunk today with ample pleasure or cellared for 20-30 years if, for some reason, you feel the need to delay gratification.

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Mon Chevalier is the finest vintage made yet, until the 2019 arrives in this vertical. I especially admire its energy and drive, signatures of this late-ripening, cool year. There's plenty of the volume readers have come to expect here, but also a great deal of nuance too. The 2018 is such a classy wine.