Luc Morlet
Biographical Notes
Wine has always been a way of life for Luc, who grew up working on his family’s Pinot
Noir and Chardonnay domaine, Pierre Morlet & Fils, in Avenay-Val-d’Or, Champagne. Born
in Epernay, France to a fifth-generation winegrower family, Luc, as a child, enjoyed learning
about all of the practical and technical aspects of vineyard farming and winemaking.
Luc Morlet is a Masters graduate of Enology from Rheims University, France and holds
both a Viticulture degree from Ecole Viticole de Champagne and a MBA in Wine Business
from Dijon Business School, Burgundy.
Luc’s professional viticultural and winemaking experience outside the family context
began in 1988 during graduate school with a variety of internships in Burgundy, Bordeaux,
Champagne and the Southwest of France. These included the Maison Chanson Père & Fils in
Beaune and the Agricultural Research Institute (INRA) of Bordeaux. Luc’s viticulture thesis
was based on Botrytis, Eutypa, Esca, Oak Root Fungus and Organic farming. During his stint at
Champagne Duval-Leroy near Epernay, Luc completed his Enology degree and thesis, which
focused on high quality pressing and cryoselection techniques. Luc Morlet’s viticultural and
winemaking knowledge was furthered by technical tours of the European wine regions of Italy,
Spain, Germany and the French areas of Alsace, Cognac, Rhône and Loire Valley.
Upon completion of graduate school, Luc’s first full-time position was as the AssistantWinemaker for the Val d’Or Champagne Cellars. In 1993, he replaced the Winemaker at a
French subsidiary in St Helena, which allowed him to discover Napa Valley and Sonoma
County’s unique viticultural conditions. In 1994, Luc became the ‘Régisseur’ at Château
Dauzac, a classified Margaux growth, and perfected his skills making Bordeaux style wines,
under the guidance of consultant Jacques Boissenot.
1996 brought Luc back to California for his California sweetheart, Jodie, whom he later
married. In the spring of the same year, Newton Vineyard of Napa Valley hired Luc Morlet as
Director of Viticulture and Enology in replacement of John Kongsgaard with whom Luc had
the opportunity to work through the first vintage. While there he crafted the highly rated and
famous “Chardonnay Unfiltered” (1996 through 2000). Also teaming up with renowned
Bordeaux consultant Michel Rolland, Luc enhanced the four Bordeaux varietal estate on Spring
Mountain and created the first Bordeaux blend ever at Newton Vineyard (Le Grand Vin, 1999).
In spring 2001, Luc joined the Peter Michael Winery of Knights Valley as Winemaker.
Luc’s expertise in Bordeaux and Burgundy style viticulture and winemaking lent itself well to
the Peter Michael mission of handcrafting classical wines from mountain vineyards, in limited
quantity. Continuing Helen Turley and Mark Aubert’s legacy, Luc’s technical leadership
helped the Peter Michael Winery to improve upon its already acclaimed wines (2001 through
2005): La Carrière, Belle-Côte, Ma Belle-Fille, Mon Plaisir, Cuvée Indigène and Point Rouge
Chardonnays, Le Moulin Rouge Pinot Noir, L’Après-Midi Sauvignon Blanc and Les Pavots
Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Blend.
As part of his continuous effort to achieve the highest quality of wines, Luc designed
and developed, in the summer of 2003 and in collaboration with manufacturing company P&L
Specialties, a unique premium-sorting device (named “LE TRIEUR TM”), currently under US
Patent protection.
In order to ensure the continuity of style, Luc still remains involved with Peter Michael
Winery as Consulting Winemaker, advising his brother Nicolas Morlet who succeeded him as
Winemaker in January of 2006.
In winter 2005, Luc joined the Staglin family as their winemaker. Their vineyard estate
lies on the famous Rutherford Bench at the heart of the Napa Valley. Working year round with
renowned vineyard manager David Abreu, Luc’s mission at Staglin family was to keep striving
for the best expression possible of the uniqueness of the vineyard estate.
Passionate for both the expression of the “terroirs” as well as for the continuous pursuit
of the ultimate quality, Luc calls his winemaking philosophy “neo-classic laissez-faire without
compromise.” In other words, Luc describes it as a non-interventionist winemaking style driven
by an ongoing search for quality improvement. With almost 30 vintages under his belt (19 in
California and 9 in France), and with his own zest for innovation, Luc uses century old
principles and classic Burgundy and Bordeaux methods, while adapting to California’s natural
conditions.
In 2006, Luc began crafting wines, in limited quantities, from unique vineyards of Napa
Valley and Sonoma County under the “Morlet Family Vineyards” label. The Morlet Family has
three Chardonnay and three Pinot Noir wines from the Sonoma Coast, one Syrah wine from
Bennett Valley and a “Pessac-Leognan new world” Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc-Muscadelle
blend wine from Sonoma County. The Morlet Family’s Late Harvest wine comes from
Alexander Valley. Since the 2007 vintage, Luc has been handcrafting two Cabernet Sauvignon
wines from the Oakville bench in Napa Valley, and one Cabernet Sauvignon wine from the
Morlet Family’s vineyard located on the bench in Knights Valley. The 2010 vintage marked
the beginning of a Cabernet Sauvignon from Luc and Jodie’s new estate, located in the St.
Helena Appellation, just north of the town.
Since 2007, Luc has been in charge of the winemaking of several estates and projects in
the Napa Valley including Bure Family Wines and Cabaud Wines.
Living in St. Helena with his wife, Jodie and their two children, Luc enjoys French
literature, gardening and cooking. The family also participates in a number of community
organizations in the Napa Valley.
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