2021 La Proportion Dorée

I tasted a wide range of wines with Luc Morlet this year. The 2021 Pinots, all from vineyards in the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA, are fine examples of this superb vintage. As always, the Pinots are done with fully destemmed fruit and see about 14 months in barrel. I was even more impressed with the 2020 Napa Valley wines, all of which are superb within the context of the year. Naturally, the 2021s are on another level. These days, Luc and Jodie Morlet’s wines offer plenty of the textural richness that has become such a signature, but with a little more verve in the past. The wines can be deceptive. They are quite appealing on release, but from what I have seen so far, that does not come at the expense of the wines’ ability to age.