92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 1% Merlot, 1% Malbec, 1% Petit Verdot

Food pairings: Ribeye steak with blue cheese, Cabernet-braised short ribs with roasted potatoes and rosemary carrots, A5 Wagyu beef, and rich mushroom dishes.

Winemaking: Handcrafted with classical techniques, the grapes are picked by hand at night in small lugs and carried in a refrigerated truck, then sorted cluster by cluster and berry by berry. Fermentation runs on native yeasts with punch-downs in stainless steel tanks and French oak puncheons, and the wine is raised for 16 months in French oak barrels from selected artisan coopers.

Vineyards and terroir: The wine comes entirely from the Morlet Family's own 'Mon Chevalier' estate vineyard in the foothills of Knights Valley in Sonoma County, at 500 to 600 feet of elevation. Its rocky, loamy Red Hills soils of rhyolite and volcanic ash and the warm, windy climate near Mount St. Helena suit the long ripening of the red Bordeaux varieties planted there. The vineyard is farmed organically and sustainably by the full-time Morlet farming team.

Family and history: Mon Chevalier was the first vineyard Luc and Jodie Morlet bought, and they planted it to Bordeaux varieties in 2008. The wine is dedicated to their son, Paul Morlet: 'Mon Chevalier' means 'My Knight'. Luc Morlet makes the wines, and Jodie Morlet leads the family winery in St. Helena as proprietor.

In the pictures: The Morlet Family 'Mon Chevalier' estate vineyard in Knights Valley, in summer and in autumn (courtesy of Morlet Family Vineyards); and Jodie and Luc Morlet (courtesy of Morlet Family Vineyards).