MEET MORGAN MAURÈZE

EIGHT GENERATIONS DEEP

In Morgan Maurèze’s childhood home, wine was the first language.

Five generations of winemakers on his father’s side. Three on his mother’s. His father came from Saint-Émilion in Bordeaux, his mother from the southern Loire Valley. The family moved to Napa Valley when Morgan was five. By 12, he could name a grape variety by scent alone. By 16, he was working European trade fairs at his father’s side. The path was never in question.

BORDEAUX PRECISION, BURGUNDY PATIENCE

After earning his degree in viticulture and enology at UC Davis, Morgan went back to France to intern at Château Pétrus in Pomerol. The precision there stood in sharp contrast to everything he had seen in California. He followed that contrast to a master’s degree at the University of Bordeaux, one of the top winemaking programs in the world, and sharpened the science behind the craft.

Then he left Bordeaux’s structure behind for Burgundy and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, widely regarded as the best classroom in the world for terroir. Neighboring rows of the same vineyard produced entirely different wines. That is where the conviction formed. Let the land speak, and intervene only when necessary.

FIFTEEN YEARS AT NAPA’S BEST ADDRESSES

Back in Napa Valley, Morgan connected with renowned winemaker Andy Erickson. He interned at Ovid, then spent fifteen years as Erickson’s right-hand man. The client roster was boutique and ultra-premium: Arietta, Dancing Hares, Dalla Valle, Marciano Estate, Screaming Eagle. Those fifteen years confirmed what France had taught him. Focus on quality and terroir, and let the vineyard do the talking.

He then led winemaking at Marciano Estate for six years, running a cellar of his own, before joining Seven Apart.

WINEMAKING PHILOSOPHY

Balance, not extremes. Morgan wants fruit that is ripe and never overripe, and oak that adds complexity without covering what the land already gives. As he puts it, if you are working with exceptional fruit, “why over oak it?”

That instinct governs both of the vineyards he oversees at Seven Apart, Stags Ridge and Base Camp. Manage closely. Never force the wine to be something it is not.