Winery - Mer Soleil
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Another interesting Chard from this Santa Lucia Highlands estate; why the Wagners don’t put that appellation on the label is a mystery. The wine seems even higher in acidity than usual, with greater ageworthiness, and experience shows this is one for the cellar. The tropical fruit flavors are well oaked, and finish absolutely dry. Best after 2008.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This plush Chardonnay’s bouquet shows an ultraripe botrytis note in its vanilla, peach, clove and caramel aromas. Dried fruits, caramel and honey flavors massage the palate: the mouthfeel is full and viscous—even voluptuous. A must for lovers of larger-than-life Chards.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Hard to figure why the Wagners of Caymus don’t put the fine Santa Lucia Highlands AVA on the front label, but there’s no questioning the quality of this wine. It’s brilliant in tropical fruit and pear flavors, with a lavish overlay of smoky oak and a very long, sweet finish. Has those citrusy, minerally Monterey acids that perk up the flavors, making them even richer.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Classic Mer Soleil, which is to say it’s a small nuclear explosion in the mouth. Don’t drink it too cold, or you’ll minimize the rich tropical fruit and vanilla cream flavors. This big Chard should be enjoyed with food that’s buttery and slightly sweet, like broiled lobster.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Mer Soleil Chards seem to get bigger, riper and oakier every year. Of course, this is the winery’s style, and when it works, the results can be fabulously rich, but this caramelized wine seems a little top-heavy.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Lush and ripe, with a heady collection of tropical fruit flavors that ranges from mango, coconut and pineapple to lemon, melon and orange. Hints of spice and vanilla add interest, while a subtle earthy quality contributes complexity. Dense and long at the end.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This shows the ripe tropical fruit of a fine vintage, yet maintains the keen citrusy acidity that makes this vineyard’s Chards so balanced and ageworthy. Beneath the pineapple marmalade, apricot and caramelly oak flavors is a rich, flinty minerality that cries out for lobster.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Fabulously rich and complex, this wine stuns the palate with its ever-shifting flavors, which range from citrus through apples, peaches and tropical fruits. Spicy and cinnamony, with an elaborate oak overlay that is perfectly suited for fruit this big. Lush and opulent, right through the long finish. —S.H.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Year in and year out, Mer Soleil’s Chardonnay is one of the biggest, most distinctive ones in California. The ’06 is almost like a late-harvest dessert wine, rich in apricot jam, pineapple custard and new oak butterscotch flavors, but for all the opulence, it’s entirely dry, and has zesty Monterey acidity. Almost a food group in itself, it will challenge chefs to rise to the occasion.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
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