Mer Soleil Santa Barbara Reserve Chardonnay 2012
-
Wilfred
Wong -
Wine
Spectator
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
An excellent Chardonnay for one of America's top wine families, The Wagners are as good as it gets when it comes to understanding the marketplace. The nifty 2012 Mer Soleil Santa Barbara Reserve delivers excellent citrus aromas and flavors, fine palate richness and a refreshing and bountiful finish. Winemaker and proprietor Charlie Wagner has done a masterful job here. (Tasted: April 15, 2015, San Francisco, CA)
-
Wine Spectator
Offers a generous mix of tropical fruit, with guava, pineapple and mango flavors accented by melon, spice and floral notes. Well- focused and shaded by light toasty oak, this gains depth and nuance on the creamy finish.
Other Vintages
2015-
Wine
Spectator -
Wilfred
Wong
-
Wilfred
Wong
-
Wine
Spectator
Mer Soleil began in the late 1980s, with a journey to the central coast of California in search of ideal conditions to plant Chardonnay. Our first vineyards were in the Santa Lucia Highlands, a small but exceptional appellation about a 30-minute drive from Monterey. With morning fog, bright sunshine and howling gusts of afternoon wind, the region’s dramatic weather leads to an extended growing season, enabling us to make wines with distinctive aromas and flavors.
In addition to our Reserve Chardonnay from the Santa Lucia Highlands, we recently introduced a Reserve Pinot Noir, also from the Santa Lucia Highlands. Our SILVER unoaked Chardonnay comes from Monterey County – it is fermented and aged in a combination of stainless steel and concrete tanks. Mer Soleil is led by Owner and Winemaker Charlie Wagner, who is passionate about how these wines celebrate the remarkable landscape and character of the Santa Lucia Highlands and Monterey coast.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
With a dry and mild climate cooled significantly by moist ocean fog and breezes, Santa Barbara County is a grape-grower’s dream. Part of the larger Central Coast appellation, Santa Barbara is home to Santa Maria Valley and Santa Ynez Valley. The conditions here provide an opportunity for nearly effortless production of high-quality cool-climate Central Coast wines. This is also the site of the 2004 film Sideways, which caused Pinot Noir’s popularity to skyrocket and brought new acclaim to the region.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the stars of Santa Barbara, producing wines marked by racy acidity. Crisp Sauvignon Blanc and savory Syrah are also important. The region is home to many young and enthusiastic winemakers eager to experiment with less common varieties including Chenin Blanc, Grüner Veltliner, Trousseau Gris, Gamay and Cabernet Franc, making it an exciting area to watch.