Winemaker Notes
The alluring color of honeysuckle, this wine features scents of creamy citrus, calling to mind the meringue on top of lemon squares. The freshness of the nose evokes a walk through the vineyard or the minerality of wet granite encountered on a hike. Entry on the palate is round and soft, infused with flavors of apricot, Meyer lemon, and the crispness of the first peaches of the season. Initial broadness on the palate tapers into bright acidity on the finish, a lingering invitation to take another sip.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Mer Soleil Silver Unoaked Monterey County Chardonnay takes excellent advantage of this cool growing region to produce an attractive, stainless steel wine. TASTING NOTES: This wine exhibits pleasing aromas and flavors of ripe fruit, earth, and minerality. Enjoy it with smoked oysters and a citrus-dressed, green salad. (Tasted: January 29, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
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.
A geographic and climatic paradise for grape vines, Monterey is a part of the greater Central Coast AVA and contains within it five smaller sub-appellations, including Arroyo Seco, San Lucas, San Bernabe, Hames Valley and the famous Santa Lucia Highlands. The climate is relatively warm but tempered by cool, coastal winds, allowing the regions in Monterey County an exceptionally long growing season. Bud break often happens two weeks sooner and harvest tends to be two weeks later compared to other surrounding regions.
Monterey’s coastal side, where the cooling ocean fog allows grapes to develop a perfect sugar-acid balance, excels in the production of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Warmer, inland subzones are home to fleshy, concentrated and full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel.
Chardonnay, covering about 40% of vineyard acreage, is the most widely planted grape in all of Monterey County.