Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Chardonnay Ma Douce (which is named after winemaker Luc Morlet's wife) shows a more racy, focused style compared to the Coup de Coeur and has gorgeous notes of caramelized lemon, orange blossom, white flowers, spice, and toasted bread. Coming from the Fort Ross-Seaview region of the Sonoma Coast, it has a touch of marine-like salinity, full-bodied richness, flawless balance, and a monster of a finish. It's another riveting Chardonnay from Morlet that will evolve for 8-10+ years. This cuvée was aged 14 months in 25% to 33% new French oak.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Ma Douce comes from a vineyard in Fort Ross-Seaview—not far from Marcassin vineyard. It is planted mainly to Old Wente clone selection. The 2018 Chardonnay Ma Douce is beautifully scented of lime blossoms, grapefruit, lemon curd and sea spray with nuances of beeswax, baking bread, toasted almonds and yuzu zest. The medium to full-bodied palate bursts with intense citrus and mineral sparks, delivering fantastic tension and a satiny texture, finishing very long and invigorating.
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James Suckling
Straw color. Aromas of mango, dried pineapple, cooked lemon, quince and smoked almonds. Salted caramel, too. It’s full-bodied, layered and flavorful with tangy acidity and a long, vivid finish. Intense and beautiful.
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.
On the far western edge of the larger Sonoma Coast appellation, the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA hugs right up against the Pacific coast. Vineyards, planted at rugged elevations between 920 to 1,800 feet, occupy only two percent of the total land in the AVA. Fort Ross-Seaview growers believe that the region boasts an ideal mix of sunshine, cool air and beneficial stress for producing high quality Chardonnay and Pinot noir.