2015 Morgan Chardonnay Highland Santa Lucia Highlands

Community Tasting Notes (11) Avg Score: 90.7 points

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  9/27/2022 - forceberry wrote: 92 Points

  100% Chardonnay from Santa Lucia Highlands - about 2/3 of the fruit came from organically farmed estate vineyards, 1/3 was purchased fruit from other farmers in SLH. Fermented and aged for 8 months in oak barrels (32% new, 68% once and twice used barrels + some older casks). 90% of the barrels underwent MLF. 14,2% alcohol, 6,6 g/l acidity and pH 3,24.
  
  Medium-deep, youthful and somewhat concentrated yellow-green color. Quite youthful and moderately toasty nose with rich and quite complex aromas of ripe golden apples and zesty citrus fruits, some creamy oak tones, a little bit of toasty nuttiness, light nuances of honeydew melon, a hint of sweet vanilla-driven oak spice and a touch of salty liquorice powder. The wine is broad, ripe and somewhat sweet-toned on the palate with a full body and intense flavors of peach and apple jam, some vanilla custard, a little bit of grilled pineapple, light toasty notes of sweet oak spice, a hint of salty liquorice and a touch of butter. The wine shows some sense of weight, but the rather high acidity keeps the wine in balance with some nice sense of structure. The finish is broad, rich and complex with bold, lengthy flavors of apple jam, some creamy oak tones, a little bit of sweet oak spice, light saline mineral nuances, a hint of buttery character and a touch of ripe pineapple.
  
  A rich, balanced and complex Cali Chardonnay. This bottle was very similar to the one I tasted earlier this spring, but perhaps this time around slightly fatter and weightier, although not lacking one bit in the depth of flavor or complexity. I'd say I favored the wine I tasted earlier a bit more, when it seemed to have a bit more zip and freshness - although this wine never is a light, brisk and mineral white - but still this is a terrific effort that is drinking mighty well right now and will continue to improve for years more. In our tasting of six Morgan Chardonnays, I preferred the older vintages that showed more nuance and complexity, whereas this younger vintage emphasized more up-front ripe fruit, but many other attendees considered this wine as the best of the whites we had. I guess it just boils down to preference? Nevertheless, this is a great example of a complex and enjoyable new world Chardonnay; a great purchase at 26,90€.

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  4/16/2022 - forceberry wrote: 93 Points

  100% Chardonnay from Santa Lucia Highlands - about 2/3 of the fruit came from organically farmed estate vineyards, 1/3 was purchased fruit from other farmers in SLH. Fermented and aged for 8 months in oak barrels (32% new, 68% once and twice used barrels + some older casks). 90% of the barrels underwent MLF. 14,2% alcohol, 6,6 g/l acidity and pH 3,24. Tasted blind.
  
  Luminous, quite concentrated and moderately deep neon yellow-green color. Sweet, aromatic and quite complex nose with open aromas of grilled pineapple, some apple jam, light honeyed tones, a little bit of creamy oak, light exotic notes of cantaloupe and ripe nectarine, a hint of woody oak spice and a touch of powdered salty liquorice. The wine is juicy, rich and somewhat oily on the palate with a moderately full body and quite complex flavors of ripe golden apples and nectarine, some creamy oak tones, a little bit of salty liquorice, light woody notes of savory oak spice, a hint of grilled pineapple and a touch of lemony citrus fruit. The focused high acidity lends great sense of freshness and structure to the wine. The finish is juicy, slightly oily and subtly warm with complex flavors of pineapple, some woody oak notes, a little bit of apple jam, light creamy tones, a hint of salty liquorice powder and a touch of fresh nectarine.
  
  Right from the first sniff I thought "new world Chardonnay", but I expected the wine to be softer, creamier and weightier on the palate than it turned out to be - instead of being a big, soft and buttery Chardonnay, this turned out to be a surprisingly fresh, precise and intense effort with great sense of complexity and depth of flavor. I first guessed this was Western Australia, then I went to South Africa, but at this point somebody else suggested California - which was a bullseye. The wine is starting to show a little bit of age, but the overall feel is still very youthful and will most likely continue to improve for years more. Although this wine shows a bit more weight and ripeness than your typical white Burgundy, I'd still describe this wine stylistically quite "Burgundian", especially for a California Chardonnay. Great stuff, highly recommended. Great value at 25,90€.

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  4/3/2022 - PMJak11 Likes this wine: 95 Points

  Same as previous notes. One of the most underrated Cali Chards out there!! Insane QPR. Drinking perfectly now. Make sure to age these.

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  10/17/2021 - PMJak11 Likes this wine: 95 Points

  Quite lovely! White Burgundian in style. Medium gold color. Meyer lemons on the nose. Buttery and thick on the palate. Oak is well integrated. Not sure why I stopped buying this. I definitely need to age my Chards more like I did with this bottle.

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  4/18/2021 - PMJak11 Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Great, I think. Some tastes were like a high end white burgundy, and others were a unique Napa Chard. Medium gold color. Caramel and butter, with plenty of sweetness at times. Thick with a medium plus finish. Rounding up from 93.5 based on past nice bottles.

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