2006 Morgan Chardonnay Hat Trick Double L Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (2) Avg Score: 92.7 points

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  9/27/2022 - forceberry wrote: 93 Points

  This wine is a selection of best barrels of Double L Chardonnay, which is 100% organically farmed Chardonnay from the Double L Vineyard planted in 1997. Fermented and aged for 9-12 months in French oak barrels (typically approx. 1/3 new, the remainder once or twice used). I have no idea what is the percentage of new oak in Hat Trick, because the annual production is only 40-50 cases, which translates to about two barrels. 14,5% alcohol.
  
  Quite deep and somewhat evolved golden yellow color with subtly neon-green highlights. The nose feels toasty, evolved and moderately tertiary with aromas of ripe red apples, some oxidative nutty tones, a little bit of juicy nectarine, light woody notes of toasty oak spice, a hint of overripe pineapple and a developed touch of earthy spice. The wine feels more concentrated, more evolved and slightly lighter on the palate than the regular 2006 Double L Chardonnay that was tasted alongside, with a moderately full body and complex flavors of ripe pineapple, some overripe apricot, a little bit of creamy oak, light buttery notes, a hint of stony minerality and a touch of vanilla. The mouthfeel is round and slightly viscous, yet the rather high acidity keeps the wine balanced and quite structured. The finish is long and complex with evolved, slightly sweet-toned flavors of pineapple and apple jam, some creamy oak notes, a little bit of overripe apricot, light vanilla tones and a hint of stony minerality.
  
  Seeing how this is more or less the same wine than the regular 2006 Double L Chardonnay, tasting them side-by-side revealed how markedly different wines they were. This Hat Trick seemed not much yet still perceptibly more evolved with less vibrant fruit flavors and more emphasis on tertiary and oxidative notes of nuttiness and earth. Body-wise the Hat Trick seemed slightly lighter, leaner and more focused as opposed to the regular bottling, which seemed slightly bigger but also somewhat softer and fatter. However, ultimately it was very hard to say which I preferred more - I certainly liked the lighter and slightly more firm overall character of Hat Trick, but even if I love tertiary complexity, I think I favored the regular bottling more, since it showed a great amount of developed qualities yet also quite a bit of vibrant fruit, whereas this Hat Trick was getting very tertiary and thus starting to lack a bit on the fruit and freshness department. I'd say both the wines were more or less equally great, but in the end I preferred the slightly fresher style of the regular bottling, which made me think that it might still have a bit of mileage in the tank, while this 2006 is on its last drops - it won't take much before this wine starts to go downhill. Perhaps a bit pricey for the quality at 59€.

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  11/2/2009 - MKGDolphin27 wrote: 95 Points

  Nose: walnuts, butterscotch, dried bananas, fig, pear, orange blossoms, vanilla, minerals, smoky oak, mango, violets, green apple; Palate: crisp, lemon-zest, vanilla, nutty, toasty oak, grapefruit, honeydew melon, apricot, flinty, creaminess.

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