Community Tasting Notes 6

• forceberry wrote: 94 points

  September 27, 2022 - 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). 14% alcohol.
  
  Deep and quite intense neon yellow-green color. Evolved, rather toasty and still quite harmonious nose with rich and beautifully developed aromas of grilled pineapple, some vanilla custard, a little bit of apple jam, light salty liquorice powder tones, a hint of honeycomb and a touch of marzipan. The wine feels broad, rather oily and quite toasty on the palate with a full body and bold flavors of creamy oak and apple jam, some vanilla custard tones, a little bit of toasty wood, light sweet notes of overripe apricots and grilled pineapple and a robust hint of exotic spices. There was also a touch of something metallic with the first few sips, but it disappeared quite quickly, so it might've been just something I had eaten before or something in the glass. The acidity feels quite high - not high enough to offset that rich, viscous texture, but high enough to lend the wine sense of balance and structure. The finish is rich, juicy and slightly sweet-toned with complex flavors of apricots, some sweet oak spice, a little bit of tertiary nuttiness, light vanilla tones, a hint of apple jam and a touch of honeydew melon.
  
  Normally I'm not the biggest fan of the big, fat Californian Chardonnays. However, here things seemed to work together remarkably well, even if the wine was quite typical of the Californian style - rich, full-bodied, even somewhat viscous and with obvious new oak influence. This is because the wine had enough acidity to keep the things in balance, alcohol didn't push through at any point and age had blurred the lines between the developed, rich fruit, evolved nutty flavors and toasty oak tones enough so that the wine didn't seem overdone, but instead wonderfully complex and thoroughly enjoyable. It's hard to see the wine evolving much from here, but most likely it will stay here, at its plateau of maturity, for a good handful of years more. Drink or keep - but preferably drink sooner rather than later. Good value at 39€.

  Comment

• EyeDoc wrote: 92 points

  November 7, 2009 - Beautiful yellow - a bit herbaceous on the nose. Some mint and graphite - minerals - finish lingers.

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• Ben Christiansen wrote:

  December 24, 2008 - Fairly reserved on the palate but a really nice textural mid palate. Really great finish too. Just opened.

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• dfitzg2 wrote: 93 points

  July 2, 2007 - I liked the balance. Nice clarity with a deep, yellow hue. Light on the nose, but lots of mineral and fruit. A classic Chardonnay without heavy oak.

  Comment

• drcbarroso wrote:

  December 27, 2006 - CB: Nice balanced wine. Not much oak and little malo fermentation thought still detectable which is not my style of Chardonnay. Nice wine, but at this prince I'd rather drink something else.

  Comment

Pro Reviews 1

Wine Definition

• Vintage 2004
• Type White
• Producer Morgan
• Varietal Chardonnay
• Designation n/a
• Vineyard Double L Vineyard
• Country USA
• Region California
• SubRegion Central Coast
• Appellation Santa Lucia Highlands

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 0 (0%)
• In Cellars 7 (26%)
• Consumed 20 (74%)

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