Tasting - Mer soleil Silver Chardonnay

Name: Mer soleil Silver Chardonnay

Variety: 100% Chardonnay 

Region: Monterey California

Country: USA

Vintage Year: 2020

Price: $14.99

Buy Wines Online Review: Never seeing the inside of an oak barrel, Mer Soleil SILVER is a pure expression of Chardonnay. It is fermented and aged in a combination of stainless steel and small concrete tanks imported from Burgundy, France. Fresh from start to finish, this wine features aromas of flower blossoms and crisp pears. It is round and layered on the palate, with vibrant acidity and depth.

The 2020 vintage opens with clean, fresh scents of kiwi, citrus zest, and nectarine. A mineral character calls to mind the rock formations found inside caves. Crisp entry leads into a striking softness and creamy texture. The flavor of lemon squares offers a perfect balance, neither too tart nor too sweet. A faint smokiness is characteristic of wines made from grapes grown in windier stretches of Monterey County. The finish features traces of lemon and lime, filling the mouth with bright notes and lingering freshness.

Wine Folly Notes:

Chardonnay: pg. 96 - On the nose I can easily find the apple, pineapple, starfruit, and vanilla, but on the palate they are lost to the buttery aspects of the wine. Of those flavors, only the apple sticks around, but only slightly. The acidity seems higher than the book describes, but it is still a manageable wine. 

Central Coast California Chardonnay: pg. 294 - The lemon curd mentioned by the book is present here in some bright citrus notes. In terms of the creme brulee mentioned, I can smell a distinct vanilla note, but it seems to lack the toast I associate with creme brulee. The other notes mentioned are either too hard to detect or not present to me. 

My Review: On the nose, I get an abundance of very vibrant and ripe strawberries along with some vanilla cream notes. There are slight hints of apple on the nose and I can find a slightly buttery character, but it is very well hidden behind the strawberry cream notes. Also present on the nose is a light citrus note that brightens up the wine. On the palate, I don't get nearly as much complexity as I was expecting based on the nose. There are still apple notes present, but the strawberry and vanilla notes are nowhere to be seen. Instead, the palate is taken up by a bright acidity closely followed by a savory, buttery finish. When sampled with a dill havarti, the savory aspects of this wine are amplified and the acidity seems to take a step down. The story is very similar when paired with goat cheese, but the acidity becomes nonexistent while the wine's savory qualities are further amplified.