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Mer Soleil Santa Lucia Highlands Reserve Pinot Noir 2017 (750ml)
Price: $59.99
Sale Price: $39.99
entry is soft, with a round, complete quality. Flavors of cherry cobbler mingle with cola notes...
| Producer | Mer Soleil Santa Lucia Highlands Reserve Pinot Noir |
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| Country | United States |
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| Region | California |
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| Subregion | Santa Lucia Highlands |
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| Varietal | Pinot Noir |
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| Vintage | 2017 |
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| Sku | 25257 |
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| Size | 750ml |
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Our goal was to create a wine that tastes fresh and young. We push grapes to full ripeness, and barrel aging takes place for only nine months in mostly new French oak to create integrated toasty notes and a balanced oak character. Just like the dramatic growing conditions of the Santa Lucia Highlands, this wine has its own drama and complexity, revealing multiple dimensions with every sip.
Mer Soleil Santa Lucia Highlands
Reserve Pinot Noir 2017
Winemaker Notes
It was only natural that Mer Soleil would make a Pinot Noir in addition to their Chardonnay. The Santa Lucia Highlands is well-known as the perfect home for both these varietals. Grapes ripen slowly, enabling us to make wine of heightened complexity, with layers of aromas and flavors. Mer Soleil is named after the two forces of nature – the sea and sun – that shape this singular character, and they are every bit as powerful in creating their Pinot as their Chardonnay.
Charlie Wagner, Owner & Winemaker
Layered and round with soft tannins, natural acidity and an evocative earthy character.
Tasting Notes
With the alluring color of dark plums, this wine features scents of ripe cherries with cocoa, pomace, blueberry, toasted wood and a soft, powdery whiff of old-fashioned lipstick. The palate is all about texture – entry is soft, with a round, complete quality. Flavors of cherry cobbler mingle with cola notes and hints of anise. Tannins are structured yet extremely fine, providing a lush, lingering mouthfeel. On the finish, a wisp of acidity adds balance and freshness, a reminder of this wine’s origins in a cool, coastal region of California.
A growing region unlike any other in California.
We were first drawn to the Central Coast’s Santa Lucia Highlands 30 years ago, as we searched for the best conditions to make Chardonnay. The rugged beauty of the region is framed by its dramatic weather, with morning fog giving way to bright sun, cooling breezes and afternoon gusts of wind. Summer temparatures are cooler than in most other winegrowing regions in California, leading to an extended – and remarkably consistent – growing season. These conditions are perfectly suited not just to Chardonnay, but to Pinot Noir, an early ripening variety that thrives in a more moderate environment.
Slow ripening grapes create more intense, complex wine.
Grapes for this Pinot Noir come from vineyards in the southern and middle sections of the Santa Lucia highlands, whose diversity enables us to create a more layered wine. We use a vertical Trellis system, which allows us to achieve consistency by managing the canopy and fruit zones while permitting wind to circulate. Because grapes ripen slowly, we can make wine of heightened complexity. Mer Soleil is named after two forces of nature – the sea and the sun – that shape this singular character, and they are as powerful in creating our Pinot as our Chardonnay.
Mer Soleil Santa Lucia Highlands Reserve Pinot Noir Description
The Mer Soleil Vineyard
Mer Soleil, meaning “sea and sun” takes its name from our coastal setting, where sunny skies mix with gusting maritime winds. This wine is produced from the hillside vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands, whose dramatic weather provides ideal conditions for growing Pinot Noir
You can count on three things here: intense weather, neighbors who have your back, and amazing farmland.
The dramatic weather and unique character of the Santa Lucia Highlands create ideal conditions for both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. A combination of morning fog, bright sun and cooling breezes off of Monterey Bay leads to longer “hang time” for the grapes. Because they ripen more slowly, we can make wines of heightened complexity that perfectly express the Monterey coast — dramatic and layered, with intense aromas and flavors.
The wind is a key ingredient in our Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
One of America’s true farming communities.
“There is an amazing diversity of farming in the Santa Lucia Highlands and Salinas Valley, from row crops to world-class grapes. As someone who comes from a long line of farmers and winemakers in my family, I love spending time here and being surrounded by such a richness of farming. Of course, the people give the area its unique character. Getting to know them and work among them is one of the great privileges of my life in the wine business.”
Charlie Wagner, owner and winemaker for Mer Soleil Wines
The moodiness of the Monterey Coast is expressed in every bottle of Mer Soleil. There is arguably no better place to make Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Mer Soleil began thirty years ago with a drive from the Napa Valley down to the Santa Lucia Highlands in search of the best land to plant Chardonnay.
We put down roots in the region, drawn in by its down-to-earth vibe, rich farming history and weather that could not be more ideal for growing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Started by Chuck Wagner — known for founding Caymus Vineyards with his parents in 1972 — Mer Soleil is now led by Chuck’s son, winemaker Charlie Wagner. Inheriting his family’s love of farming and adventurous spirit, he first spent time at the Mer Soleil vineyard in middle school as “punishment” when he got in trouble for bringing firecrackers to school. Like other members of his family, Charlie feels most at home in the vineyard. He has led Mer Soleil’s evolution, creating both SILVER unoaked Chardonnay and a more recently released Pinot Noir. Charlie is always eager to escort people in his truck down the area’s rustic roads, so that they too can experience a place unlike any other.
Winemaker Charlie Wagner began his winemaking career at 16, when he was granted permission to spend some of his school days working in the family’s Mer Soleil vineyard. Today, he says that he has “the most blessed job in the world. We get to work with what Mother Nature gives us to create wines that people enjoy.”
It started as an experiment. Today, the scent of lemon blossoms can be picked up in our Chardonnay.
Inspired by the diversity of farming in the Salinas Valley, we embraced the chance to try our hand at growing another crop. The Lisbon and Meyer lemons we planted on our Mer Soleil property have thrived in the frost-free climate of the Santa Lucia Highlands. Over time, an unexpected benefit emerged — hints of delicate lemon blossoms began gracing our Chardonnay, their scent and flavor carrying over from the nearby orchard. As farmers, we love how our work in the vineyard constantly evolves, and we’re always looking for new ideas to try.
