By Caymus Vineyards
2013 Mer Soleil 'Silver' Unoaked Chardonnay Monterey Co.
We believe that Monterey County is one of the best appellations in the world for producing Chardonnay. This region benefits from cool morning fog and afternoon breezes that result in a long growing season, producing intense fruit flavors balanced with vibrant acidity. Mer Soleil Silver is a pure, clean expression of our estate-grown Monterey Co. Chardonnay. The grapes that go into this Chardonnay are of the highest quality for a number of reasons: the unique climate, our vineyard location on east-facing slopes, vine-to-vine uniformity, low-yields and grapes picked at peak ripeness. The wine is fermented and aged in a combination of stainless steel and small Nomblot concrete tanks that are imported from France and feature state-of-the-art technology. The unlimited tanks are made from natural limestone-based cement, so temperatures are kept stable while still allowing a small amount of oxygen contact to enhance the flavors development, similar to aging in an oak barrel. Our unique bottle continues to preserve the bright, fresh fruit characters.
Our Grapes
The story of a wine is the story of a place, and it’s hard to imagine a better place to make Chardonnay than Monterey County. As John Steinbeck wrote, “I’ve lived in good climate, and it bores the hell out of me. I like weather rather than climate.” There is no shortage of weather behind Mer Soleil. Tranquil early morning fog and sunny afternoons give way to wild wind, with gusts of up to 20 miles per hour. Out of that dramatic combination comes a slow ripening of grapes that allows us to produce intense fruit flavors balanced with vibrant acidity.
Our Style
Never seeing the inside of an oak barrel, our Mer Soleil Silver is a pure, clean expression of our estate-grown Chardonnay. The wine is fermented and aged in a combination of stainless steel and small concrete tanks that are imported from Burgundy, France. We keep fermentation temperatures stable while allowing a small amount of oxygen contact. The result: enhanced flavor development that is similar to aging in an oak barrel - but without the oak.
Our Break with Tradition
Mer Soleil Silver is not a typical Chardonnay, and its bottle is equally distinct. We’ve used ceramic instead of glass, inspired by the concrete fermenters that create this wine’s singular character. For us, that character stems from a true sense of place, grapes grown in ideal conditions and winemaking techniques that break from tradition to create something new.
Tasting Notes
Flaxen in color and fresh from start to finish, the 2013 vintage opens up with aromas of fruit blossoms and Meyer lemon. Bright citrus shines through on the palate, with a crisp acidity and depth that belies the wine’s unoaked character. On the finish: a lingering freshness that creates a perfect complement to salads, grilled seafood, tomato-based dishes and fresh oysters.
[Information provided by www.mersoleilvineyard.com]
By San Jose Mercury News
Wine and Concrete: Q & A with Mer Soleil's Charlie Wagner
Charlie Wagner's fate as a Monterey winemaker was sealed when he laid eyes for the first time on the Mer Soleil Vineyard. He was 8 years old. That might seem young, but as the eldest in the fifth generation of Napa Valley Wagners - they own Caymus Vineyards - it would only be a few years before Charlie was working on the bottling line (at 10) and in the cellar and vineyards (16). Soon after, he began an apprenticeship under Conundrum winemaker Jon Bolta. When he was 23, Wagner took over full production responsibilities for Mer Soleil. In 2005, he created Silver, a Chablis-style California Chardonnay made by fermenting and aging a portion of the chardonnay in cement tanks. Three years ago, Wagner released a new proprietary red wine blend, the off-dry Conundrum Red, based on memories of watching his grandfather and namesake, Charlie Wagner, the founder of Caymus, sitting at the family dining table in Rutherford blending wines by taste - not tradition. Today, at 33, Wagner is one of the most innovative young minds in Monterey County.
Q: You ditched high school several days a month to work at the family winery. How'd you swing that?
A: The school counselor at St. Helena High School knew where I was going to end up, working in the family business. It was looked at as a work-experience deal. So she let me take off a few Fridays every month to drive from Napa to Salinas to work at Mer Soleil.
Q: What's the most important thing Jon Bolta taught you?
A: To not be afraid to try new things. Just like me, Jon never had any former schooling when it came to winemaking or viticulture. You see a lot of over schooled winemakers, who are afraid to try things because they learned in school that it wouldn't work. The biggest thing that comes to mind is the Conundrum blend. In the traditional world, you'd never blend a Chardonnay with a Sauvignon Blanc and a Muscat. You'd be shot in France if you did that.
Q: How did the idea for Silver evolve?
A: In 2004, my buddy in Paso Robles had a concrete tank he was using to age his red wines for a few months. I joked with him that I'd take it off his hands the other nine or 10 months and use it to age some Chardonnay. Around the same time, there was a backlash against oaky California Chardonnays, so I wanted to make a Chardonnay that showcased the clean, crisp flavors of Monterey. Not long after, I ended up going to Beaune (France) to buy a tractor that they didn't sell in the United States, and the concrete tank factory was right there, so I bought three tanks. The wine started out as a blend of 70 percent concrete-fermented chardonnay and 30 percent stainless steel fermented. Now, it's roughly 50-50.
Q: What does concrete contribute to the wine? Was there a learning curve working with it.
A: It gives it a little honey character, almost truffled. There was definitely a learning curve. If you leave the wine in too long, it flattens the perception of acid, even though the numerical value of acid doesn't change. So we leave the wine in there five to six months, tops. Also, the tanks are not lined, so they are porous and breathe like a barrel.
Q: You're hush-hush on what goes into Conundrum Red. Can you give us a hint?
A: We'd wanted to do a sister wine to Conundrum White for 10 years. We tried blending Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Petit Sirah and Zinfandel. Some of those grapes are now in the blend. I can also tell you that one of the things that makes it special is that we put Muscat in it. My dad was hesitant about that, but I think it's kind of a fun addition.
Q: Your son, Mickey, is 5. Are you going to let him cut school to work?
A: I would not be opposed to that. He loves the vineyard and the winery, but since he's only 5, he's more interested in driving a tractor around with me.
- By Jessica Yadegaran
