Morgen Long Sandi Willamette Valley Chardonnay 2017 (750ML)

94 Points, Josh Raynolds, Vinous: "Translucent yellow. Highly perfumed citrus and orchard fruit aromas show excellent clarity and take on tarragon, honey and vanilla nuances with air. Concentrated yet lithe on the palate, offering intense, finely detailed pear, Meyer lemon and honeysuckle flavors underscored by a smoky mineral nuance. Finishes very long and silky, with building spiciness and resonating pear and floral notes."

93+ Points, John Gilman, View from the Cellar: "The Morgen Long "Sandi" bottling of chardonnay is named after Seth's mother, who passed away in 2016. It is a blend of sixty percent Loubejac fruit, thirty percent Yamhill and ten percent Eyrie, and this is Seth's only 2017 chardonnay bottling that saw more than a dollop of new oak, as this was raised in forty-five percent new casks. The wine comes in at an even thirteen percent octane and was bottled unfined and unfiltered. It delivers marvelous aromatic sophistication in its blend of pear, white peach, almond, salty soil tones, dried flowers and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full and very elegant in profile, with a superb core of fruit, lovely soil signature, bright acids and a long, complex and gently new oaky finish. This is really a delicious bottle of chardonnay that will age long and gracefully, but is a tad less tightlyknit out of the blocks than the 2016 version was in its youth and it is going to make it that much harder to keep one's hands off of the 2017 Sandi and let it blossom with extended cellaring! 2019-2045." 8/19