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Great Review of Recent Morgan Winemaker Dinner
Morgan Winemaker Dinner
A few years ago, the San Francisco Chronicle named Dan Morgan Lee Winemaker of the Year. The Morgan and Lee families have a winery in the Santa Lucia Highlands, a subgroup of Monterey County wines. They produce world class Pinots, Chardonnays, and Sirahs—all of which we have tasted and agree with their reputation. There is something about the climate of those highlands that help produce really lovely wines.
In February, Corral de Tierra Country Club hosted a Morgan Winemaker Dinner. It is one thing to just taste wines, but another to have them deliberately matched with foods in a way that enhances both. The menu selected by the chef and winemaker were illustrative of how well this can work. The menu:
- Japanese Hamachi Crudo (a sort of sashimi that included little cubes of jellied soy. Morgan’s 2008 Metallico, unoaked Chardonnay was served with this.
- Sauteed Quail Breast with a chanterelle mushroom pudding, butternut squash, and foie gras (rich and delicious dish) was served with 2007 Highland Chardonnay. This is a buttery Chardonnay.
- Domestic Lamb Shank Crepinette, braised in Pinot Noir and with the most delicious organic local carrots, served with two very different Pinot Noirs for comparison: 2007 Twelve Clones and 2007 Double L Vineyard.
- Mangalitsa Pork (a Spanish animal raised by only one or two local farmers), barbecued in Syrah with cider braised bacon, chestnut honey, mustard greens, and turnip puree, served with a 2006 Syrah. This was an amazing dish.
- Dessert was a “Sticky Date Cocoa Cake served with a brown butter toffee ice cream (an amazing dish) and 2006 dessert wine, 2006 GPX.
This was an extraordinary opportunity to taste great food with perfect wine partnering. Not something you would do often, but memorable.
By: Laina Farhat-Holzman
Morgan SLH Pinot Noirs Score Big Again
Allen Meadow's Reviews of Morgan's 2007 Santa Lucia Highland Pinot Noirs
Meadow's Burghound.com newsletter Issue 36 features our line-up of Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir.
Twelve Clones Pinot Noir - 90 Points
"A ripe and relatively deeply pitched nose of black cherry, raspberry and a hint of cassis."
Double L Pinot Noir - 89 Points
"Ripe black and blue pinot fruit aromas."
Garys' Pinot Noir - 92 Points
"A wonderfully seductive and precise mouth feel, wrapped in an utterly delicious and gorgeously deep finish."
Rosella's Vineyard Pinot Noir - 91 Points
"A pretty, ripe and complex nose blends together ripe notes of plum, blueberry and cherry."
Tondre Pinot Noir - 89 Points
"A fresh and quite ripe nose of just crushed red berries."
Santa Lucia Highlands' Gala Nearly Sold-Out
Join the vintners of the Santa Lucia Highlands for this fourth annual, exclusive tasting. Sample limited release gems and hard-to-get vintages, offered by the winemakers themselves and paired to elegant hors d'oeuvres from master chefs. Incredible Pinots. Luscious Chardonnays. It's a winemakers' celebration and you're invited!
Tickets to the Highlands' Fling
Spring in the Double L Vineyard
Although this spring has been unseasonably cool and wet, the vines in our Double L Vineyard have pushed out and small grape clusters are starting to form.
At this time it is critical to manage the shoot growth of the vines. We prune the vine to have two buds for each spur resulting in two shoots per spur. Some buds will push two shoots, called “doubles.”
One of our first steps to insure quality with each new growing season is to go through the vineyard and thin the doubles. This opens up the canopy and is the first step in reducing crop size, both of which allow for more even ripening and better concentration of flavors and color in our berries.
For more news and pictures visit the Double L Vineyard page.
Great Reviews from PinotReport
The most recently published PinotReport includes great reviews of the Morgan's SLH Pinot Noirs.
From PinotReport Issue No. 64.
Morgan Sauvignon Blanc is Top Wine-by-the-Glass
MORGAN MAKES “TOP 25 BY-THE-GLASS” LIST
Morgan’s Sauvignon Blanc is One of the Country’s 25 Most Demanded Wines-by-the-Glass in Wine & Spirits Magazine’s 21st Annual Restaurant Poll
Monterey County, CA - Morgan Winery is one of the most requested brands by America’s diners. The results from the Wine & Spirits Magazine “21st Annual Restaurant Poll” show that Morgan’s Sauvignon Blanc is one of the top 25 most demanded wines-by-the-glass in the country’s restaurants.
A well known name for world-class Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah from one of America’s most lauded growing regions – the Santa Lucia Highlands – Morgan Winery has also earned a reputation for producing wines of terrific value from other Monterey County districts. Morgan’s Monterey Sauvignon Blanc, Cotes du Crow’s and Metallico Chardonnay retail for $20 or less and considered by many in the industry to deliver the highest quality vs. price ratio in that category.
On-premise sales have always been Morgan Winery’s target market. The recent poll results indicate the success of the Morgan sales team in getting the word out, in partnership with top distributors and brokers across the country. “We are very pleased to be one of the top wines by- the- glass,” says proprietor and winegrower Dan Morgan Lee; “we appreciate the loyal, on-going support that we have received from the nation’s top restaurants.”
Founded in 1982, Morgan Winery is a family owned and operated business. Winegrower Dan Lee and winemaker Gianni Abate collaborate to craft wines which elegantly express the terroir from Morgan’s organically grown Double L Vineyard and select vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands and northern Monterey appellations.
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Contact: Davin Norene, 831.751.7777 x 17, davin@morganwinery.com
Laura Ness on Morgan Syrah
Laura Ness, aka Her Viness, wrote a great article about Morgan and Monterey Syrah. See the link below:
Morgan produces three Syrahs as well as a Syrah / Grenache blend which goes by the name Cotes du Crow's. Our Monterey Syrah and Cotes du Crow's represent "no-brainer bargains" to quote Her Viness. Cotes du Crow's retails around $16 and the Monterey Syrah around $20.
Our Double L and Tierra Mar Syrah are very limited production wines that are hard to find outside of our tasting room. When you do find these wines, they are phenomenal! And at $40 they actually provide amazing bang for the buck. Cheers!
Cotes du Crow's - Wine of the Week
2008 Cotes du Crow's is Fredric Koeppel's Wine of the Week.
The newly released wine is available at our Carmel tasting room, Taste Morgan.
Read the review here.
