Mer Soleil house spotlight
Charlie Wagner, owner and winemaker of Mer Soleil, presents Reserve Chardonnay and the Santa Lucia Highlands climate on the official Wagner Family of Wine channel.
The market on this bottle
Wine-Searcher tracks this 2024 Reserve across the open market. Their published U.S. average is $17.61. Our slash is $18 against a $23 typical retail.
2024 Mer Soleil Reserve Chardonnay Monterey, USA
Charlie Wagner's Monterey Reserve, fog then sun, custard and lemon-lime at eighteen dollars.
The 2024 Mer Soleil Reserve turns Monterey's long, cool season into Chardonnay with ripe citrus, toasted almond, and a broad creamy feel, now $18.
A coastal Chardonnay built for richness without losing lift
Morning fog slows the day. Sun and wind finish the work. Charlie Wagner uses that Monterey rhythm for Reserve Chardonnay that feels generous and still closes clean. This is the proof that a dramatic California white does not need a speech.
The house
Charlie Wagner grew up inside the family's Monterey Chardonnay experiment and still makes the Reserve. Sea and sun are the name, and the method.
The wine
Custard, toasted almond, ripe lemon and lime. A creamy middle, a clean citrus close. 14.5% ABV.
The vintage
2024 in Monterey County: a more normal season after a late 2023 harvest, with cool stretches that favor freshness in Chardonnay.
The drinker
Serve cool, around 50 to 55 F. Butter-poached lobster or lemon-herb roast chicken. No long decant.
Creamy first, citrus clean at the finish
The profile is broad and polished, with savory-toast detail around a bright citrus core.
Regional 2024 reports describe a more normal growing season after the late 2023 harvest, with cool stretches and harvest timing between the early 2022 and late 2023 vintages.
Ripe lemon and lime lead, followed by custard, toasted almond, and a gentle floral note.
Full and creamy, with enough citrus acidity to keep the texture composed rather than heavy.
Clean and lingering. Serve cool, around 50 to 55 F, and let the first glass warm slightly.
A reserve style shaped by restraint inside richness
Mer Soleil builds generous Chardonnay around Monterey's cool marine rhythm, then keeps citrus and acidity visible through the texture. Charlie Wagner is in the cellar. The coast is in the glass.
Mer Soleil began in the Santa Lucia Highlands and now draws Chardonnay from a broader reach of Monterey County, following the cool air, bright light, and long season that first attracted the Wagner family.
Prior Reserve vintages used malolactic fermentation on only a portion of the wine to hold firm acidity inside a creamy style. That is house method, not a vintage-specific 2024 claim. The 2024 still drinks as custard and almond with a lemon-lime close.
Where sea, sun, and a family Chardonnay idea meet
Mer Soleil's story starts with Monterey's coastal weather and a move south from Napa in search of a different kind of Chardonnay.
The Wagner family planted its first Chardonnay vineyards near the Monterey coast in 1988. Morning fog, bright sunshine, and powerful afternoon wind created the long growing season they had been seeking beyond Napa.
Charlie Wagner started making Chardonnay in high school. Mer Soleil began in the Santa Lucia Highlands, then expanded across Monterey County while keeping the same coastal idea at the center.
The name joins sea and sun, the cooling and ripening forces that shape the region. In the glass that contrast appears as creamy breadth checked by lemon-lime clarity.
Two rich plates, each brightened by citrus
Pair creamy texture with sweet shellfish or crisp roast chicken, then use lemon and herbs to echo the wine's fresher side.
Two plates. One butter-poached lobster. One lemon-herb roast chicken.
Serve cool, not icy, around 50 to 55 F. No decant. Ten minutes in the glass lets texture and citrus settle.
Butter-Poached Lobster Tails
Clarified butter, garlic, dry white wine, lemon, and fresh herbs keep the lobster luxurious but focused.
Why it works: Sweet lobster and beurre monte meet the creamy body, while lemon and herbs pick up citrus lift.
View Recipe for Butter-Poached Lobster Tails (opens in a new tab)
Lemon and Herb Roasted Chicken
A whole chicken roasted with butter, rosemary, and lemon brings crisp skin, tender meat, and a savory center.
Why it works: Roasted skin and butter mirror the toasted, creamy notes. Rosemary and lemon keep the pairing lively.
View Recipe for Lemon and Herb Roasted Chicken (opens in a new tab)Open Wagner's Monterey Reserve tonight
Fog, sun, and Charlie Wagner's Reserve style. Custard, almond, lemon-lime. Eighteen dollars.
Put it in the cart. This is the generous Monterey Chardonnay you can pour now.
