# Black Label Chardonnay (2023)

- **Producer:** Morgen Long
- **Colour:** white
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Chardonnay
- **Region:** Oregon, United States
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 12.8%
- **Average price:** €40
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 10–12 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** apple, lemon, lime, peach, white pepper, smoke

## About this wine

Morgen Long, founded by Seth Morgen Long, is the first and only winery in Oregon singularly dedicated to producing Chardonnay. Operating out of the Willamette Valley, Seth employs Burgundian-inspired techniques, focusing on site-specific terroir and reductive vinification to build structural tension and focus. The 2023 Black Label Chardonnay is sourced from six vineyards spanning the Eola-Amity Hills, Dundee Hills, and Yamhill-Carlton AVAs, bringing together volcanic and marine sedimentary soils in a harmonious regional blend.

## Interesting facts

- Morgen Long is the first winery in Oregon exclusively dedicated to Chardonnay production.
- The 2023 Black Label uses zero new oak, relying entirely on neutral puncheons and stainless steel.
- Only 300 cases of the 2023 Black Label Chardonnay were produced.

## Food pairing

This bone-dry, high-acidity white wine slices through fat and rich textures while its saline minerality complements seafood, poultry, and herbaceous sauces.

## Wine making process

Hand-harvested in September 2023, the grapes were pressed and the must browned in steel prior to sulfur addition. Fermentation occurred via ambient yeast in neutral French oak puncheons (75%) and stainless steel drums (25%) on full solids. The wine matured for 17 months in neutral oak and stainless steel, followed by an additional 6 months in stainless steel on full lees before clean racking. It was bottled without fining.