The 2014 Chardonnay Gravel Bench is laced with the essence of graphite, pencil shavings, chamomile, savory herbs and dried orchard fruit. Here the impression is of vertical power and intensity. Flamboyant, textured and oily on the palate, the Gravel Bench possesses magnificent richness and overall balance. The 100% new oak is totally integrated. The bold, phenolic style may not appeal to all readers, but in my view, the Gravel Bench is one of California's most distinctive Chardonnays.

Another stunner is the 2013 Chardonnay Broken Road, which exhibits peach, honeysuckle and orange marmalade notes and is made from mostly Dijon clones of Chardonnay.

A full-on, voluptuous Chardonnay, the 2013 Bear Point impresses for its depth and exceptional overall balance. Tropical fruit, honey, chamomile, wild flowers, smoke and peach are some of the many nuances that open up in the glass. The waxy, oily finish is a thing of beauty. The Bear Point is one of the more opulent wines in this lineup. Today, it is striking.

Bright lemon, citrus peel and white floral notes emerge from Stonestreet's 2013 Chardonnay Cougar Ridge. This is another tense, brilliant Chardonnay built on pure energy and cut. The wine's super-intense yet mid-weight personality suggests there will be considerable upside from giving bottles a year or two to fully come together.

The 2013 Chardonnay Red Point, 100% Clone 4 Chardonnay, brings together many of the best elements of the estate; namely a rich, textured expression of fruit allied to bright, salivating acidity. There is plenty of depth through the mid-palate, while the flavors gain brightness and drive on the finish.

Butter, pastry, tropical fruit, spices and honey open up in the glass as the 2012 Chardonnay Broken Road shows off its voluptuous, textured personality. The Broken Road is one of the more forward, overt Chardonnays in the range, but all the elements are very much in balance. There is more than enough underlying minerality to support the fruit.

The 2012 Chardonnay Cougar Ridge exhibits mineral-laced wet stones, tropical fruit such as pineapple and mango, and hints of white peaches and white currants. It should drink well for 5-6 years.

Very pale, bright yellow with a faint green tinge. Knockout, soil-inflected nose combines lime leaf, fresh peach, quinine, menthol and stone lifted by a hint of orange zest. Highly concentrated and tactile, with a touch of sweetness but outstanding buoyancy to its savory peach and crushed stone flavors. Wonderfully dense wine with a slowly mounting, very long finish. This might be a bit sweet as a ringer in a white Burgundy tasting--or it might simply be the runaway favorite.

Old World elegance and classicism with New World power in this classic Californian Chardonnay. Wow.

The best of Stonestreet’s quartet of 2011 Chardonnays. It’s notable for the creamy, honeyed mouthfeel that’s so opulent. Also very complex in flavors, offering waves of tropical fruits, baked apples and peach jam. Yet it’s all brightened by zesty acidity. Delicious now, but don’t drink it too cold. Or cellar it for 6–8 years as it develops dried fruit and nut notes.

The 2011 Chardonnay Gravel Bench is the brightest and most vibrant of these 2011 Chardonnays. It is also the only wine fermented and aged in 100% new oak, although there is virtually no trace of oak at all because the wine is so impeccably balanced. Bright, focused hints of lemon, crushed rocks and white flowers all jump from the glass in a Chardonnay that captures the pure crystalline purity of the vintage. Clean, saline notes appear to support the finish. This is yet another fabulous selection within the Stonestreet portfolio. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2026.

The 2010 Chardonnay Gravel Bench is the only Chardonnay aged in 100% new French oak barrels, but there is more than enough depth in the fruit to provide balance. Tangerine, mint, apricots and honeysuckle meld together beautifully in this seamless, opulent wine. Despite its richness, there is plenty of minerality to support the fruit. This is another fabulous effort from Stonestreet. In an interesting twist of fate, the Gravel Bench is made from the Peter Michael clone, a Chardonnay clone that was developed at Peter Michael from cuttings originally obtained from Stonestreet. The Gravel Bench is the most opulent of the Stonestreet Chardonnays and stands miles apart from most wines made in this style. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2020.

(from vines at an elevation of 1,500 feet): Bright yellow. Complex, vibrant aromas of musky lemon-lime, minerals, iodine, hazelnut oil and oak char lifted by a note of lavender; I would have picked this blind as Burgundy. Suave on entry, then juicy, peachy and uncompromisingly dry without being austere. This broad, airy wine finishes very suave and light on its feet, with a lovely touch of sweetness and a whiplash of brisk pineapple. Like something from the Puligny/Meursault border.

The most convincing of an exceptional trio of Chardonnays from Stonestreet, the Broken Road bottling at once tightly constructed and minerally in character on the one hand and keenly focused on sweet apple fruit with wisps of nectarine for come-hither appeal and citrus for balance. Long, but still unfolding on the palate and bound to grow into better with a minimum of one to three years of bottle age, this exceptionally well-crafted effort sports bags of potential for increasing brilliance.

Ultra rich, an oily, unctuous wine offering tiers of pineapples, pears, limes and mangoes, enriched with sweet, smoky oak. Made in the super ripe California style, yet always retains a crisp, dry elegance.

Pale, bright straw-yellow. Expressive aromas of nectarine, brown spices and crushed rock. Dense, thick and sweet, with seriously chewy, complex flavors of lemon zest, orange, minerals and spices. Finishes very broad and very long, with an echoing stony character. Despite its sweet fruit, this mineral-driven wine strikes me as less exotic in character than the outstanding vintages made by Marcassin in the '90s.

Pale yellow-straw. Highly complex, Burgundian aromas of apple, peach, flowers, minerals and musky spices. Tightly wound, dry and vibrant, with mineral and crushed stone flavors dominating the palate. Wonderfully delicate and delineated wine with a very long, adamantly dry finish throwing off notes of mint, spearmint oil and resins. I'd love to throw this into a tasting of top white Burgundies.

The star is the 2007 Chardonnay Upper Barn, which was made famous when Helen Turley used to make this wine for her Marcassin label. From this great grand cru site, this powerful Chardonnay reveals notes of popcorn, citrus, nectarine, and lemon blossom. Made from the old Heritage Wente clone (as are many of California’s top Chardonnays), it possesses plenty of minerality, a big, full-bodied mouthfeel, good acidity, and a long finish. Drink this profound Chardonnay over the next 5-6 years.

This is a big, powerful Chardonnay that impresses for sheer volume. Crisp acidity provides a keen balance to the ripe pineapple, white peach custard, sweet green apple purée, buttered toast and vanilla flavors that finish with a smoky swirl of dusty spices.

The 2006 Chardonnay Upper Barn (a 1,700- to 1,850-foot elevation vineyard) has a beautiful integration of wood and is the biggest, richest, and longest of all these Chardonnays. It seems to have a more noble pedigree, with additional complexity, depth, and intensity. This is a superb Chardonnay that is so full, rich, and well-endowed, it could have been made by the master wine goddess herself, Helen Turley. Drink it over the next 7-8 years.

Showing a flavor concentration unusual in California Chardonnay, this mountain wine is massive in baked tropical mango, guava and peach flavors, even a decadent taste of ripe bananas sautéed in butter and spiced with cinnamon, cloves and ginersnap cookie. Its' also rich in smoky, caramelized oak, yet there's a firm backbone of minerals that, together with crisp acids, gives the wine structure.

Strong aromas of black cherry paste and clove are made more elegant with smashed wet slate minerality on the nose of this wine. The palate is complex, with big and bright red fruits, white pepper and tarragon playing off of the earthy structure.

The 2017s From Sonoma One of the standouts in the lineup is the 2017 Pinot Noir Van der Kamp Vineyard, which comes from a site in the Sonoma Mountain AVA and was completely destemmed and brought up in 45% new French oak. Candied violets, cherries, mulberries, leather, and flowery incense notes all emerge from this medium to full-bodied, textured, sexy Pinot Noir that’s already hard to resist. It should evolve nicely for 7-8 years.

The 2017s From Sonoma The 2017 Pinot Noir Lingenfelder Vineyard is also brilliant. Coming from a cooler site in the Russian River and fermented with one-third whole clusters, it has lots of spice and cola notes as well as hints of violets and sassafras. Complex, medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, and just with tons of character, it’s a gem of a Pinot Noir to drink over the coming 7-8 years.

Oregon: An Embarrassment of Riches and Richness Brilliant ruby-red. Smoke-accented blackberry, cherry and candied violet scents are complicated by hints of star anise and vanilla. Supple, sweet and expansive on the palate, offering juicy red and dark berry, cola and spice cake flavors that pick up a hint of cocoa powder on the back half. Rounded, even tannins add shape to a smooth, wonderfully persistent finish that leaves behind sappy dark berry liqueur and mocha notes.