The exotic 2013 Chardonnay Jackson Estate Arroyo Seco sees 100% French oak, of which 50% is new, and comes from Clone 809. One could swear there was some Viognier cofermented with this Chardonnay. While tasting this wine, we were joking that it is a pornographic style of Chardonnay, because of its exotic, ostentatious aromatics of honeysuckle, spring flowers, pineapple, orange marmalade and lychee. It’s rich, ripe, medium to full-bodied and probably a love-it or leave-it style. But I love it. Drink it over the next 1-2 years.

Butterscotch and baked bread on the nose of this inviting, robust Californian Chardonnay. The palate of this rich white wine opens up with green apple and melon. Full-bodied, generous and delicious! Pair this with roast chicken.

From a cooler climate and gravelly soils, the 2012 Chardonnay Jackson Estate Camelot Highlands comes from 40-year-old, ungrafted vines, is 100% barrel-fermented and aged eight months in 52% new French oak. Abundant aromas of tropical fruits, an opulent, exotic personality, huge richness, a medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, good acidity and surprising length suggest a Chardonnay that could easily sell at twice the price. There are just over 4,300 cases of this wine. It should drink well for 4-5 years.

A very rich Chardonnay that's creamy and smooth in the mouth. A touch of oak and lees gives weight and density to the lime and peach fruit, while brisk acidity contributes to brightness. A great price for wine of this distinction.

Butterscotch and baked bread on the nose of this inviting, robust white. The palate opens up with green apple and melon. Full-bodied, generous and delicious!

Very fine Chardonnay, marked by brisk, racy acidity and a steely tang to the lemon, lime, white peach and honeysuckle flavors. Very complex and lively, an alluring wine that will take a few years in the bottle.

A stunning effort is the more limited production 2009 Chardonnay Jackson Hills from Santa Barbara. From hillside Chardonnay vineyards, this beauty offers plenty of tropical fruit, honeysuckle, peach and pineapple notes along with a medium to full-bodied, elegant yet authoritative personality. Kendall-Jackson enjoys a well-deserved reputation for over-delivering quality vis à vis price for its wines.

A beautiful, racy Chardonnay, with a streamlined structure that could almost be a fine, barrel-aged Sauvignon Blanc. It's marked by mouthwatering acidity, with savory lemongrass, hay, vanilla and white pepper flavors. First class and elegant as a cocktail sipper.

Combines rich, vibrant acidity with fruity intensity in a very clean, opulent wine. Offers waves of tropical fruits, honeysuckle, buttered toast and minerals, with a long, spicy finish. The extensive new oak is perfectly in keeping with the size of this crowd-pleaser.

In total contrast, minerality, lemon zest,crushed rock, white currants, and stone fruits dominate the crisp 2008 Highland Estates Chardonnay Seco Highlands. This is a far more mineral-dominated wine,but it's not lacking fruit, given the strong white peach notes that come through in this wine's aromatic profile. Drink between now and 2012.

You'll find lovely floral notes to this wine that make it almost Alsatian. But it's Chardonnay all the way, with rich, complex flavors of peaches and tropical fruits and rich creamy texture. New oak adds lush notes of buttered toast and spices.

The 2006 Chardonnay Camelot Highlands Estates from the Santa Maria Valley is a stunning Chardonnay with light gold color and a gorgeous nose of honeyed tropical fruits intermixed with hints of hazelnut and subtle oak. The wine is fleshy, rich, pure, and a total delight to drink. It should be consumed over the next 2-3 years.

What a great Chard. Just delicious in palate-filling tropical fruit, buttercream, pineapple jam, honeysuckle, vanilla custard and spice flavors that are so rich and refined. For all the opulence, the wine is dry, with the firm acidity the Arroyo Seco is known for.

The single vineyard Chardonnays include the 2005 Highland Estates Chardonnay Camelot Vineyard, which comes from the Santa Maria Valley. Its complex aromatic profile includes scents of tropical fruits (pineapple), spice, and brioche. This well-made, medium to full-bodied effort reminds me of a classic premier cru Meursault in its smoky, earthy, ripe fruit notes. Drink this beauty over the next 2-3 years.

A little softer than Kendall-Jackson's Camelot Highlands, but no less delicious, with similar lemon drop and custard flavors and a tinge of sweet, ripe pear. The mouthfeel is round, creamy and full-bodied, with a complex veneer of toasty oak.

Here's an intense, nervy wine, brilliantly acidic, layered and rich. It has enormous lemondrop, mango and pineapple flavors and lots of smoky, vanilla-accented new oaky notes, and is creamy in the mouth. The finish is long, lush and spicy. This is a real palate flatterer.

Boasts lovely notes of tropical fruits and orange marmalade offered in a medium to full-bodied, lush, exotic style. It is an impressive, crowd-pleasing Chardonnay to enjoy over the next 1-2 years.

A rich, unctuous, almost syrupy style, deeply concentrated and packed with exotic fruit and fancy oak barrel flavors. Lots of tropical fruit, pineapple, pear and honeysuckle flavors have a wonderful perfumed character, finishing with a gush of juicy flavors. Drink now through 2007.

Biggest Australian Wine Tasting Ever: 2,700+ Ratings Bold, powerful raspberries and a fleshy and punchy feel to the palate with a overlying sheen of sweet spices. The texture is smooth, fleshy and mouth-filling with plenty of tannin. Structured and long. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

Biggest Australian Wine Tasting Ever: 2,700+ Ratings A bold, plum and spice style with cedary oak and an unmistakably Australian edge. The palate has impressive depth and fresh red-plum flesh with firmish tannins, cradling ripe and zesty red plums. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

Why Australian Wine is Some of the Most Exciting in the World This is a ripe and assertive merlot with plenty of cedary oak in the mix, as well as plums and spiced plum pudding. The fleshy palate is underpinned by grainy tannins, making this a bold, assertive red.

Merlot and More from an Exciting McLaren Vale Estate Of the four 2015 Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard wines, “The Revivalist” Merlot intrigued me the most. It is the lightest of the four, the most approachable now, and the most nuanced, at least now. Its aroma suggests dark plum, tea, cedar and accents of dried herbs, with a tobacco note developing over time -- classic Merlot. Its flavors include red plum along with the tea and herbs evident on the nose. The wine is dry and nearly full-bodied, with a moderate amount of ripe tannin as well as high acidity that enlivens the wine and brings a juicy note to the fruit. It is a soft wine, but thanks to its acidity this wine is lively within its softness.

Light purple color. Nose shows tart but deep fruit (blueberry, dark plum, roasted fig) along with waves of eucalyptus, mint and earthy-tobacco notes. Full and structured with a chewy feel but underlying acidity keeps it fresh. Blackberry, tart blueberry, gushing fruit but so pure and vibrant. Notes of dusty earth, minerals, violets, eucalyptus and mint, with vanilla and coffee woven in well, and some sweet pipe tobacco on the finish. I’d love to bury a bottle of this for 6-10 years, the quality is that high, but it’s also delicious young. All Merlot.

Hickinbotham's renowned vineyards once supplied fruit to high-end Aussie wines like Penfolds Grange. Now flexing muscles under its own label, this vintage was made by Charlie Seppelt and Napa Valley winemaker Chris Carpenter. The Napa influence is evident via opulent chocolaty, vanilla and milky coffee notes, alongside ripe cassis, plums and earthy, woody spice. The palate is more structured than the nose suggests, the silky fruit supported by muscular, tight-grained savory tannins, suggesting this wine will cellar nicely until 2029 and likely well beyond.