The 2011 Chardonnay Upper Barn comes across deep, rich and implosive. A wine of considerable energy and sheer power, the 2011 boasts serious extract. The Upper Barn is the biggest and broadest of the Stonestreet Chardonnays. It will appeal most to readers who like powerful Chardonnays. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2018.

The 2010 Chardonnay Broken Road is a textured wine graced with notable depth and richness. This is a slightly fatter style than the Upper Barn, but there is no shortage of minerality or vibrancy here. The Broken Road comes across as quite round and totally complete. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2018.

Bright green-tinged yellow. Aromas of pineapple and minerals. At once steely and seamless in the mouth, with the rich pineapple fruit intensified by strong citrus grip. Boasts excellent underlying sweetness and creaminess of fruit but finishes a bit youthfully tight and in need of a year or so of patience.

The 2010 Chardonnay Upper Barn is a gorgeous wine. Apricots, peaches, flowers and subtle French oak are all woven together in this elegant, refined white. This is a super-finessed style that is immensely appealing. Persistent citrus and saline notes frame the bright finish. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2018.

Pale yellow. Cool, discreet aromas of lemon, lime and metallic minerality, with tropical fruit hints emerging as the wine opens in the glass...finishes with lovely subtle sweetness and sneaky length.

...From an 1,800 foot elevation, it reveals lots of honeyed pear, tropical fruit, brioche, nectarine and marmalade notes along with terrific acidity as well as richness. Moreover, little oak can be detected despite the fact that it (as well as its siblings) sees 50% new oak.

Abundant gravelly/mineral-like notes intermixed with tropical fruit, oranges, and other stone fruits as well as quince and mango emerge from this elegant, crisp offering. It may be slightly less full-bodied than the Red Point, but that's splitting hairs at this level of quality. These are far and away the most impressive group of Stonestreet Alexander Mountain estate wines I have ever tasted.

Bright yellow-straw color. Pure but reticent aromas of apricot, peach and sexy brown spices. Dense, fat and ripe, with a very suave texture and subtle, dry stone fruit flavors reminiscent of Puligny-Montrachet. Really dusts the palate on the back end, finishing with an intriguing minty aftertaste.

Pale, bright yellow. Soft citrus fruits, clove, minerals and charred oak on the nose; the oakiest of this terrific set of chardonnays. Sweet, creamy and approachable; full, lush and large-scaled. Offers excellent breadth to its stone fruit flavors. The highest in alcohol of these chardonnays at 15.5% and probably best for drinking over the next couple of years.

Powerful and compelling, this is the sort of wine designed for contemplation rather than being tossed back mindlessly the way we all often do. It delivers layer upon layer of expressive ripe fruit, of minerality, and of fresh, citrusy acidity. It's as creamy and voluptuous as a white satin bridal gown, and it exudes a mesmerizing perfume. It costs a pretty penny, no doubt about it, but that's all the more reason to be grateful for the immense pleasure it can convey to the mindful drinker.

Complex and concentrated, with intense flavors of tropical fruits, white peach, vanilla hazelnut fudge, buttered toast and smoke. An extraordinarily rich Chardonnay that could benefit from 4-6 years in the cellar.

The 2007 Chardonnay Broken Road and 2007 Chardonnay Red Point, both lighter versions of the Upper Barn. Stonestreet is becoming an excellent source for small lots of Chardonnay, although the basic Alexander Valley cuvee is very plentiful (6,500 cases). The single vineyard offerings (between 120 and 350 cases produced of each) are impressive efforts that are more similar than dissimilar since they all come from single vineyard lots, are aged in 50% new French oak (except for the Gravel Bench), and spend 11 months on their lees before bottling.

An enigma of a Chardonnay. The wine is young but its deep color, the integrated and subdued nature of its flavors and the rich honey and smoky notes on the nose and palate all suggest development. The Alexander Valley appellation would suggest a ripe, warm-climate style and the wine is in fact full-bodied and rich, with 14.5 percent alcohol. But the wine comes from grapes grown at 1500 feet altitude, and its acidity is fresh and enlivening. It’s a California Chardonnay, but it has the understatement of the Old World. Soft, rich, long, caressing -- a wonderful Chardonnay.

The liquid minerality of the 2007 Chardonnay Gravel Bench brings to mind a grand cru Chablis. Abundant wet stone characteristics along with a liqueur of rocks are accompanied by lemon blossom, nectarine, and quince notes. It should drink well for 5-6 years.

The 2006 Chardonnay Alexander Valley is a beautiful wine that exhibits notes of honeysuckle, poached pear, and tropical fruit in a medium to full-bodied style, with crisp acidity and a long, very subtle, smoky oakiness. Drink it over the next 3-4 years.

2005 CHARDONNAY UPPER BARN ALEXANDER VALLEY A vineyard make famous by Helen Turley in the 1990s, exhibits more brioche, white peach, apricot, and poached pear characteristics along with good underlying acidity (typical of the Chardonnay vintage). Drink it over the next 4-5 years.

2005 CHARDONNAY RED POINT ALEXANDER VALLEY reveals plenty of honeyed melons, crushed rocks, white currants, and white peaches. This fresh, lively Chardonnay is more similar to a Chablis than most California Chardonnays. It should drink well for 3-4 years.

An intriguing honeysuckle, orange rind, nectarine, and lemon butter-scented and flavored effort. The fleshy, full-bodied, rich, well-textured Chardonnay to drink over the next 2-3 years.

USA, California: Sonoma 2017 Vintage The 2017 Pinot Noir Edmeades Vineyard has a pale to medium ruby-purple color and lovely scents of spiced cranberry sauce, warm blueberries, raspberry and strawberry preserves with black fruit, tangerine peel and warm spice hints. Light to medium-bodied, it has good concentration of spiced fruits in the mouth, with very soft, silky tannins and juicy acidity, finishing long.

The 2017s From Sonoma A slightly bigger wine than the Sonoma Coast, the 2017 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley offers tons of rich black fruits, cola, and smoked earth characteristics in its medium to full-bodied, rounded, textured profile. Coming from a mix of sites, mostly destemmed (there are 15% whole clusters), and brought up in 17% new French oak, it’s a rocking little wine that delivers loads of pleasure.

Deep black-plum sauce, cocoa powder, black pepper, dark loam and vanilla show on the nose of this bottling from an unfamiliar vineyard by Adam Lee. The flavors are deep and dark but full of energy, with white pepper and plum jelly riding a relatively lighter frame.

The 2017s From Sonoma From a slightly higher elevation vineyard in the Russian River Valley (which is surrounded by old vine Zinfandel), the 2017 Pinot Noir Parsons' Vineyard offers plenty of classic Russian River character in its red and black fruits, cola, bay leaf, and spice-driven aromas and flavors. Nicely textured, ripe, and sexy, drink it over the coming 4-6 years.

Quite subtle at first on the nose, this bottling offers baked red-cherry aromas and a dusting of soil with some swirling. The palate blends dark red cherry with touches of sagebrush and wild thyme, lifted by a hint of white pepper.

Spirited and well-structured, with cherry and tart blueberry flavors accented by stony mineral and clove notes, finishing with refined tannins.

Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2016 Pinot Noir Zena Crown Vineyard has deep scents of blackcurrants and black cherries with layers of nutmeg, turned soil and tree bark. The palate is medium-bodied with black cherry, forest floor and mushroom with firm, structuring tannins, finishing fresh and lifted with the black fruit coming through.