A conserve of blueberry and orange zest, this wine is pure fruit up front, then a wallop of tannin in the end. Potent, wild syrah, you could tame that power and make use of the wine's acidity with marlin in a red wine sauce.

This attractive, keenly focused offering reminds me that Syrah need not always key on runaway ripeness and heavy-handed extracts to achieve richness, and its precise, carefully composed display of berries, violets, pepper cream and spice is both complex and deceptively potent without ever being overblown. Moderately full-bodied, nominally tannic and firmed by a streak of nicely fit acidity, it steers clear of any undue heat or finishing toughness and should reach its peak in four or five years.

As its name indicates,the 1999 Chardonnay Nine Barrels is a selection of the finest Chardonnay barrels. Its attractive bouquet of peaches, acacia flowers, and hazelnuts is followed by a medium to full-bodied wine with ripe, nicely layered flavors.

This appealing Chardonnay is the same wine that carried a reserve designation in prior vintages. It's lushly woven and has aromas and flavors of pear, pineapple and peach. The fruit is rich but not overly sweet, and sports accents of cinnamon and allspice. This balanced, medium-weight wine finishes long and easy with nice nuttiness.

Rich aromas of apple fruit with toasty vanillin oak and earthy notes. Fat and full on the palate, with creamy butterscotch flavors and smoky edges. Long, crème brulee finish.

A Meursault-like, medium-bodied wine, with green-apple, peach and pear aromas. Smoky and oaky, with rich, soft, spicy flavors. Flashy and opulent.

"Remarkable for its creamy peach and pear flavors, it picks up a nice smoke and toast nuance and then keeps the flavors lively through its long, complex finish." (Also appeared 6/15/97).

Buttery richness accents the apple pastry, ripe pear and dried mango flavors in this creamy style. The spicy finish offers savory notes.

Full and rich, this has a sizable concentration of guava, pineapple and lime, the latter offering a hint of underlying freshness. The finish is big, yet tangled in acidity.

Moderately light golden yellow color in the glass. Aromas of lemon zest, white peach warm brioche and toast lead off. A riper, luscious style featuring flavors of lemon, pineapple and honey. Slightly creamy in the mouth in a lower acid-driven style that seduces with richness and ripeness. Oak is involved but is not overbearing.

The 2016 Chardonnay has a more exotic as well as a deeper set of aromas and flavors. Orange blossom, buttered citrus, mango, and floral notes all emerge from this rich, nicely textured Chardonnay that’s ideal for drinking over the coming year or two.

8 California Chardonnays at 90+ Points Poached pear and apple tart flavors are rich and well-crafted in this creamy style. White chocolate hints show on the crisp finish.

Rich and spicy, with plush flavors of apple pastry, ripe pear and honeydew melon. The long finish offers tropical fruit and buttery accents.

Offers complex fruit from the get-go, with tangerine, nectarine and white peach notes at the core. Lively acidity keeps the flavors moving.

Balanced and fruity, with juicy apricot, pear and guava flavors.

Balanced and fruity, with juicy apricot, pear and guava flavors, accented by spice hints. Creamy notes linger on the pastry-filled finish.

Balanced and fruity, with juicy apricot, pear and guava flavors, accented by spice hints. Creamy notes linger on the pastry-filled finish.

La Crema's Kelli Ann Vineyard chard embraces the new style that seems to be catching on throughout California. The wine is rich and oily, but not heavy, retaining the balance that chardonnay aficionados increasingly demand. This wine shows notes of lemon creme and pear, with a solid dose of wood spice.

Oak figures in nicely, with a kiss of smoke and toast amid green apple, citrus, pear and honeydew notes, making for a complex and cleansing drink.

Opening with beautiful aromatics, this wine has a heady invitation of orange and apple blossom before revealing a sublime texture and rich oak. Pillowy on the palate, it offers Asian pear and apple flavors, with a slight confectionery quality of crème brûlée.

You may recall, in July we reviewed the 2014 edition of La Crema Sonoma Coast, and I rated it an 89. We now turn our attention to the 2015 vintage. It is light gold in colour. On the nose, loads of pineapple, mango, peach, and melon. You know it is oaked but, like the 2014, definitely not over oaked and sullen. On the palate, a delightful creaminess with very well integrated acids giving the wine a gentle mouthfeel. The oak, too, is seamlessly integrated, even more than in the previous year’s. I am getting the impression it is firmer than the 2014. There is caramel and butter scotch on the palate with muted tropical fruits. A full-bodied wine, but slightly less than the 2014 and slightly less a “Cali oaked Chardonnay.” There is more of an internationally-styled Chardonnay. A short finish. I’ll stick with the same food suggestions I made for the 2014, namely shrimp and grits, lobster in garlic butter, or a North Carolina Low Country Boil. It is also more attractive to me as a sipping wine due to the slightly lower oak profile. Good until the end of 2018. A pretty good wine with turkey too. And for the more adventuresome types, with rabbit sautéed in tarragon, white wine, mustard, and yogurt then thrown on the grill. It might also work well with roast pork or, for veg heads, a mushroom, organic potatoes, and zucchini frittata. Sourced from several vineyards in Sonoma Coast and aged nine months, primarily in French oak but with American oak for sweet spice and complexity. In short, California Chardonnay hit its prime a couple of decades ago and then went super oaky. This Chardonnay shows it has regained its composure and we can expect quality Chardonnay from La Crema.

Mid-full and fleshy, with butterscotch and tropical fruit in the foreground and toasty oak and vanilla bringing up the rear, with fresh acidity for support. A well-proportioned Californian.

Sonoma Coast vineyards enjoy a long, cool growing season due to the moderating influence of the Pacific Ocean, and its fogs and winds that blow inland. This is perfect for slowly ripening grapes to develop complex flavours and nuances without lots of sugar that translates to heavy alcohol. Classic Californian Chardonnay with toast, oak and green apple on the nose. Full-bodied, and generously layered. Generous flavours of pear and peach on the palate with a long, dry finish and a hint of wild white flowers in a spring rain. Perfect for roast chicken or mild curries.

Made from a several sites within the appellation, this wine is marked by full-barrel caramelization and an inviting nod to brioche. Toffee and cinnamon interweave within its rich, thick waves of texture. Tropical mango allows for a hint of fruit amidst the darker flavors.

Ripe apples, fresh blossoms, a scant touch of citrus and mildly caramelly, wholly complementary oak merge seamlessly in the nicely filled aromas and like-minded flavors of this rich and very well-crafted wine, and, while moderately full-bodied and slightly oily on entry, it shows fine acid balance and effortlessly avoids the least sensation of heaviness. Its impressions of early polish cannot be missed, but they are merely precursors of things to come, and, while we would have no qualms about enjoying this one tonight, it is a Chardonnay with the clear capacity to reward a few years of forbearance.