Smooth, silky and juicy with bright acidity and ripe pear fruit; mellow, balanced and long.

Orange peel, crème brulée, spice, popcorn, vanilla and new oak are some of the signatures in the 2014 Chardonnay Jackson Estate Camelot Highlands. This is another voluptuous, oily Chardonnay from Kendall-Jackson built more on overtness rather than subtlety. The 2014 should offer its finest drinking over the next few years.

The 2014 Chardonnay Jackson Estate Camelot Highlands is 100% barrel-fermented and spends 12 months in wood prior to being bottled. This is a more Burgundian style of Chardonnay, with notes of roasted hazelnuts and smoky oak as well as some poached pear, white peach and apricot. Loads of fruit, medium to full body, and well-integrated wood make for a luscious and buttery style of Chardonnay to drink over the next 4-6 years.

Their flagship (and most expensive) Chardonnay is the 2013 Chardonnay Stature. I rarely like this as much as some of the other cuvées. It seems to get more oak (100% barrel-fermented, 100% French oak of which 75% is new) and has a light, more evolved, golden color, more candied citrus, and lots of ripe pear, pineapple and honeysuckle notes. It’s rich, full-bodied, but slightly overdone compared to the other more fresh, but still exuberant and expressive Chardonnays.

The 2013 Chardonnay Jackson Estate Series is outstanding. This is 100% barrel-fermented and is a much smaller cuvée at just over 2,000 cases. It hails from the Santa Maria Valley, hence the Central Coast tropical fruits jump from the glass with notes of mango, pineapple and honeysuckle. The wine is rich, full-bodied and loaded with fruit, so fruit-bomb lovers will get a charge from this beauty. Drink it over the next few years.

The real superstar, if you want to spend a few more dollars, is the 2013 Chardonnay Grand Reserve, which is a blend of 54% Monterey estate fruit with 46% Santa Barbara estate fruit. This is aged in 31% new French oak and a touch of American wood as well, for nine months prior to bottling. The wine shows honeysuckle, brioche, pineapple, mango, and orange notes in a boisterous, exuberant, richly fruity, but pure, medium-bodied style with the oak kicked to the background.

The 2013 Chardonnay Jackson Estate Seco Highlands is a real stand out. Exotic aromatics with Riesling-like overtones open up in the glass, followed by precise, crystalline fruit in a wine that impresses for its deft balance of power and more eccentric qualities. This Seco Highlands Chardonnay is one of the many highlights in this range.

We admire this Chardonnay for its elegance also in the use of wood, which is present, but with the finesse to offer the basis for the fruit's brilliance and the excellent acidity. Chardonnay comes from its own vineyards in the coastal and cold districts of Monterey (36%), Santa Barbara (36%), Mendocino (14%) Sonoma (14% ), San Luiz Obispo (3%).

Another outstanding Chardonnay is the 2013 Chardonnay Jackson Estate Piner Hills from a vineyard in the Russian River. This sees 100% French oak, of which 46% is new. This wine, coming from the Goldridge soils has more loamy soil characteristics, honeysuckle, crème brûlée, brioche and orange blossom notes. Some poached pears also make an appearance in this medium to full-bodied, stylish and pure Chardonnay.

Brown spice, dried honeysuckle, Gala-apple skins, a touch of light custard and sea-salt-laden citrus and stone fruit show on the nose of this mouthwatering wine. Once sipped, flavors of butter-poached apples and ripe pears are spiced with more sea salt. A tight, pithy structure holds it all together.

Smooth and creamy with spicy pineapple fruit and toasty oak; supple and showing vanilla creme brúlée; lush and balanced.

Another mineral-styled, cold climate offering is the 2012 Chardonnay Jackson Estate Seco Highlands. Made from the Rued clone of Chardonnay blended with one of the newer Dijon clones, and treated similarly to the Camelot Highlands, the wine was aged in 100% French oak (50% new) for eight and one-half months prior to bottling. Copious floral, orange marmalade, citrus oil and wet gravel characteristics are found in this medium to full-bodied white along with a luscious mouthfeel, good acidity and terrific purity. This beauty should drink well for 3-4 years.

A new cuvee for me was the 2012 Chardonnay Avant, a 170,000-case cuvee of 100% Chardonnay that was sourced from the Central Coast (60%) and the North Coast (40%). Forty percent was barrel-fermented in neutral oak, and the rest in stainless steel. Partial malolactic has added a creaminess to this full-bodied white. Dominated by tropical fruits, it also reveals a boatload of freshness, good acidity, and terrific purity as well as length. This wine tastes as if it cost two or three times the price. Drink it over the next several years.

Butterscotch and vanilla smoke on the nose of this California chardonnay from toasty oak aging followed by green apple and white peach notes. Full-bodied and generous with a nice finish. Rich and creamy, this wine has a lovely mouth-filling texture and weight. Let's have it with roast chicken tonight! 4.5/5 Chardonnay food pairings: turkey burgers, crab cakes, chicken breast, lobster in butter sauce, cheese.

Toasty nose; ripe, tropical fruit, vanilla oak; crisp, fresh and vibrant; long and balanced.

Smooth and creamy with vanilla oak, ripe pear and lovely texture; aromatic, rich and layered; fresh and stylish.

There’s a mellow, honeyed richness to this Chardonnay, with apricot, orange, mango and vanilla flavors making it especially tasty. It’s a flamboyant, complex wine at a great price, and easy to find, with 84,000 cases produced.

There’s a mellow, honeyed richness to this Chardonnay, with apricot, orange, mango and vanilla flavors making it especially tasty. It’s a flamboyant, complex wine at a great price, and easy to find, with 84,000 cases produced.

Butterscotch and vanilla smoke from toasty oak followed by green apple and white peach. Full-bodied and generous with a nice finish.

A bit heavy and creamy, but there's something exotic about the oily, fat richness that suggest cashew nuts. With Meyer lemon flavors, it's an unctuous wine, and a very good value.

A bit heavy and creamy, but there's something exotic about the oily, fat richness that suggests cashew nuts. With Meyer lemon flavors, it's an unctuous wine, and a very good value.

The wine is slightly sweet in pineapple, orange and vanilla honey flavors, with the crisp acidity that comes from coastal grape sourcing.

The wine is slightly sweet in pineapple, orange and vanilla honey flavors, with the crisp acidity that comes from coastal grape sourcing.

Smooth and bright with juicy citrus and suave, oak-influenced flavors; long, balanced and lively with depth, finesse and excellent length; year after year a remarkable achievement.

Rich and creamy, with complex tropical fruit, buttered toast, lemondrop candy and honeysuckle flavors.