Bright straw. Complex citrus and orchard fruit aromas show very good clarity and verve. Fleshy but dry, with a zesty mineral edge to its pink grapefruit and bitter pear skin flavors. The mineral quality adds cut and lift to the incisive finish, which is uncompromisingly dry, in the best way, and very long. I'd love to show this wine to a Loire Valley wine fanatic who thinks that New World sauvignon blancs lack nerve.

Readers looking for a peppery, stony, more mineral-laced style of Sauvignon Blanc with intense fruit should check out the 2012 Sauvignon Blanc Helena Bench Knights Cross Vineyard, which is 100% Sauvignon from various clones. Fermented and aged in stainless steel and neutral wood, it builds incrementally on the palate and is subtle but powerful, dry and intense. There are 1,300 cases of this classy Sauvignon Blanc. Consume it over the next 1-2 years.

There is no mistaking the familial pattern here. The wine comes loaded with intensely pungent, weedy, green and juniper bush characteristics, and while there are those who are going to adore its “varietal” focus, others will find it too much of a good thing. For our part, the wine is seen for what it is and for the great joy it will bring to those who like it.

Pale, green-tinged gold. Meyer lemon and fresh pear on the fragrant, spice- and herb-accented nose. Offers an array of bright orchard and citrus fruit flavors with very good energy. Clean and dry on the chewy, focused finish.

Light yellow-gold. Precise, mineral- and herb-accented aromas of dried citrus fruits and pear skin, with a suave floral quality gaining strength in the glass. Dry and nervy, offering taut lemon, pear and ginger flavors and a hint of tarragon. Finishes on a refreshingly bitter note, with very good clarity and spicy length.

The 2011 Sauvignon Blanc Helena Bench/Sonoma County is the richest and weightiest of the three Sauvignons I tasted. It shows plenty of depth, but has less to offer in the way of aromatic complexity or energy. The relative warmth of this site in Knights Valley is quite evident in the wine's plushness. Personally, I gravitate towards the more focused Sauvignons in this range, but there is a lot to like here as well. Apricots, lychees, jasmine and spices are all woven into the finish. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2015.

Greenish yellow. Assertive grapefruit and green apple aromas are complicated by lemongrass and white flowers. Dry, bracing and surprisingly concentrated, offering firm citrus and orchard fruit flavors, nervy minerality and a long, racy finish. A grown-up, low-fat, sharply focused style of the variety that I find utterly captivating.

A fine, bone-dry and minerally Sauvignon Blanc to enjoy with shellfish, grilled chicken or on its own as an appetizer. A touch of oak adds richness to the vibrant, acidic citrus fruit, lemongrass and green apple flavors.

Clear to platinum in color, this wine has the scent of green-apple skin, a tight jacket surrounding plump fruit flavors. The fruit has the weight and gravity of a peach ready to fall from the tree - fully ripe rather than superripe. The acidity in the finish will wrap around grilled sea scallops.

Even better, but more limited in production, is the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Helena Bench. Made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc with the Sauvignon Musque clone representing nearly 25% of the blend, which gives the wine a more aromatic character, it also offers an intriguing gravelly, smoky nose with intense melon-like fruit notes, medium body, and a richer, more complex personality than its sibling.

The 2017s From Sonoma Brought up in 24% new French oak, the 2017 Chardonnay Alexander Valley offers a clean, pretty bouquet of stone fruits, apple, blossom, and white flowers. Elegant, medium-bodied, and nicely textured, with a kiss of subtle oak, this is an outstanding wine.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2016 Cougar Ridge Chardonnay displays expressive pineapple, pear tart and nectarine notions with hints of popcorn, brioche and acacia honey. Medium to full-bodied, the palate offers a lovely satiny texture and plenty of savoriness coming through on the finish.

Caramel apple meets high-toned acidity in this balanced, medium-bodied white that’s brightened with salty lemon accents. It finishes long, with nuanced nutmeg and vanilla notes.

An interesting stylistic choice makes this wine stand out in a flight of run of the mill California Chardonnay. It's crisp and bright, with lively peach, citrus and apple character over pie spice and some stone minerality. You'd never guess this as a full malolactic fermentation wine that was barrel fermented in a fair percentage of new oak. It gets all the best qualities out of those processes with none of the drawbacks. Well done!

The outstanding 2014 Chardonnay sees about 30% new French oak and is barrel-aged for ten months prior to bottling. It is a pretty wine with notes of white currants, quince, honeysuckle and a touch of white peach. The wine is rich and medium-bodied with terrific acidity and freshness. Drink it over the next 3-4 years.

The 2014 Chardonnay (Bennett Valley) is rich, powerful and creamy, but very much in the mid-weight Matanzas Creek style. Apricot and peach flavors are nicely pushed forward. The 2014 blend includes quite a bit of Musqué Clone Chardonnay, which gives the wine its exotic, deeply perfumed signatures.

From vineyards in both Alexander Valley and Bennett Valley, the grapes were fermented in French oak for eight months, a minority of it new. This is a medium-bodied, integrated wine rich in caramel apple and fresh-squeezed tangerine. Brisk and in balance, it finishes with a note of toasted almond.

The 2013 Chardonnay (Sonoma County) is a very pretty appellation-level wine. Hints of butter, pastry, brioche and baked apple open up nicely. Creamy, expressive and nuanced, the 2013 is also a terrific value.

The Bennett Valley-based producer employed fruit from its neighborhood for this wine, filling it out with a majority of grapes from Alexander Valley. Rich in caramel and matchstick, it’s an integrated wine, balanced between ripe pear sweetness and savory aspects of oak and spice. On the finish, expect vanilla bean and fresh lemon.

Another winner and a very good value are the 11,500 cases of the 2012 Chardonnay Sonoma. Made primarily from Alexander Valley barrel-fermented fruit, it possesses crisp acidity, lots of buttery citrus and white peach notes along with little evidence of oak, medium to full body, and a rich, layered mouthfeel. Enjoy it over the next 2-4 years.

Broad and expansive, with a full range of floral, spicy, Muscat-like touches and fleshy pear and apple notes, ending full-bodied and layered. Drink now through 2019.

Pale gold. Powerful aromas of poached pear, honey and vanilla are enlivened by zesty Meyer lemon and mineral nuances. Creamy and broad on entry, then tighter in the mid-palate, offering intense melon, pear and candied citrus fruit flavors. Suave, rich and vivacious, finishing with very good clarity and cling.

The 2011 Chardonnay Bennett Valley has a bit more freshness and vibrancy than the straight Chardonnay. Lemon, grapefruit, crushed rocks, flowers all flow through effortlessly to the pointed, chiseled finish. An energetic, bright Chardonnay, the Bennett Valley captures the essence of 2011. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2018.

Bright gold. Displays an array of orchard and citrus fruit aromas, with zesty mineral and ginger nuances adding complexity and lift. Racy and precise on the palate, offering lively Meyer lemon and pear flavors and a hint of sweet butter. Closes with very good energy and cut, leaving a subtle floral note behind.

Yellow-gold. Complex scents of ripe melon, spicecake and oyster shell, with a hint of white pepper. Juicy, palate-caressing honeydew, chamomile and mace flavors are lifted by a slow-building mineral quality, which adds back-end incisiveness. This smoothly blends richness and energy, and finishes with very good clarity and lingering spiciness.