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.

Rich and creamy, with complex pear, fig, melon and spice flavors that are pure, balanced, elegant and delicate, ending with a honeysuckle edge. Drink now through 2014.

Rich and creamy, with complex pear, fig, melon and spice flavors that are pure, balanced, elegant and delicate, ending with a honeysuckle edge. Drink now through 2014.

2005 CHARDONNAY SONOMA 2005 Chardonnay is a 23,500 case wine that enjoyed 95% malolactic fermentation as well as eight months in French oak (only 325 new). Smoke, lemon oil, white currant, white peach, hazelnut, and orange rind aromas jump from the glass of this 2005. It displays terrific fruit and purity, but little evidence of wood.

The 2011 Pinot Noir Unforgettable Deep End, made from Dijon clone 667, saw 26% new French oak. It offers aromas of raspberries, black cherries, spring flowers and earthy, loamy soil undertones, a sultry texture, a medium-bodied mouthfeel, and impressive purity and lushness. It can be enjoyed over the next 2-4 years.

Ruby-red. Black raspberry, cherry compote and musky beetroot on the nose. Densely packed but surprisingly lively in the mouth, offering juicy dark berry and rose pastille flavors sharpened by juicy acidity. Shows very good depth and power, with dusty tannins building and adding structure and finishing grip.

The 2011 Pinot Noir Hawkster Deep End comes from a clone rarely seen in California, the Swiss Wadenswill clone of Pinot Noir, which is very popular in Oregon. When the crop yields are kept low, it has a Burgundian Volnay-like personality. This offering shows lots of wild strawberry, black cherry and floral characteristics along with surprising density and richness without being heavy or tannic. This silky, seductive Pinot should drink well for 3-4 years.