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.

The 2008 Chardonnay Grand Reserve, which comes from their vineyards in Monterey and Santa Barbara, is a richer, fuller wine with loads of tropical fruit and honeysuckle. It is crisp, full-bodied, and again, an impressive wine to drink over the next several years.

Bright gold. Highly perfumed nose offers nectarine, orange pith, toasty lees, jasmine and a hint of candied ginger. Opulent but with very good energy to its lush pit fruit, citrus, herb and spice flavors. Finishes vibrant and long, with strong florality and a sneaky note of vanilla.

Always hedonistic and unabashedly Californian, the GR is a delicious chardonnay that starts in the vineyard. The fruit split is mostly 50/50 between Monterey (rich and thick from Hacienda and more florals from Clark) and Santa Barbara (full-blown tropical) yet the GR only represents a miniscule 3 percent of all the chardonnay that comes off the Jackson estates. Rich, open, nutty leesy nose, with ripe pear, mango, floral overtones. The styling is sexy and full-blown, with fairly fat, oily, tropical fruit with firm underlying acidity and florality. A rich California chardonnay flecked with bits of mineral and red apple skin. Very appealing in a new world way.

Some serious vineyards' fruit is included in this wine, which no doubt explains the big, tropical fruit-scented nose, fine acidity, and medium to full-bodied flavors. It is an amazing Chardonnay for the price.

The 2007 Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay is entirely made from estate fruit. This cuvee seems to get better with each vintage as winemaker Randy Ullom is a virtuoso at producing such high quantity/high quality wine. Notes of melons, honeysuckle, and lemon oil along with remarkable flavor and texture are found in this wine.

The latest GR chardonnay is delicious. The fruit split is mostly settled in at 55/45 between Monterey and Santa Barbara, but still only represents a miniscule 3 percent of total chardonnay that comes off all Jackson estates. Rich open, leesy nose, with fresh red apple fruit drizzled with honey. Sumptuous styling, with plenty of tropical fruit flavours including peach, mango pineapple and more. The finish is rich without clinging, finishing with bits of mineral and fine acidity. Very impressive effort.

One of the finest values in Chardonnay in the market is the 2006 Grand Reserve Chardonnay, which is aged 8 months in a combination of French and American oak, and put through malolactic fermentation. It is a cross-appellation blend of 55% from Monterey and 45% from Santa Barbara. Gorgeous tropical fruits, pineapple in particular, as well as honeysuckle and some floral notes jump from the glass of this pure, rich wine that exhibits subtle oak but is dominated by its fruit. It's a beauty that should drink nicely for several years.

Here's a floral, minerally wine, with wildflower, orange spice and honey aromas almost like a Viognier. In the mouth, it erupts in fruit so sweet, it's almost like a dessert wine, with pineapple custard and lemon cream flavors. A little off-beat for a Chard, but very good.

The 2005 Chardonnay Grand Reserve (primarily from Santa Barbara and Monterey fruit) spent 8 months in a combination of American and French oak, with 100% barrel fermentation. Crisp and elegant, with notes of orange marmalade and oil, a brilliant texture, outstanding purity, and a heady finish, it is bigger than the Vintner's Reserve, but remains a fine bargain. It should drink well for 2-3 years.