The 2015 Cambria Chardonnay Katherine's Vineyard Signature Collection wafts from the glass with an attractive nose of honeyed citrus and flowers. On the palate, the wine is glossy and medium to full-bodied, with decent freshness and a clean, uncomplicated finish.

Medium yellow color. Smells of yellow apples, apricot, lemon-pineapple cake, along with honey, almond and green olive notes. Creamy texture, vibrant acidity, with lots of yellow plum, apricot and lemon crème flavors. Notes of honey, almond, sea salt and white tea add complexity. Rich flavors but that classis Santa Maria Valley freshness keeps it bright and inviting. Aged six months in 21% new French oak.

Fruity, with flavors of baked apple, ripe pear and ginger that are well-balanced. Savory and buttery notes show on the finish.

A campfire smoke scent kicks off and dominates the nose of this wine, along with dried lemon peel, toasted cashew and a tangerine rind touch. It’s very familiar and easy to enjoy with its dominant citrus- and stonefruit-laced smoke flavor.

Cambria's 2015 Chardonnay Benchbreak is an attractive wine to drink now and over the next few years. Subtle and understated, it has a lovely flintiness that plays off the pastry, lemon peel, white flower, almond and mint flavors.

Showing plenty of reductive qualities on the nose, the 2015 Chardonnay Benchbreak is fruit forward, nicely textured and charming on the palate, with plenty of texture. I expect it would improve with a vigorous decant.

The most up-front and straightforward in the lineup, yet still an impressive effort, the 2012 Chardonnay Unwooded saw, as the name suggests, no wood and was vinified and aged all in stainless steel. Giving up notions of peach, apricot flowers and orange blossom, this medium-bodied, supple and soft white should be enjoyed over the coming 1-2 years.

Pretty and expressive, the 2011 Chardonnay Katherine's Vineyard makes a great introduction to the wines of this property. Lemon peel, almonds and spices all emerge from this nicely layered Chardonnay. The creamy, generous finish is particularly attractive. This is a terrific value from Cambria.

This Chardonnay has a flinty, mineral aroma, along with notes of peach and subtle vanilla. It’s fresh and crisp, with peach and citrus flavors, vanilla and a lemon peel finish.

A smooth and supple vintage of Katherine's, this surrounds its honeyed flavors in a soft and pleasing texture. Easy to drink, particularly with Dungeness crab.

Pale yellow.  Ripe pear, melon, vanilla and clove on the fragrant nose.  Picks up a tangy citrus zest nuance with air, which gives vivacity to the pliant orchard fruit and honeydew flavors.  The citrus quality adds lift and cut to the slightly bitter-edged finish.

Bright yellow. Lemon zest, green apple and orange on the pungent nose, with a sexy floral quality adding complexity. Juicy, faintly warm citrus flavors give way to deeper pear and melon with air. Creamy pear and honeydew notes linger on the finish, which echoes the floral note.

Yellow-gold. Powerful scents of roasted pit fruits, pear skin and cotton candy. Lush, slightly loose-knit tropical fruit and peach flavors provide good palate coverage and are lifted by a zesty orange peel note. Distinctly rich chardonnay with strong finishing thrust and good persistence.

Vivid gold. Exotic orange, smoked meat and dusty minerals on the nose. Creamy, sweet and juicy, with a plump texture and ripe citrus flavors that are enlivened by nicely integrated acidity. Fruity, energetic chardonnay with a firm finish.

Yellow-gold. Powerful orchard and tropical fruit aromas are complemented by notes of butterscotch and smoked meat. Weighty, chewy and ripe, with strong pineapple and brown butter flavors are lifted by brown spices. For all this wine's size there's surprising vivacity and the finish is focused and refreshingly bitter.

The 2012 Pinot Blanc Santa Maria Valley (aged 7 months in 4- to 5-year-old French oak) sports a light gold color to go with notions of apple blossom, citrus and brioche on the nose. Medium-bodied, supple and soft, it’s an easy-drinking, yet very well-made white for enjoying over the coming year or so.

Pinot Blanc is a Rodney Dangerfield grape, rarely getting much if any respect. It almost always plays second (or third) fiddle -- to Riesling and Gewurztraminer in Alsace, Pinot Grigio in Italy, and Chardonnay in California. But when well made, Pinot Blanc can be a delicious dinner wine. It invariably has subtle rather than forceful flavors that complement rather than compete with food. This is a good example, being marked with apple and pear fruit, just a hint of vanilla, and a focused, long finish. So even if you don't much value the varietal, you'll enjoy the wine.

There is enough reduction present to push what appear to be mostly red berry fruit aromas to the background and I would suggest decanting this for 10 to 15 minutes first. Otherwise there is good freshness and verve to the delicious and appealingly textured middle weight flavors that possess a succulent mouth feel before concluding in an acceptably complex and lingering finish. This lightly structured effort could also easily be enjoyed now or held for a few years first.

Bright ruby hue. Like the Julia’s there is just enough reduction to shave the top notes from the red cherry and softly spicy-infused aromas. The satiny and seductively textured flavors possess good verve if only moderate density on the mildly fruity if balanced finale. This should drink well immediately but note that it offers just enough stuffing to reward a few years of cellaring too.

This is moderately reduced and I would advise a thorough aeration if you’re tempted to open a bottle young. Otherwise there is good vibrancy and a sleek mouth feel to the delicious, round and textured flavors that possess good persistence on the dusty and moderately firm and slightly warm finish. There is a hint of youthful asperity that imparts a touch of austerity but not so much that it renders the finish unpleasant.

Two bottles were tasted as the first was sufficiently reduced that it flirts with mercaptans (think burnt rubber scents). A second bottle though displayed no such problems with its ripe aromas that combine of red cherry, plum and pretty spice notes. There is fine richness to the solidly concentrated medium weight flavors that possess a velvety mouth feel, all wrapped in a delicious finish that displays touches of gas and warmth. I would suggest giving this a quick aeration as the gas accentuates the sense of warmth.

While there is a whiff of reduction present, in this case it is so slight that it does little more than shave the top notes from the otherwise pretty red berry and spice notes; indeed after only a few minutes of air the reductive element progressively faded if not completely disappeared. There is both good freshness and verve to the attractively intense and well-detailed middle weight flavors that possess good richness and persistence on the ever-so-mildly dry. The balance isn’t perfect but this is still quite pretty.

Moderately dark reddish purple color in the glass. Oak-driven aromas of espresso, toast and spice lead to a lively palate of oak-kissed black cherry fruit. The fruit is juicy and vibrant, the tannins are modest and the finish attracts attention with its energy and gift of bright fruit. I wanted more fruit on the nose, and less oak infusion, but the wine delivered plenty of pleasure in the mouth.

Byron's 2014 Pinot Noir Nielson Vineyard offers good up-front appeal in a racy, fruit-driven style that is best enjoyed on the young side. Sweet red cherry, hard candy and rose petals shape the bright, lively finish. Here, too, I would prefer to drink the wine sooner rather than later.

There is just enough reduction to remark upon but not so much as to completely mask the red cherry and pomegranate aromas. The generously proportioned and attractively textured flavors possess both good richness and verve while delivering good length on the warm finish where a hint of bitter cherry appears. This is pretty if not especially complex though more depth should develop if you’re willing to cellar it for a few years first.