Light smoky, toasty oak adds a flavor dimension amid white tree fruits and pithy citrus notes. Best on the finish, where the oak springs alive.

Toast, butter, lemon spray and a hint of smoke show on the nose of this widely available and reliable wine. It's fresh and zesty on the palate with lime peels and Meyer lemon juice, yet there are also creamy butter and blanched almond flavors to round out the palate.

88 points.

Year's Best US Chardonnay A golden, ripe chardonnay with coastal sea-spray tones held in a caramelized framework of new oak, this has a hazelnut-oil richness that will match Dungeness crab.

Offering up lots of fragrant peach blossoms, lemon curd, grapefruit and honeyed pears notes, the medium to full-bodied 2014 Chardonnay Kelli-Ann Vineyard delivers a pleasantly oily texture plenty of freshness, finishing with some spicy hints coming through.

A tasty, appellation-level offering, the 2014 Chardonnay (Russian River Valley) is soft, supple and open-knit, all qualities that make it an excellent choice for drinking over the next few years.

The 2014 Chardonnay Nine Barrel (the best nine barrels in the cellar) sees an additional six months of barrel age in neutral French oak following the first nine months. This wine exhibits more butterscotch, honeysuckle and roasted nuts in a more Burgundian style, with good acidity and slightly more oak. Drink it over the next 3-4 years.

The 2014 Chardonnay Saralee's Vineyard offers good depth and balance throughout. Orange blossom, hazelnut and spice are nicely delineated in this pretty, mid-weight Chardonnay from La Crema.

Weighted toward smoky, toasty oak, with a charry edge overriding the creamy pear, apple and melon notes. Time may bring the elements into a more harmonious balance.

I enjoyed the Chardonnays, especially the outstanding value, the 2014 Chardonnay from Sonoma Coast. A heck of a Chardonnay for $23.00, with notes of tropical pineapple and caramelized orange, this elegant, crisp, medium-bodied wine sells for a song. It is 94% barrel fermented, aged in 15% new French oak, American oak and bottled after eight months. The amazing thing is that there are 710,000 cases of this terrific value. Drink it over the next year.

Starting with an appealing mix of crisp apples and creamy oak in the nose and adding an intriguing minerally twist to its fairly deep and otherwise very like-minded flavors, this easy-to-like, mid-sized offering is nicely rounded in feel and charged with the freshness of youth. It does not bristle with acidity but is spry and lively all the same, and we highly recommend that it be enjoyed sooner than later.

High-toned Meyer lemon and edgy minerality give this coastal wine a freshness on the palate, along with a complexity of fennel and apple. Juicy and medium bodied, it picks up a fullness on the texture as it goes, while remaining balanced and pleasing.

Clean as a whistle, mid-density in weight and volume and evident if moderate oakiness lifting its mix of ripe and slight green apple fruitiness, this wine is exactly what a $20 Chardonnay should be. It is somewhat rounded in texture with enough youthful energy for balance, and it demands no further aging to be rewarding in the near term yet can age a bit if that is your wont.

This well-known California brand is gently dipping its toe into Oregon. This is a sturdy, well-crafted effort with an interesting mix of kiwi, lime and pear fruit, wrapped in biscuity barrel flavors. Seamlessly smooth, it offers enough acidity to keep everything balanced.

Offers an elegant display of subtle creamy oak, white peach, nectarine and melon notes. Ends clean and pure. Drink now.

The 2012 Chardonnay Arroyo Seco offers lovely immediacy. Apricot, butter and floral notes inform a supple, easygoing Chardonnay to drink now and over the next year or two.

The two La Crema offerings are anything but two peas in a pod for while its stiff and indeterminate companion is candied and cute, this one is deeper in fruit and considerably richer overall. It leads with ample aromas of apples, caramel and fresh butter, and its flavors follow suit. It is fuller in feel with a bit of varietal “oiliness”, and, if just a touch coarse on the back-palate, it will be much helped by brief aging and/or service with moderately rich foods.

Shows a smoky, campfire edge, with toasted wood on top of the ripe fig and pear flavors. A rich and full style that is graceful and elegant. Drink now.

Attractive for its rich creaminess, this Chard aims for the popular style and succeeds. It's soft and rich in orange, peach, apricot and mango fruit, with sweet-oak overtones of vanilla and buttered toast.

Vivid yellow. Intense, smoke- and honey-accented aromas and flavors of tangerine and peach, with a floral overtone. Rich and fleshy, with good heft and breadth. A smooth, opulent chardonnay that finishes with good cling and length.

An intense, vibrant white, displaying zesty citrus, white peach, melon and floral notes. A touch pithy in texture, this is very persistent.

The 2010 Chardonnay Los Carneros is a beautiful entry-level wine. Apricots, orange peel, butter and smoke all flesh out in this gorgeous, multi-dimensional Chardonnay. A pretty, nuanced wine, the 2010 has plenty of Carneros typicity and character. There is a creaminess to the Carneros Chardonnay that is distinctive and appealing. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2016.

This intense, spicy Chardonnay is big in size and scope, boasting flavors that build, and offers a mix of pithy citrus peel, ripe pear, honeysuckle and melon flavors. Most interesting on the finish.

Vivid gold. Lemon zest and tangerine on the nose. Lively and nicely focused, with taut citrus, spice and honeysuckle flavors dominating. The citrus note recurs on the silky, subtle aftertaste.

If taking fresh, slightly citrusy fruit as its main motif in the nose, this medium-full-bodied effort proves to be a bit plumper in feel and riper in tone once on the palate. Its rich and very accessible flavors are keyed on sweet apples with highlights of soft, mildly vanillin oak spice, and its open manner makes it one to enjoy in the relatively near term.