…exhibiting gravelly/stony scents in the nose, and unmistakable mineraly, medium-body, and more acidity.

Hints of tropical fruits, vanillin oak, nutmeg and a vague carnal quality on the nose. Ripe peach flavor complicated by coconut oak; juicy acidity gives the wine structure and shape Finishes with a rather sweet note of orange blossom.

One of the better Vintner's Reserves of late smooth, ripe, and creamy, with complex pear, apple and spice notes that are supple and tender.

Dried fruits, resiny oak and honey on the nose, plus a faint citric quality. Oily, thick and a bit heavy, with elevated alcohol and a slight impression of residual sugar. Finishes with good length, but could use a bit more delineation and cut.

Clean and attractive, with a core of ripe peach and citrus flavors. Fans out on the finish, picking up toasty oak and spice notes.

"Features ripe, intense, concentrated flavors of pear, spice, apple and hazelnut that are pure and refreshing, if a tad on the sweet side." (Also appeared 1/31/97).

Strikes a nice balance between ripe, polished pear and hazelnut flavors with light oak shadings. Elegant and refined, it turns smooth and spicy on the finish. Ready now.

Snappy and balanced with good oak, fruit and finish; lush and round.

One heck of a generously endowed, richly textured, satisfying white wine with enough Chardonnay character to make it a top seller. If more wines like this were available, perhaps Americans would be spending more time in wine shops than in video stores.

Medium-bodied and juicy, with crushed green herb notes to the apple and white berry flavors. Crisp finish.

Flavorful, well balanced and medium bodied, this wine is easy to sip and enjoy for its ripe peach and apple flavors and mild acidity.

Sweet and spicy with a hard-to-ignore infusion of caramel, toast and cream standing out at every stop, there is no getting around the fact that this one owes much to pushy oak even if its moderately deep fruit manages to hold its own. Richness rather than sophistication is the story here, and, although the wine does get a touch tangy and hot in the late going, its ongoing richness easily prevails. GOOD VALUE.

Fruity, featuring well-balanced flavors of white fruit and spice, with buttery accents.

Some would say that Kendall-Jackson (or “KJ” as it is sometimes called) created or at least stimulated America’s love-affair with Chardonnay with their “Vintner’s Reserve” decades ago. It has since become this country’s best-selling Chardonnay for 25 years, according to their website. The 2017 continues that streak with a silky and round fruitiness and hints of spice. Though devoid of riveting acidity, it has enough to add brightness to the wine. This well-priced Chardonnay would be a good choice as an aperitif, as in, “I’ll have a glass of Chardonnay,” or at the table with simply done fish.

This is a good, reliable unoaked style of wine that will please a lot of different drinkers. It has mild pear and apple aromas, fresh-tasting fruit flavors and a good lively texture that refreshes the mouth.

Baked apple and dried apricot flavors dominate this easygoing style. The spicy finish shows hints of caramel.

87 points.

Ripe tropical fruit and melon aromas from the eco-friendly, recyclable plastic cork. Expect ripe fruited aromas of tropical fruit and melon, with whiffs of pineapple, banana and butter of modest intensity. It's a little sweet on the medium-bodied palate, some creaminess, and appealing notes of vanilla, pineapple and tropical fruit flavours with some sweet oak in the background. It has fresh, clean acids and a lingering, juicy finish. Serve with only a light chill. Score: 87 pts

Polished aromas of roasted nuts, sea salt, Meyer lemon peel and onion skin show on the nose of this widely available bottling from the Chardonnay kings. The sip is a little bit flat in terms of texture and acidity, but there are compelling and satisfying flavors of roasted walnuts and pecans, with a citrusy acidity that rises toward the finish.

Richly spiced, with ripe apple, pear tart and dried apricot flavors. Buttery notes carry through to the creamy finish, with dried savory herb accents.

They’ve added a new twist to the inexpensive Chardonnay category, with 85,000 cases of the 2015 Chardonnay Avant, which comes from Monterey, Santa Barbara, Mendocino and Sonoma, but all from coastal estate vineyards owned by the Jacksons. Fifty percent is fermented in neutral wood and 50% in tank. It is meant to provide consumers with a naked expression of Chardonnay fruit in an elegant, clean, fresh, delicious style. They clearly satisfy that need in a brilliant way, as this wine offers up loads of pineapple and peach notes, good acidity, and a clean, zesty, energized finish. Drink it over its first year.

The 2014 Chardonnay Avant, their naked version of Chardonnay fermented in neutral wood and stainless-steel tanks. There are 151,000 cases of this beauty that comes from Sonoma, Monterey, Mendocino and Santa Barbara. The wine shows crisp, elegant, pure pear and tropical fruit notes (including pineapple), medium body and good purity, acidity and liveliness. It’s a rather amazing wine for the price and the quantity.

The 2013 Chardonnay Avant presents attractive lemon, citrus, floral and buttery notes, all in a soft, supple style intended for near-term drinking. Originally introduced as an alternative to the flagship Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay, the Avant is less differentiated today than it used to be, part of that also a reflection to tone down some of the more overt notes in the Vintner's Reserve. Still, readers will find a tasty, highly affordable wine that showcases the livelier side of Chardonnay.

The slightly more expensive 2013 Chardonnay Avant comes from their vineyards in Santa Barbara, Mendocino and Monterey. Half of it’s fermented in neutral oak and the balance in stainless steel. But again, the emphasis is on fresh, melony, apple-skin and vague tropical fruits in an uncomplicated and naked, zesty style. This is medium-bodied and there are 160,000 cases of it. These wines are meant to be drunk in their first 12-16 months of life after release.

The 2013 Chardonnay Vintner’s Reserve, which is 90% barrel-fermented with 100% malolactic fermentation, represents a whopping 3 million cases. The consistency and quality of this wine from year to year is remarkable. Forty percent is sourced from their vineyards in Monterey, 35% from Santa Barbara and the rest from Mendocino and Sonoma. It all comes from estate sources, and is creamier and more fruit-driven, showing some vanilla and toast, but still emphasizing notes of peach, honeysuckle and pineapple in a fruity, exuberant, fresh, surprisingly complex and intriguing style.