The Great Estates offerings are impressive...The 2000 Great Estates Chardonnay Monterey reveals a cool-climate bouquet of citrus oils, lemon grass, and liquid mineral scents along with a hint of tangerines. This medium-bodied, tangy, crisp, high acid Chardonnay is French in style. All of these Chardonnays are excellent values considering their high quality.

Well-balanced, elegant and understated, with pleasant green apple, citrus and honeydew melon flavors that turn simple.

There's good depth to bright lemon, pear, apple and toasty oak flavors that linger through the finish.

Austere, with a firm tannic edge to the dried cherry, cola & berry flavors. Rich & concentrated, but also quite dry. Drink now through 2004. 446 cases made.

Supple & balanced, with earth, cedar & beef flavors, picking up dry cherry & berry notes. Drink now through 2004. 415 cases made.

Supple and balanced, with earth, cedar and beef flavors, picking up the dry cherry and berry notes. Drink now through 2004.

Medium red. More subdued but more complex aromas of cherry, dark berries and cola.

The 2001 Pinot Noir Seascape exhibits medium ruby color along with sweet and sour red cherry aromas with hints of currants and wood smoke in the background. The closed, pinched finish reveals tart acidity.

Tart, lean, tannic, and well structured, with cinnamon, clove and wild berry flavors.

Veers toward the tart side, with pepper, wild berry and cedar notes, turning firmly tannic.

One of the riper Zins out there, it’s so developed that the cherries and blackberries veer all the way into raisins and even prunes. Along with high alcohol and strong tannins, the wine has a Port-like headiness, without the sweetness.

Bright and zingy, delivering green melon, kiwifruit and floral flavors on a lively frame, finishing with bracing acidity. Best after 2018. 1,318 cases made.

May turn out to be too austere because of the elevated dry tannin in the finish. It possesses a dark ruby color in addition to excellent black fruit characteristics mixed with smoke and minerals, but its aggressively tannic finish is cause for concern.

Reveals a lighter style along with good elegance and suppleness. It will require consumption during its first 7-8 years of life.

...a sweet vanillin and red currant-scented nose, plenty of ripe, spicy, cherry fruit, medium body, a good attack with noticeable oak, and a clipped finish.

Leaner, more muscular.

Shows raspberry paste and cherry cola notes backed by red licorice accents. Drink now. 78,000 cases made.

Boasts tangy tangerine, Key lime and lemon notes that are appealing and juicy, with a touch of candied ginger on the finish. Drink now.

True to its legacy, K-J's V.R. Chard is almost off-dry and soft in style, with pleasant mango, peach, orange and vanilla flavors. It's an easy-drinking wine to enjoy with everyday picnic or beach fare.

Aged six months in 6% new French and 7% new American oak, the 2017 Chardonnay Vintner's Reserve opens with scents of applesauce, allspice, beeswax and kettle corn, with a refreshing, medium-bodied palate and a toasty finish. More than 2.6 million cases produced.

Big in oak and tannin, this wine is profusely ripe in blackberry jam, baking spice and barbecue smoke.

Light to medium brassy colour, almost copper-tinted and seems forward-developed. The bouquet is likewise forward and evolved, with some dry straw, leaf litter and dried fruit aromas, the palate soft and broad and open-knit, finishing dry and showing a little skin tannin.

Compact but refreshing, with dried citrus zest notes and apple flavors. Offers a touch of dried flowers on the finish. Drink now.

Medium-bodied, this red offers dried red fruit and spice flavors, with beefy hints and dried portobello notes on the finish. Drink now.

Smells like cherries and cinnamon with a whiff of wet stone. Fruit is lean, with a decent oak vibe pushing up from the core of the glass. It doesn’t hang around much on the finish but would be a good social lubricant at a get-together.