Some lovely apple aromas plus all sorts of highly toasted oak. It offers lively acidity and good depth plus a long, lingering finish.

Very toasty nose, citrus and butterscotch, overripe pear; good acidity, viscous, slightly honeyed; excellent balance. Perfect with pork tenderloin with mustard.

A slight nuttiness, oak and a bare touch of dried herbs push forward from very slender fruit in the aromas. More appealing in the mouth than in its nose, the wine is somewhat fat and buttery and is infused with enough appealing varietal fruit to give it some life and vitality. Although a bit ragged at the finish, it will show better when partnered with rich foods. A year or two of cellaring will make a worthwhile difference in its palatal impressions.

Here is a pleasant if somewhat smaller wine whose light-medium intensity, green apple, quietly leesy and oak-enriched aromas are all within the pleasing norms for Chardonnay, but which, in both nose and in flavors, comes up just a tad short on overall stuffing to earn full commendation. Nonetheless, this moderately well-stuffed bottling stands out at the top of the list of wines not receiving star-ratings.

Less aromatic than many of the vintage, this wine reverses the usual expectations by exhibiting greater depth of flavor than its somewhat restrained aromas of creamy, slightly toasty oak and green appley fruit might have led one to anticipate. Open and inviting on the palate, this dynamic effort boasts layer upon layer of keenly focused varietal fruit in its riper apple flavors underlain by a firmer green appley streak, and its glyceriny, oily texture adds further to its richness. A year or two of bottle age will see it grow and open even more.

This buttery, honeyed, richly fruity Chardonnay exhibits toasty oak, good depth, and an easy-going, robust style.

The 1994 Reserve Pinot Noir was the Sweepstakes Red at this year's Harvest Fair, but the regular pinot is a winner in its own right. (It won silver and is $8 less than the reserve.) It has great black cherry aromas and a fleshy, supple texture, with a hint of toasty oak.

Has ripe and ultra-rich flavors of pears and butterscotch, with a strong element of toasty, smoky oak. Well done for style.

Promising aromas show complexity with lees and oak and apple scents lifted by creamy, buttery tones. The wine delivers round and solid fruit qualities offering reasonable depth to the flavors.

Elegant and ripe pear, nutmeg, spice and light toasty oak shadings.

Moderate but notable oak harmonizes nicely with straight-forward Chardonnay flavors. The present brightness of the fruit suggests near-term consumption.

Complex spicy-vanilla-floral nose, toasted oak accents; nice body and texture, good fruit on the palate, balanced finish. Try with prawns with lemon grass, baked snapper.

Young and direct in its citrus and appley fruit, the nose shows plenty of richness from its vanilla-and-nutmeg oak derived seasoning. Firm yet nice and supple under its mantle of acid and bright fruit.

Lime zest and melon qualities define the bouquet. Light-bodied with zippy acidity; the finish is fragrant and clean.

Smelling of apples and fresh pears, this direct, mid-sized Chardonnay is helped along in a nose and flavor by just a touch of creamy oak. Slightly rounded in feel.

Toasty oak blends with green apple fruit in the light-medium intensity aromas and is repeated in accessible flavors surrounded by a round, supple texture.

Subtle in the nose, this wine has a lean mineral oriented style on a light-bodied framework. High acidity is refreshingly tart through the finish.

In a short time, La Creama has become one of the most prestigious names in chardonnay. This lovely, tropical-styled wine is from a fascinating blend of fruit from Sonoma's Russian River area, Monterey, Mendocino and Santa Barbara. And with that growing season of 92', how could it not be good? It's without any doubt in my mind the best La Crema has made.

Baked apples, toasty oak, vanillin, bright acidity; lingering rich flavors; good price.

Smooth and spicy, with lots of butterscotch, pear and vanilla aromas and flavors.

20 Wines Under $20 You Can Keep In Stock All Year Round

Getting to know the wine of the La Crema Winery A Chardonnay wine brings out the critic in all of us. It is either a wine that you love or hate. The La Crema 2017 Russian River Valley Chardonnay is one that you just have to love. The vintage is 2017, where the growing conditions for the Chardonnay grapes was picture perfect. Put all of that together and you have the makings of a great wine. And so it is. The aroma is a complex of peach, mango, apple and lemon with hazelnut, caramel and vanilla in the background. The flavor is as complex as the aroma featuring apple, nectarine, peach and apple, ending in a creamy butterscotch and oak finish. This Chardonnay could easily be among the best from the Russian River Valley 2017 vintage.

Wine+Food pairing recommendation

Versatile Chardonnays La Crema continues to impress my tasters with a decidedly Old World style derived from cool climate Russian River Valley fruit combined with modern winemaking techniques and judicious use of oak barrel aging. This opulent-yet-complex wine offers tropical aromas and flavors including tangerine, Meyer lemon and nectarine, while a creamy palate edged with vanilla and toasty oak has just enough finishing acidity to make this an excellent food wine.

Big and balanced It’s sure to be vineyard location but damn this wine is better than their more expensive Russian River Chardonnay; which is not too bad, but hot as hell. Here we have classic, full-bodied Cali Chard vibes with lemon curd, apple and pear aromas upfront with some baking spice and honeysuckle for good measure on the nose. The palate is soft and rich with added sensations of vanilla and baked guava tart. There may even be a little snap of peach in there. All this is easy to enjoy because unlike its big brother the alcohol is a nice 13.5%. It is under $20 and a great wine to have on hand for a get together or gifting. Rating B+.