The 2015 Chardonnay Kelli Ann Vineyard is a step up, with more richness, depth, and texture. Offering buttered orchard fruits, white flower, and a touch of salty minerality, it's fleshy, medium to full-bodied, has some obvious oak, and a big finish. It's a rich, opulent Chardonnay.

Pure and lively, with flavors of lemon meringue, green apple, honeydew and spice. Though rich and dense, this is also elegant. The vibrancy keeps the flavors dancing.

Pure and lively, with flavors of lemon meringue, green apple, honeydew and spice. Though rich and dense, this is also elegant. The vibrancy keeps the flavors dancing.

This yellow colored Chardonnay from the Russian River opens with a fragrant and appealing pear and oak bouquet with a hint of pineapple and banana bread. On the palate, this wine is full bodied, slightly acidic and a little juicy. The flavor profile is pear and oak with notes pineapple. I also detected hints of butterscotch and green melon. The finish is dry and its flavors and mild acidity linger nicely. This Chard would pair well with chicken cordon bleu.

The full, rich California chardonnay style is executed brilliantly in this Russian River Valley offering. Creamy-smooth and opulent with ripe tropical-and-peach fruit lavished with butterscotch and toasted nuts, disciplined by bright acidity. It's a pricy bottle, but, like an E-Class Mercedes, it comes luxury-loaded and precision-tuned.

Butterscotch and baking spice on the nose of this lovely, voluptuous Californian Chardonnay. Cool climate viticulture comes through in the glass with a terrific balance and acidity. Pair with chicken a la king.

Treated essentially the same way as the Russian River cuvée, but from a different area of California, the 2013 Chardonnay Arroyo Seco has more tropical fruit, orange marmalade, white pineapple, delicate smoke and vanilla. This is a nice, broad, savory, very exotic Chardonnay compared to the more classic Russian River.

The 2012 Chardonnay Russian River Valley is the most lifted and layered of the La Crema Chardonnays. Flowers, green orchard fruit and spices all lift from the glass. This is a beautiful, totally harmonious Chardonnay from La Crema.

The 2012 Chardonnay Russian River spends time in 29% new oak. It exhibits notes of orange marmalade, white peaches and pineapple, medium to full body, heady glycerin and a long, pure, well-balanced finish. It should drink well for 3-4 years.

A full-bodied, well-rounded, buttery wine with lovely balancing acidity and citrus fruit notes. Ideal for roast chicken or seafood with cream sauces, as well as lobster in butter. Part of the Jackson Wines Estates Group. Some toffee and freshly baked bread on the finish of this classic Californian Chardonnay. Chardonnay food pairings: lobster in butter sauce, beef bourguignon, cheese, poultry, toasted ravioli served with Alfredo sauce.

The 2012 Chardonnay Nine Barrel is a limited cuvée of the best nine barrels in the cellar. Aged nine months in French oak, over which one-third is new, this is a more buttery style, with more notes of smoke, tropical fruit, almond paste and hazelnuts. Another California version of a Meursault from Burgundy, it should be drunk over the next 2-3 years.

The 2012 Chardonnay Arroyo Seco comes from their Estate, Gravel Stone and Clark Vineyard, and is a great value for a top, world-class Chardonnay. It is a 100% Chardonnay that is 100% barrel-fermented and 100% malolactic, and spent eight months in 100% French oak, of which 25% was new. It emphasizes the tropical fruit spectrum of Chardonnay, from pineapple to mango to lychee-like notes. Ripe, medium to full-bodied and fleshy with terrific purity, this fruit bomb should drink well for 1-3 years.

Pale yellow. Powerful pit and orchard fruit aromas, along with notes of smoky minerals and honey. Weighty but surprisingly lithe on the palate, offering juicy nectarine and orange flavors that are given spine by bright acidity. Finishes with building minerality and excellent persistence, leaving a peachy note behind. This wine is literally a 9-barrel selection from the 290 that made up La Crema's Russian River Valley chardonnay production this vintage.

Pale gold. High-pitched lime zest, lemongrass, jasmine and chalky mineral aromas, with a deeper anise nuance in the background. Bright, racy and very precise, offering concentrated citrus fruit and floral flavors and a hint of iodine. Lingers with impressive tenacity, leaving mineral, smoke and floral notes behind.

Vivid yellow-gold. A heady, seductive bouquet evokes candied citrus fruits, papaya, poached pear and smoky lees, with slow-building florality. Palate-staining orchard and tropical fruit flavors are lifted and braced by tangy mineral and spice notes. Deep but lively, with excellent finishing power and resonating spiciness.

Was aged sur-lie for 14 months, and bottled unfiltered. It possesses more alcohol, fruit, concentration, and orange marmalade-like characteristics. Drink it over the 1-3 years.

Clean as a Pacific rain, when you open this bottle, the wine has virtually no aroma but for a hint of dust on grape skins. Still, at that first moment, it feels clean and wholesome, the texture supple and composed. With air, it develops through scents of pistachio toward orange zest and kiwi, holding onto that fresh and natural ozone character of the coastal rain.

Clean as a Pacific rain, when you open this bottle, the wine has virtually no aroma but for a hint of the dust on grape skins. Still, at that first moment it feels clean and wholesome, the texture is supple and composed. With air, it develops through scents of pistachio toward orange zest and kiwi, holding onto that fresh and natural ozone character of the coastal rain. A steal at $16, buy this one by the case.

Pinot Noir World Series

The 2017s From Sonoma Moving to the reds, the 2017 Pinot Noir Jackson Estate was brought up 30% new French oak and is a mix of 777, 667, and Calera clones. Plenty of smoked black cherries, spice, and charcoal notes emerge from the glass, and it’s medium-bodied on the palate, with terrific purity and freshness as well as balance. It’s another incredibly high-quality release from winemaker Randy Ullom.

Exploring The Best New Releases from Sonoma and Beyond The 2017 Pinot Noir (Anderson Valley) is one of the more generous, sensual wines in this range from Kendall Jackson. Sweet red berry, mint, blood orange and rose petal are all finely sketched. Succulent and racy, with lovely resonance, the 2017 is enticing from the first taste.

K-J's Grand Reserve is well worth the upcharge from the Vintner's Reserve. This seductive and delicious wine is practically irresistible for its combination of abundant ripe-fruit and baking-spice flavors. It offers an indulgent, luxurious texture of melted tannins and mellow acidity.

Exploring The Best New Releases from Sonoma and Beyond The 2017 Pinot Noir Outland Ridge emerges from Kendall Jackson's highest elevation vineyard in Anderson Valley. A burst of sweet dark cherry, plum, and spice infuses this super-expressive, layered Pinot. Deep, dark and impeccable in its balance, the Outland Ridge builds nicely in the glass.

Another wine from the Petaluma Gap region, the 2016 Pinot Noir Jackson Estate is based on clones 667 and 777 and was completely destemmed before aging in 34% new French oak. Pretty and elegant notes of black cherries, classic forest floor, and spice all flow to a complex, medium-bodied, floral Pinot Noir that over-delivers at its price point. There are just under 2,000 cases made and it’s well worth seeking out.