Fresh, bright and lively, showing layers of apple, spice, honey and butter flavors that turn smooth and elegant, picking up hints of pineapple and toast on the long, lingering finish. Delicious now through 1995.

The value-priced 2016 Chardonnay Katherine's Vineyard comes from a site in the Santa Maria Valley and spent 7 months in 20% new French oak. Ripe orchard fruits, brioche, honeysuckle, creamed corn, and spice all flow to a beautifully balanced, elegant Chardonnay that has a great texture, no hard edges, and a great finish. It's slightly commercial and straightforward, yet it's impeccably made and certainly delicious.

Santa Maria Valley, though located in Southern California, actually has some very cool areas because the valley runs East-West instead of the more usual North-South orientation. As such, it draws cool air from the Pacific Ocean. Indeed, growers determine what to plant where by assessing how much heat is needed to ripen a particular variety -- Chardonnay and Pinot Noir favor western sites while Cabernet Sauvignon needs the heat of more inland -- eastern -- plots. Cambria’s Clone 4 Chardonnay shows the restraint and vibrancy of grapes grown in cooler climes. A touch of creaminess, without a trace of weight, adds to its allure.

A vibrant, medium-bodied wine, this Chardonnay offers crisp citrus and apple flavors, a defined oak presence, and refreshing acidity. Cambria Estate Vineyard and Winery, which is owned and operated by women, founded the Seeds of Empowerment Program, a $10,000 annual international grant program designed to celebrate “remarkable women leaders and charitable organizations” and to inspire women’s leadership.

A juicy Chard with notes of toasty vanilla oak; sleek and balanced with lovely structure and length.

This lovely golden yellow Chardonnay from the Santa Maria Valley had an interesting bouquet of lemon, pear, roasted nuts, smoke and spice. It was medium to full bodied and a bit creamy with moderate acidity. It displayed complex flavors of grapefruit, nectarine, smoke, oak and brioche that drifted into a long finish. Some mineral and citrus notes also showed up towards the end. I would pair this very good Chard with grilled salmon with lemon dill sauce. Very good+.

Moderate golden yellow color in the glass. Sumptuous oak, butter and subtle herbaceousness dominate the citrus oil aroma. Serious extract of citrus and orchard fruits greet the streamlined palate with some, but not overbearing dependence on oak. Rich, but not too rich, with enough vibrancy and freshness to appeal.

Smooth, ripe and toasty with juicy pear fruit and good acid structure; fresh and balanced, long and stylish.

Silky and elegant with citrus and white peach; smooth, fresh and balanced.

Light yellow-gold. Ripe, lees-accented orchard fruit and melon aromas are complicated by notes of orange pith, tarragon and sweet butter. Smooth and expansive on the palate, displaying fresh orchard and pit fruit flavors and a hint of vanilla. Finishes on a refreshing note of lemon zest, with bright mineral cut and building smokiness.

Bright and juicy with citrus, stone fruit and tropical notes; lush and ripe, creamy and long, balanced and rich.

Leading off the three Chardonnay’s, the 2012 Katherine’s Vineyard offers beautiful flint-like minerality to go with stone fruits, white flowers, vanilla curd and brioche on the nose. Medium-bodied, tight, fresh and elegant, it’s a superb value to enjoy over the coming couple of years.

Light yellow-gold. Pungent citrus pith, poached pear and yellow plum aromas are enlivened by zesty mineral and floral nuances. Strikingly energetic as well as concentrated, with powerful pit and orchard fruit flavors braced by lemon zest and ginger notes. Finishes sappy and long, with building spiciness and a hint of toasty lees.

Rich, dense and creamy; ripe, thick and long with deep, round flavors; intense and long.

The 2012 vintage has been released, but many retailers still offer the 2011, which is showing beautifully right now if you like older Chardonnays. I certainly do, in fact I often find that slightly older vintages of well made California Chardonnay can be more appealing than current releases, which are sometimes jittery and slightly unfocused. What do I like about this wine from Cambria? I love its deep, gold color. I like that it speaks to me in a low, throaty voice rather than in the slightly shriller tones of youth. Its exotic, erotic aroma is thrilling, and the smooth, self-assured wave of flavor entering the mouth is a delight. With its richly defined notes of tropical fruit the wine still manages to be crisp and refreshing on the finish.

This Chardonnay carries a lot of oak, while underneath the fruit is charming, open and sufficiently edgy, with flavors of dried pineapple and lime. It has a structural grip that suggests more than oak is in play - something rocky and mineral, perhaps contributed by Cambria's extensive holdings of deep-rooted vines from the 1970's and '80's.

This Chardonnay carries a lot of oak, while underneath the fruit is charming, open and sufficiently edgy, with flavors of dried pineapple and lime. It has a structural grip that suggests more than oak is in play - something rocky and mineral, perhaps contributed by Cambria's extensive holdings of deep-rooted vines from the 1970's and '80's.

A beautiful Chardonnay, the 2011 Chardonnay Katherine's Vineyard is pure and detailed on the nose with crisp white peach, white flowers, crushed rock-like minerality and hints of creme to go with a medium-bodied, balanced and focused texture. Crisp, pure and downright delicious, enjoy it over the coming handful of years. Drink now-2016.

Pale gold.  Ripe, oak-spiced aromas and flavors of poached pear, peach and fig, with buttered toast and honey nuances adding complexity.  Fleshy and expansive chardonnay, finishing with strong punch and a lingering note of bitter pear skin.  Manages to be both rich and lively, and has the depth of fruit to work with strongly seasoned foods.

A bigger and richer wine than the Katherine's, the 2010 Chardonnay Bench Break nevertheless retains much of the vibrancy that makes that wine so appealing. The aromas and flavors are beautifully layered through to the rich, creamy finish. The higher percentage of new oak (50%) and more frequent lees stirring gives the Bench Break much of its personality. This is another absolutely delicious wine from Cambria.

Bright gold. Intensely spicy scents of melon, pear, lemongrass and anise, plus a hint of white pepper. Nervy citrus and orchard fruit flavors deliver refreshingly bitter cut, with a pleasant bite of white pepper perking up the lush back end. Blends ripeness and vivacity smoothly, finishing with excellent clarity and smoky persistence.

The outstanding 2008 Chardonnay Bench Break has delicate yet substantial fruit flavors, a light green hue to its straw color, terrific minerality, floral notes, honeyed citrus, and tropical fruits. It is rich and full-bodied, but a Chardonnay of finesse as well as power. Drink it over the next 3-4 years.

Vivid yellow. Aromas of lemon pith, nectarine, honeysuckle and salty minerals. At once dry and fleshy, offering powerful citrus and orchard fruit flavors and firming minerality. Rich but fat-free, in a very grown-up style; the finish is gripping, focused and long.

One of the most alluring things about this wine is a balanced richness that bursts onto the midpalate. Many California Chardonnays are surprisingly difficult to pair with food (they are often too fruity, too oaky, too buttery, too alcoholic-or all of the above), but this one has just the right equilibrium to pair well with a variety of foods, especially something along the lines of cream-based pastas or soups (I had it recently with a grilled sandwich of Morbier cheese and sliced pear-a terrific partnering).

This is a big, fat, unctuous Chardonnay marked by exceptional ripeness and smoky oak. Yet it never loses sight of balance. It's powerful in candied or pie-filling pineapple jam, Mandarin orange zest, apricot brûée and vanilla custard flavors that are completely dry and accented with crisp acidity. This is an amazing price for a wine of this quality. Sommeliers, buy this beauty by the case.