I’ve had quite a few Chardonnay on my tasting table over the past few months. This article is a round-up of good to excellent Chardonnay which don’t into upcoming, feature articles. The wines below reflect a range of styles and prices. All are domestic.

Chardonnay Reviews (in alphabetical order by producer)

2016 Adelsheim Chardonnay Ribbon Springs Vineyard, Ribbon Ridge AVA, Willamette Valley 94 13.5% 750ml $50

Made from Adelsheim’s estate vineyard, the wine’s aromas are chiefly yellow apple and pear and a small spoon of creme brûlée. The textured palate offers medium-plus body with engaging and tangy stone fruit flavors buoyed by Meyer lemon. Additional notes of oak and baking spice add dimension. The persistently mouthwatering finish features attractively grippy texture and mineral highlights. Stellar.

This is an energetic Chardonnay, with 3.21 pH, but also generously flavorful and satisfying on the palate. The juice fermented and aged in French oak barrels, 26% new. This wine neatly illustrates the point that un-oaked Chardonnay isn’t necessarily the right response to over-oaked Chardonnay. Properly oaked is the way to go.

This wine and the Staking Claim (below) are both sold out at the winery. Look for them at retail and in restaurants. Or get in line for the next vintages.

2016 Adelsheim Chardonnay ‘Staking Claim’ Chehalem Mountains AVA, Willamette Valley 92 13.5% 750ml $35

An elegant and tangy nose of green apple skin, lemon oil, white flowers, mineral foreshadow juicy flavors of lemon, green apple, pineapple, mineral, and a kiss of oak. Body is medium and there is an attractive, rough silk texture that balances the bright, citrus-forward palate. This Chardonnay will make a fine aperitif or a charming companion for salads and light, white fish.

The fruit came from four, LIVE-certified vineyards in the Chehalem Mountains AVA which feature three different soils between them (volcanic, loess, and sedimentary). Only 18% of the wine went through ML. it aged 12 months in oak (23% new) and another three months in stainless steel.

2018 Eberle Estate Chardonnay Paso Robles 90 14.1% 750ml screw cap $24

Chardonnay isn’t a variety strongly associated with Paso Robles, but the grape can certainly do well there. The 2018 Eberle is quite nice and a good value. The nose is light and lean with green and yellow apples, lemon verbena, pear, and delicate white flowers. The satin-smooth palate has pleasing viscosity and appealing flavors of yellow apple, stone fruit, lemon, and touches of appetizing bitterness and acidity on the finish.

2017 Marshall Davis Chardonnay Marshall Davis Vineyard, Yamhill-Carlton AVA, Willamette Valley 91 13.2% 750ml $39

This is Chardonnay made with a pleasingly light touch. The nose is subtle—mostly apple and pretty white flowers. Flavors on the medium-bodied palate are bolder, a juicy procession of yellow apple and pear, vanilla, cardamom, and lemon. Lightly chalky texture gives the wine palate presence above its weight. The acidity prompts sip after sip. It will be lovely with gently seared scallops, but is very pleasant on its own.

2017 Metz Road Chardonnay Riverview Vineyard, Monterey County 89 14.5% 750ml $30

The Riverview Vineyard is in the Salinas Valley, east of Highway 101 and below Pinnacles National Park. The soils are decomposed granite, eroded from the hills and craggy Pinnacles above. The site’s proximity to Monterey Bay and the cold winds which sweep off of it result in a fairly cool climate.

The 2016 Metz Road offers friendly aromas of yellow apple poached lightly in butter, baking spice, vanilla, and creamy almond. Flavors on the slightly warming palate also feature yellow apple and baking spice, but also include touches of green apple and tangy peach. Body is medium-plus with mouth-coating fruit and enough acidity for balance. This is a well-made and easy-to-like Chardonnay. Drink now through 2021.

2017 Pellet Estate Chardonnay Un-oaked Sunchase Vineyard Petaluma Gap, Sonoma County 90 14.5% 750ml screw cap $42

Pellet Estate is based in the St. Helena AVA of Napa Valley. However, their Chardonnay all comes from the Sun Chase Vineyard, which sits at 1,400’ atop the wind-cooled hills of Sonoma County’s Petaluma Gap AVA. 

This un-oaked Chardonnay is fresh with cool-climate flavors of green apple, apple leaf, lemon, and chalk. Upon first pouring, flavors are all about lemon juice and lemon pith, which match the zingy acidity. (The wine didn’t go through malolactic fermentation.) As the wine opens and gets closer to room temperature, stone fruit and lean, tropical fruit emerge.

2016 Pellet Estate Chardonnay Sunchase Vineyard Petaluma Gap, Sonoma County 92+ 14.6% 750ml $68

This Pellet Estate Chardonnay is richly aromatic, showing poached yellow apple, toast, nutmeg, custard, and oak. Flavors on the medium-plus body palate are intense, long, and mated with fine, grippy texture. Look for poached apple and pear, baking spice, créme brûlée, orange marmalade, and accents of oak.

This wine spent 16 months maturing in French oak barrels, 30% new. But one shouldn’t see that as the only difference between it and the un-oaked Pellet above. This wine is made from clone 95, whereas the un-oaked is clone 124. [Both are Dijon clones, but 95 lends itself to more intensity and richness.] And, of course, the two wines are from different vintages.

2017 Raeburn Chardonnay Russian River Valley 88 14.0% 750ml $17

The 2017 Raeburn Chardonnay opens with gentle notes of ripe pear, baking spice, and a pleasant hint of charred wood. The palate has a mouth-filling, flavorful attack which includes creme brûlée, baking spice, peach, lemon, grapefruit, and the charred wood. The finish is a bit warming.

2017 Sea Slopes Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 91 13.5% 750ml screw cap $30

Sea Slopes is a second label of Fort Ross Vineyard or, as they call it, a different tier of wines. Fort Ross Vineyard is located in the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA. The wines under that label are all made from estate fruit. The Sea Slopes wines take a broader view, coming from the Sonoma Coast AVA overall.

Where all of the fruit came from isn’t disclosed, but the fine-boned nature of this Chardonnay suggests that its largely from the cool zones of the very large AVA. The nose is lean and appetizing with surprising notes of grapefruit flesh and rind. The fruit is accented by white flowers, baking spice, and a very light touch of oak. The medium-bodied palate is more richly fruited and includes some stone fruit, but no discernible oak flavors. The wine carries itself lightly in the mouth, but has good presence with lasting viscosity and very fine texture. This Chardonnay will be very good on its own or with light seafood and poultry dishes. 

The Smith-Madrone Vineyard in the Spring Mountain District AVA, Napa Valley Photo credit: Kelly Puleio

2016 Smith-Madrone Chardonnay Spring Mountain District Napa Valley 94 14.4% 750ml $40

Smith-Madrone is an extremely reliable producer of excellent Chardonnay that is generous, but well-balanced. The wines have plenty of acidity, but are intended for relatively near-term enjoyment, rather than long aging. The 2016 is a great example of their style.

The nose is complex and beautiful. It’s bold out of the bottle, then mellows nicely in the glass. Aromas include just-ripe yellow apple and pear, baking spice, a chiffonade of mint, lightly toasted almond, and sweet cream. The palate is mouthwatering and features tangier fruit—lemon and green apple—along with the baking spice and sweet cream. Body is medium-plus and there’s the texture of fine, grippy silk holding everything together harmoniously. Drink now through 2022.

Copyright Fred Swan 2019. Images courtesy of the respective wineries. All rights reserved.

About the author: Fred Swan is an Oakland-based writer, educator, and event sommelier. He’s written on wine and spirits for GuildSomm.com, Daily.SevenFifty.com, The Tasting Panel, SOMM Journal, PlanetGrape.com, and more. Fred teaches a wide range of classes at the San Francisco Wine School. He’s founder/producer of Wine Writers’ Educational Tours, an annual, educational conference for professional wine writers. He also leads seminars, private wine tours, and conducts tastings, dinners, and events for wineries, companies, and private parties. Fred’s certifications include WSET Diploma, Certified Sommelier, California Wine Appellation Specialist, Certified Specialist of Wine, French Wine Scholar, Italian Wine Professional, Napa Valley Wine Educator, Northwest Wine Appellation Specialist, and Level 3 WSET Educator. He’s three times been awarded a fellowship by the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers.