Burghound: Though the wood is hardly subtle, it's better integrated and allows more of the floral and orchard fruit aromas to shine through and it is also less evident on the big, powerf...

Burghound: Generous wood fights for center stage with the white flower, tidal pool and spice aromas that are followed by citrus and mineral-infused flavors that are attractively textured...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: The 2008 Were Dreams emerges from the glass with deep, intense layers of fruit. This barrel fermented Chardonnay shows plenty of opulence and richness, but in a nicely balance...

Wine Spectator: Really silky and seductive, with just a hint of vanilla accenting the peach, apple and lemon flavors. The mineral element is submerged right now, appearing on the finish, wher...

Wine Spectator: A tantalizing mix of lemon, oyster shell, white peach and vanilla flavors, but underneath it all there's a mineral component. Tightens up on the finish, so give this a few yea...

Wine Spectator: Though glycerol-like in texture, this is more angular in its approach, with vivid acidity driving the lime, baked apple, almond and mineral flavors. Offers fine intensity and ...

Burghound: A very ripe, indeed even exotic nose with the hallmark spiciness of a classic Genevrières introduces rich, minerally and attractively detailed middle weight flavors that are d...

Burghound: This is also quite floral with ripe citrus and stone hints that marry into full-bodied and very rich flavors that possess a textured mouth feel and excellent intensity on the ...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Ripe stone fruits and minerals on the nose and palate. Densely packed and sweet, with strong but well-integrated acidity giving the mid-palate more tension than the 2009 shows...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: The 2008 Chardonnay provides a moderate to intense, pleasantly wild and funky nose with notes of meal, pineapple, warm grapefruit, struck match, baking bread and nuts. The med...

Wine Spectator: Intense and tightly wound, offering concentrated lemon, apple, spice and chalk aromas and flavors. This keeps building on the palate, changing as it finishes with a flourish o...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Very rich aromas of pineapple, nut oil and smoky oak; the most exotic of these 2008s and the highest in alcohol at 13.5%. Rich, powerful and generous, combining strong acidity...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Yellow-gold. Exotically perfumed bouquet displays scents of sweet butter, melon, smoky lees and iodine. Open-knit melon and pit fruit flavors are given spine by gentle acidity...

About this Wine: Shafer's single-vineyard Carneros-grown Chardonnay is produced from small-clustered clones of grapes selected for their low yields and distinctive flavors. Fermentation takes ...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: Yellow-gold. Orange peel, guava and gingery spices on the nose, with honey and smoky lees qualities adding complexity. Nicely concentrated and energetic as well, with bracing ...

Stephen Tanzer's IWC: ($99; bottled in March; vinified in 800-liter concrete eggs, then aged half in the eggs and half in older f u ts More exotic, spicy nose than the Clos, hinting at soft citrus ...

About this Wine: In 1990, Maté Brajkovich reworked the land at Kumeu River and planted a new vineyard of Chardonnay on the site of the family's original vineyard, purchased in 1944. The fi...

About this Wine: "This wine is produced from a vineyard owned by Tim and Angela Coddington, whose grapes have been used in the Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay since 1998. It is a vineyard th...

Wine Enthusiast: A toasty and buttery wine that is initially smooth and silky. It's only on the mid-palate that the tauter, more steely character of Chablis comes through. With fresh acidity, ...

Eddie Wolowski: Pale gold. Nose balances tropical fruit, sea shells, spice, and minerality with citrus fruit. Full-bodied, focused, and balanced, with a hint of creaminess on the solid mid-pa...