Leading off the Chardonnays, the 2016 Chardonnay Ma Douce (which translates to “My Sweet”) is a rich, full-bodied, blockbuster effort that still stays incredibly pure, seamless, and elegant. Heavenly notes of crushed citrus, flower oil, brioche, toasted nuts, and ample crushed rock notes all emerge from the glass, and it has vibrant acidity and is perfectly balanced. It’s a world-class Chardonnay.

The 2016 Chardonnay Ma Douce is from a vineyard in Fort Ross Sea View not far from Marcassin, on the second ridge in from the ocean and located at 1,300-1,500 feet in elevation. The vines are Old Wente clones planted on Goldridge soils. It begins a little youthfully reticent, opening out to notes of warm peaches, grapefruit, pear tart and toasted almond with hints of baking bread and chalk dust. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a beautifully satiny texture with a racy line lifting the savory layers to a nice long finish. 650 cases were made. - LPB

The 2016 Chardonnay Ma Douce is richly textured, lush and super-expressive. Orchard fruit, lemon confit, white flowers, mint, chamomile and tangerine all flesh out in the glass. Even with all of its intensity and viscosity, the 2016 retains a good bit of freshness, with underlying beams of salinity that extend the finish effortlessly. The 2016 is a bit reticent today, and needs a good bit of aeration to be at its best. -- Antonio Galloni