2007 Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay, Russian River Ranches

Pretty aromas of jasmine and rose petal give way to tropical fruits like pineapple and mango. Roasted hazelnut joins nougat and almond butter, finishing with a touch of lime and lychee. Medium-weight and clean with a wonderful acid backbone, the wine expands in the glass, offering up grapefruit, lemon, pear and kumquat with subtle vanilla bean and herbal mushroom. The lingering finish displays hints of minerality, along with apple, lime and a surprising kiss of strawberry.

2004 Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay, The Cutrer

An aromatic melange of honey, lime zest and grilled pineapple first greets the nose, laced with suggestions of toffee, earth and seductive aromas of fresh-baked bread from the French oak barrels. This wine introduces itself like a fresh ocean breeze and unfurls on the palate with a smooth fruit entry of kiwi and green apple that grows in roundness at the center of the palate, enlivened with a very crisp lemony sensation and a delicate caramel toffee in the aftertaste.

2004 Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay, Les Pierres

The wine made from this vineyard, not often available outside the winery, is treated with the utmost care, what the winery calls their Grand Cru approach. The results are a wine that looks like clear liquid gold and smells of honeycomb, rose petal, lime zest and fresh Granny Smith apple on a flinty frame. Focused mineral flavors on the wine's entry give way to pear, peach and a hint of cream. Subtle hints of honey and lemon appear on the mid-palate and the wine finishes with very elegant and subtle hints of oak, great acidity and lemony minerality that lingers long after the wine is gone.