Best Buys from Our Year’s Best California Chardonnays

Our panels recommended 226 California chardonnays this year. Here are the wines that outperformed all others for their price. The North Coast and Sierra Foothills selections are from Joshua Greene; the Central Coast selections are from Patrick J. Comiskey.

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Longtime Broncos quarterback John Elway founded this project with his business partner, Jeff Sperbeck, bringing in Robert Mondavi, Jr., as winemaker. The fruit for this chardonnay comes from the Hi Vista Vineyard in Carneros, fermented and aged in American oak barrels (33 percent new). It’s a rich, smooth white with significant oak influence, while subtle anise and lemon scents keep it tight and focused. —J.G.

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With its scents of toasted nuts and pineapple, this wine delivers the tense freshness of the Sta. Rita Hills. —P.J.C.

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Clean flavors of nectarine and summer savory drive this generous chardonnay. The forward fruit and undertone of oak are ready for carnitas. —J.G.

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From an exceedingly cool vineyard site, this chardonnay is all structure at present, brooding and turned in on itself, driven by floating lees and linear oak, beneath which modest fruit and a teeming citrusy acidity roils. It’s the movement in the wine, independent of unresolved flavors, that assures me of the wine’s potential. For the cellar. —P.J.C.

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A wine of simple beauty, this opens to lemon and sweet pear flavors, the sunny fruit in the foreground. The acidity softens from apple-scented malic tension to hints of freshly churned butter, but it’s the lovely fruit that lasts. —J.G.

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This savory chardonnay opens to pale intensity, layering chamomile and Poire William scents over seashell minerality. The flavors are integrated into the structure, bringing oak seamlessly into the weave of herbs. Its clean line is focused on delicate Japanese dishes, like hamachi kama. —J.G.

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Tense and gingery, this wine’s pear-like fruit has a rainwater clarity. It’s as smooth as river stones and as brisk as the water coursing over them. A youthful 2018 for grilled trout. —J.G.

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A supple chardonnay with succulent golden apple flavors and a gingery edge, this wine’s leesy richness is highlighted by notes of spring flowers. Easy to enjoy on its own. —J.G.

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“This tastes like a bite into a late-fall apple that still has some tart in it,” said Daniel Osman of the Dream Away Lodge in Becket, Mass. Delivering rich, round fruit and freshness, this is a sapid chardonnay with flavor depth. —J.G.

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With its mildly nutty nose and lemon-lime flavors, crackling with bright acidity, this is a seafood wine to pour with Dungeness crab cakes. —P.J.C.

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Markedly rich and quietly satisfying, this wine performs well above its price. The flavors of juicy apples and Rainier cherries have a sweet undercurrent of caramel and white chocolate. There’s a seashell savor that keeps it balanced and intriguing, especially with braised pork. —J.G.

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Tangy orange, ripe Asian pear and full yellow-peach flavors saturate this wine’s mineral structure. It’s tight, almost beefy, a white wine you could serve with burgers. —J.G.

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From the more fruit-forward lots at Domaine Eden’s two estate vineyards, this is supple and round, layering savory herb and flower petal notes, a contrast of voluptuous richness and delicacy. Pour it with an equally creamy pasta dressed in uni. —J.G.

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Here’s a steal: A brisk, bright chardonnay with depths of flavor for $22. The wine’s umami side brings to mind fennel and toasted sesame seeds. For bacon and Brussels sprouts. —J.G.

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The wines on this page were chosen by our editors, from our tastings for the October 2021 edition. After our editors made their selections, we offered wineries the opportunity to promote their award with a bottle image and brand links.

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This story appears in the print issue of June 2021.
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