These were five very different Chardonnays, all of them respectable for their style. Although three of the wines had some obvious oak to them, none were the least bit oaky. Although three of the wines; the Mardona, Silver Rose and Bouchaine were pretty closely tied with the crowd for their great complexity and balance, there were those who loved the great fruit and butter in the Silver and the fruit in the Gryphon once it opened up. In the end, all agreed that the Bouchaine from Carneros was probably the best sipping wine with the best complexity and finish.

This was a really great bunch of Chardonnays and gave us a chance to really see the difference between a nicely oaked Chardonnay and one aged only in stainless steel. After the tasting we tried each of the wines with a dinner of grilled chicken, corn and potato salad. All faired well in the pairing, with the slightly more acidic wines taking just a slight edge.

The following grid is the composite results of the input of all of the tasters. These are all fairly easy wines to find for sale, but in California the vintage variation isn't as great as other places, so pick the next year if that is all you can find and see if you agree with our results.

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