Private Reserve Chardonnay Reviews

Ripe, tropical fruit notes of kiwi, pear, lemon and wet slate. This is broad and mouth-filling with zippy, acidity and a generous dollop of sweet, toasty oak and crushed almonds. It finishes long with burnt caramel and a vein of minerality. 

Rich in salty caramel crème brulee, this is a fleshy and lushly made white wine, full bodied and concentrated in style. The oak provides a foundation of toasty baking spice and vanilla.  -Virginie Boone

The 2015 Chardonnay Private Reserve gives up notions of honey-drizzled peaches and spiced apple slices with touches of baking bread, cedar and marzipan. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the palate with spicy stone fruit flavors, with a pleasantly oily texture and plenty of freshness, finishing on a honeyed note.

Buena Vista's top chardonnay comes from the Thornton Vineyard, an exposed site on the ridge between the town of Sonoma and Petaluma. It's clean with fresh pear and richer pear-nectar notes, the texture supple and round. The structure comes through in light touches of oak tannins, stony notes and the peppery feel of olive oil. Pour it with roasted arctic char.