Another naked example of unoaked wine, the 2009 Chardonnay Inox Clone 76 has beautiful white currant, quince, nectarine, and apple-like fruit, a light straw color, expressive, medium to full-bodied flavors, zingy acidity. and superb purity. Drink it over the next several years. The Melvilles are a serious viticultural family with an impeccable vineyard and top-notch wines, looked over with some consulting help from the dynamic duo of Greg Brewer and Steve Clifton. This is another impressive line-up from their cool-climate Santa Rita Hills vineyard. The barrel-aged whites, which don’t see a lot of new oak, certainly possess beautiful concentration, intensity, and potential. These wines go through full malolactic and range from a low of 14.4% alcohol for the Verna’s to 15.2% for the Donna’s. I wonder if there is a need for three separate cuvees as they are more similar than dissimilar. Greg Brewer oversees the making of Melville’s Pinots, but although he is an advocate of 100% stems, Melville uses about 33% stems in all their Pinot Noirs. They are aged completely in older neutral French barrels. This is a sensational group of Pinot Noirs that rival, and perhaps in one or two cases, eclipse what Melville accomplished in 2007. As challenging as the 2008 vintage could be, top producers who took immaculate care of their vineyards, while having the restraint to wait and wait for them to achieve perfect phenolic maturity, were able to make superb wines in this irregular vintage. P.S. As you can tell from the prices, these wines represent sensational bargains for wines at this quality level. Tel. (805) 235-7030

Brilliantly clean and pure. Just so expressive and refined, with a crystalline mouthfeel. Rich, alive, vibrant and crisp, with spicy Asian pear and citrus flavors. The finish is dry and long. Just 872 cases were produced.——S.H.(2/1/2011)—— 94