The 2008 Chardonnay Estate has much more orange blossom and tropical fruit, with a hint of honeyed citrus, more color, and a slightly more caramelized style to it, but with less minerality than the Verna’s. Again, the purity and precision are impressive, and although there is a touch of spice, there is virtually no evidence of any oak. 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