The most disappointing of the whites was the 2007 Chardonnay Clos Pepe. Unimpressive, innocuous, and even bordering on insipid, this wine stops abruptly on the palate. Tart white corn, white currant, and some grapefruits notes (which I would associate more with Sauvignon than Chardonnay) are present in this wine, which seems to have been picked well before the grapes were fully ripened. Adam Tolmach continues to dial back the intensity of his wines for reasons that escape me. The three Chardonnays I tasted were all certainly very good, but it seems to me that ten years ago they would have been even better.Tel. (805) 649-1674

Huge, rich, white Burgundy style Chardonnay. Has a pie-filling fruity richness of pineapples, lemondrop, pears, kiwi fruit and exotic kumquats, balanced with fine, minerally acidity, and wrapped into a buttercream texture. The oak is flamboyant, but perfectly in keeping with the wine’s volume. Dazzling and dramatic, from a vineyard that just keeps performing better and better.——S.H.(8/1/2010)—— 96