A brilliant Chardonnay from this historic producer high in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the 2004 Chardonnay Estate offers a beautiful perfume of subtle pineapple, orange marmalade, buttered citrus, white currants, and wet rocks. In the mouth, it reveals stunning purity, crisp acidity, and a drinkability window of 7-10 years. It is very rich, but surprisingly light on its feet. Tel. (888) 865-9463

Mount Eden’s estate Chardonnay typically starts out life as a tight, nervous wine. It’s marked by acidity and minerals, and you don’t want to drink it too cold. The ’04 is a lovely young wine, rich and dramatically complex, with layers of pineapples, Meyer lemons, limes, wet stone, creamy yeast and smoky oak, like an important Chablis. Brilliant now, it should develop additional bottle nuances over the next six years.——S.H.(7/1/2008)—— 93