($175) Bright, green-tinged yellow. Wonderfully complex but youthfully restrained nose hints at stone and citrus fruits, butterscotch, smoke and minerals. With its powerful stony minerality and tactile impression of extract this conveys a drier impression than the 2008 chardonnay that preceded it. Densely packed, energetic and tightly coiled chardonnay with a tannic element that reminded me of a red wine. Very closed wine, just short of bitter on the finish today and in need of at least a couple years of patience. But this should age for a long time. The crop level here was about 1.5 tons per acre following thinning, which is normal for this terraced vineyard in Napa

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A special selection of the top barrels (125-150 cases produced), the 2007 Chardonnay The Judge is more backward than the regular Chardonnay, revealing a liqueur of rocks-like character intermixed with hints of almond paste, tropical fruits, quince, and mango. Its incredible length, richness, and depth suggest this wine will benefit from 1-2 years of bottle age, and should keep for over a decade.

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Light gold. A bit hazy with a slight pinkish hue. Delicious. Candied lemon and tangerine drops. Concentrated. Full throttle. Long. Yum. May be awakening from a sleepy stage