Pale yellow-gold. Aromas of peach, apricot and nuts. Sweet and lush, with Meursault-like flavors of apricot and roasted grain. A full-blown, rather velvety style with a chewy finish featuring a firm edge of minerals and acidity and some alcoholic warmth. This is actually 15.5% alcohol, according to winemaker Bob Foley, but was not acidified. In fact, this is from a Meursault clone planted on a mountaintop vineyard at 2,000 feet.

Here is a wine that goes for it all, and lovers of very rich, arguably too-oaky, mouth-filling Chardonnays are bound to swoon. Showing layer upon layer of caramel, vanilla and dark toast, the wine is ultimately more ripe and rich than it is convincingly fruity, but it never dries out and its richness is sustained all the way through. It will need to be paired with the most flavorful foods and will shine with the likes of Provencal chicken cooked with green olives.

Pride Mountain's limited cuvee bottling has all the size, depth and range one could reasonably expect from one of the winery's special selections. We love its mix of ripe apple and spiced fruit with complexing notes of vanilla and minerals, and its full, oily palatal feel is also right in the line with expectations. One might criticize its finish for slight hotness, but, these days, a bit of heat goes with the territory when it comes to full-blown, extracted Chardonnays of its type