Full, bright yellow. Opulent aromas of yellow fruits, wild herbs and brown spices. Silky, fruit-driven and sweet, with good balancing energy and spicy lift. Not at all overly ripe: this wine clearly benefited from the cool growing season of 2009. The percentage of new oak for this bottling has been cut from 45% to 30% with this vintage.

True to the Pride style, this Chardonnay is massively constructed, with an enormous blast of pineapple, orange and golden mango fruit, elaborated with sweet, smoky, caramelized oak. It's saved from being a mere fruit bomb by crisp acidity and a bracing minerality. Drink now for sheer hedonistic freshness.

The 2009 Chardonnay Vintners Select is a slightly richer, riper wine than the straight Chardonnay but it also has more focus. Here, too, the wine's balance and sense of harmony are terrific for such a large-scaled, opulent Chardonnay. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016