Very light, bright subtle green-gold colour. Subtle, understated but powerful nose remniscent of a Chevalier-Montrachet....that good. Palate is similar understated "power and elegance" finesse of citrus and minerals with an underlying chalkiness that makes it very alluring. Feminine, elegant.....and gorgeous. Atypical of Napa Chardonnay....most preferred the more classical and oaky Ridge Monte Bello Chardonnay 2007......but I preferred this. I could drink this all day long.

Deepening silver-gold colour. Rich, buttery nose with ripe, succulent green and orange melon. Palate is very deep and rich, oak-framed citrus freshness. Good long finish but I find this lies a bit heavy and foursquare on the tongue. On the day I preferred the higher-toned freshness of the Ch. Montelena Chardonnay 2009.....but most people preferred the Ridge for its more hedonistic richness.

From a magnum generously provided by Todd. Colour is still dusky semi-translucent colour. Nose of dried rose flowers and sharp red cherry fruit with hints of smokiness and fried bacon. Palate is moderate-weight dusky feathered tannins encompassing nice semi-dried red berries and a good red brick dusk classic finish. We didn't do this bottle due justice on a busy family afternoon so I may well have under-scored it.

Decanted for 2 hours. Colour has brightened a lot in the past year to be deep ruby red semi-translucent today. Nose remains rather truculent: good depth of black fruit but only hints of the complexity that lurks broodingly in the background.....but at the moment it compares similarly to the Silver Oak 2003 we drank alongside it. The palate has developed from a year ago to reveal very attractive Californian-style Bordeaux fruit power on the black/red end of the spectrum and some hearty oak yet still quintessentially French because of the still-unintegrated tannic frame. Some length and tight-wound resonance that suggests greater things will emerge in the coming years. I suspect that this will way outlive most wines of the vintage but it still needs a 2-3years in the cellar before it starts to show its full potential charm. Everyone preferred the Silver Oak 2003 on the day because of its unpretentious easy-drinking charm.....but I did wave the flag valiantly for this wine (I brought both).

Finally a decent bottle of Silver Oak 2003.......no detailed notes but this had a great colour and an alluring oak-driven fruity nose backed up by round, mouthfilling fruitiness in a nice Bordeaux style. Very more-ish and with some complexity beginning to show through behind the showy fruit. No great length. This is a great "expensive" BBQ wine but I wouldn't make it the showcase of a romantic tete-a-tete dinner. However, it did show pretty well vs the Ch. Pape Clement 2003 we drank alongside.