The 2007 Chardonnay Dutton Ranch exhibits a more buttery, caramel, and hazelnut-scented style, and in that sense, it harkens back to the older style of California Chardonnays. This broad, full-bodied, rich, bone dry effort reveals more oak than in some of its siblings. Consume it over the next 3-4 years.

For the past twenty years, Patz and Hall has been one of California-s finest negociant firms, accessing top quality fruit and vinifying and bottling their wines with minimal intervention. The following efforts represent the finest wines I have tasted from them in many years.