2002 Varner Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay Spring Ridge Vineyard Home Vineyard, 14.1% alc., $39: Bright gold in color, but not nearly as intense as the Neely, not that that�s a bad thing in this case; rich apple and pear flavors and aromas shaded with a note of lime and more than a hint of �the pea thing� as it opens and warms in the glass. What starts out as some subtle, unobtrusive oak emerges with air to add some spice to the mix. Well balanced, with fine concentration, good acids and nice length. My only complaint with this otherwise tasty Chardonnay is that I�d like a little more on the nose.  Find this wine

2002 Varner Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay Spring Ridge Vineyard Amphitheater Block, 14% alc., $31: Bright golden color, with the most �apple-like� character of these three; there�s some pear here too, but it plays a subordinate role at most. There�s some oak here as well, but it�s never obtrusive, adding a moderate note of spice, and the package is rounded out with hints of lemon, Cr�me Brule and some minerality that emerges with air. Medium-full to full-bodied, ripe, but not over-ripe, with the brightest acids of these three, very good concentration, density and length on the finish. Find this wine

I like all three of these a lot, and find it especially interesting that these �older� vintages are available in southeastern Michigan, when the �05s are available elsewhere. Too bad the Bee Block is sold out here, because our colleague Brad Baker has nice things to say about that one as well. If I had to pick a favorite, I might give a slight nod to the Neely this time, for its almost unctuous nature, but on another night, it could well be a different verdict. I�m glad that we got the opportunity to try these three with a few years under their belts, because they�re all showing very well. This is one producer I�ll definitely be getting to know better.  But wait, there's one more that we got our hands on as well!

2005 Tablas Creek Paso Robles Grenache Blanc, 15.3% alc., $27:

2005 Edmunds St. John Shell and Bone Paso Robles White Wine, 14.2% alc., $21:

(Allow me to digress briefly and share an ironic anecdote about this wine: well over a year ago, the local distributor brought a bottle of the 2004 Hamilton Russell Walker Bay Chardonnay by for me to try, and I loved it for many of the same reasons I love its successor, so I ordered up several for my retail shelves. None were delivered, because they were out of stock, leaving me to exclaim WTF!?! How do you promote a bottle of wine that�s not in stock?!

Fast forward to April 2007: I noticed that the wine noted below was in stock in the same distributor�s book, so I immediately ordered some up for my shelves without tasting them, betting on the winery�s rep for producing excellent wares and Vineyard Brands� penchant for importing the same. My bet paid off, because I brought one home to try, and as noted, liked it so well, I picked up another four as well. I ordered up another batch for the shelf and, yup, they were out of stock. Oh well, like the old folk song goes, �I got mine��)

2005 Hamilton Russell Walker Bay Chardonnay, 13% alc., $23.99: Medium straw color, with an immediate, and very aromatic creamy, stony minerality apparent on the nose, fanning out on the palate to include some subtle butterscotch over pear, cream and what my better half describes as �a little bit of that canned pea thing;� medium-full body, with a creamy texture that belies the crisp acidity and good length on the finish. Much closer to white Burgundy in character than, say, California Chardonnay, and that�s fine with us. We opened three of these with three different sets of friends, and it was a big hit each time, particularly with smoky grilled chicken. Sourced from low-vigor, stony, clay-rich, shale-derived soil, seeing 8 months in 228 liter French oak barrels; 7,000 cases produced. Find this wine

Imported by Vineyard Brands, Inc., Birmingham, AL

Of course, we couldn�t do a feature on warm weather whites without including a few from Chablis�

2006 Domaine Pichot Vouvray Domaine Le Peu de la Moriette, 12% alc., $14.99 alc.: Medium straw color tinged with a hint o� peach; a little tight on the nose, but much more expressive on the palate, with mineral-laced, slightly sweet peach and apple flavors. Medium to medium-full body, somewhat unctuous and quite smooth textured, never quite masking the deceptive acids. Vouvray has never quite done it for me, but the minerality here gives this enough interest and complexity to give me cause to pause and reconsider. It would be interesting to try it with some spicy Asian food. Find this wine

1997 Domaine Weinbach Riesling Alsace Cuv�e St. Catherine, 13.5% alc.: This medium straw shows floral notes and a hint of petrol over lovely herbal apple and peach in flavor and aroma; medium full-body, with excellent cut, concentration and length, showing more complexity as it opens, especially in the petrol department, but it�s never out of balance. A fine complement to a nice plate of lake trout at Leland, Michigan�s Bluebird Restaurant. Find this wine

Domaine Vincent Delaporte, Domaine Pichot, & Domaine Weinbach imported by Vineyard Brands, Inc., Birmingham, AL

The wines of Spain are hot these days, and I�ve been especially impressed with their whites, particularly the Albarino and Verdejo noted below. So imagine my surprise when I got the opportunity to try a QPR gem from Portugal that knocked my socks off (and continues to do so, as I sip on another glass as I write this report).

2005 Condado das Vinhas Alentejano Vinho Branco, 13.5% alc., $10.99:

2005 Mar de Frades Rias Baixas Albarino, 12% alc., $18.99:

2005 Naia Rueda, 100% Verdejo, 13% alc., $14.99: