A pair of bright Chardonnays

I'm off tomorrow morning for the annual High Museum Wine Auction Trade Tasting, and I'll also be attending some other wine events and talking with vineyards owners, wine makers and wine industry folks about what we can expect from upcoming vintages.

Already, I know the glut of California juice is over -- and labels that cropped up to take advantage of that excess bounty are either falling by the wayside or producing less wine at higher prices.

Still, there are plenty of great values out there -- and plenty of great wines to drink. This week, I taste two Chards that recently captured my attention.

Mer Soleil Silver 2010

  I imagine this wine as tasting like a Chardonnay grape, plucked fresh from the pressing conveyor on a crisp, Monterey County morning.

  Take classic Chablis style and masterfully blend the citrus elements of cool Santa Lucia Highland Chardonnay -- that's Mer Soleil Silver. This wine sees no oak or malolactic fermentation -- and contacts only stainless steel or French imported cement tanks. Carrying that natural theme forward is the wine's distinctive ceramic bottle.

  Obviously, this is a wine driven by minerality, albeit delicate and perfectly balanced. The mid palate lights up with bright citrus character: lemon and grapefruit are pronounced.
  I've recently converted several Sauvignon Blanc drinkers to this wine -- who find it refreshing and expressive enough to satisfy their rugged palates -- yet far more elegant to their sensibilities. One of the Wagner Family of wines -- Caymus, Conundrum, Meomi and Belle Glos -- the wine certainly carries its pedigree with distinction.

  There is a stunning video that illustrates the unique terroir of this vineyard. You can view the video by clicking here. MSRP $24.

96 points: "The grape does all the talking in this expressive and mouthwatering unoaked Chardonnay."

Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Chardonnay 2009

  Sorting through the various Mondavi family ventures is a monumental task, but when a sip of this mostly Napa fruit Chard hits the tongue, there's no mistaking the quality that experience brings to wine making.

  With the influence of French oak and careful blending from four vineyards (all Napa except 12 percent sourced in Sonoma), this Chardonnay brings the blessings of oak aging to the forefront -- without being the frequently lambasted butterball Chard.   A balanced oak regimen (15 percent new oak on only 80 percent of the juice), some stainless steel aging and only partial malolactic fermentation, provides the wine with plenty of body, great classic expression of oak and enough fresh fruit acidity to finish clean and bright.

  Expect some vanilla notes -- even custardy at times -- then an explosion of bright, clean fruit on the mid-palate. Fresh pear fills the nose. MSRP $20.

90 points: "A beautifully crafted and classic California Chardonnay with enough oak to be pleasing and enough bright fruit to be savored."

Read the definitions of my scoring standards here.