Wine Enthusiast Favorite California Chardonnays for $25 or Less
California's most planted white variety and one of the best-selling wines in the United States, Castoro Cellars and Timbre top the list of Wine Enthusiast Chardonnays under $25.
Castoro Cellars 2017 Estate Grown Chardonnay (Paso Robles); $20, 91 points. Bright and billowy aromas of gardenia and plumeria meet with a touch of peach on the tactfully precise nose of this wine. The palate sizzles with acidic energy that cuts through the ripe flavors of apple blossom, white peach and Key lime pie. —M.K.
Timbre 2016 Opening Act Chardonnay (Santa Maria Valley); $24, 91 points. Salty peach and freshly zested lemon meet with a handful of roasted nuts on the nose of this bottling from Bien Nacido Vineyard. The palate is tightly wound and briskly clean yet also expressive with white-flower flavors of honeysuckle and gardenia. —M.K.