Though I'm a huge fan of Chardonnay, I've often trashed California examples in the past as too oaky, butterscotchy, ponderous. Happily, the range of styles has grown wider in the past five years, as more older wineries join those aiming for more balanced whites and the best up-and-coming producers favor a leaner expression of the world's most popular grape.

One that's impressed me recently is the subtle yet powerful 2009 Freeman Ryo-Fu Chardonnay, with its inviting aromas of white flowers, peaches and lemon curd. It has richness without heaviness and the same silky elegance I find in Freeman's excellent Pinot Noirs. Fruit and finesse, not oak, shine through, though.

This is Freeman's only Chardonnay -- the winery makes four Pinot Noirs -- and it's a blend of grapes from three vineyards in the Russian River Valley. Both Heintz Ranch and Keefer Ranch, in the very cool Green Valley part of the Russian River appellation, contribute crisp acidity, minerality and aromas, while Black Emerald, further east, gives rich, ripe fruit, a seductive combination. The wine is fermented and aged in barrel, but only 24 percent sees new oak, so the wine has a graceful, sophisticated, refined flair. Ryo-fu means "cool breeze" in Japanese.

The winery in Sebastopol, founded in 2002 by Ken and Akiko Freeman, has an impressive 6,000-square-foot stone wine cave filled with barrels; the date the two met in 1985 is engraved on the keystone. The couple spent time in Asia -- Akiko is from an illustrious Japanese family -- and there Ken helped establish the Discovery Channel and worked in finance. He is now an investment banker, but as Burgundy lovers, owning a winery to make Pinot Noir was their dream.

I'm glad they added at least one Chardonnay.

Zester Daily contributor Elin McCoy is a wine and spirits columnist and author of "The Emperor of Wine: The Rise of Robert M. Parker, Jr. and the Reign of American Taste."

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