Steele Wines, Sonoma Valley (Sonoma County, California) Chardonnay 2018

 Though the oak in this large-framed Chardonnay is immediately noticeable — a hint of bacon fat — it is not intrusive or overwhelming.  Indeed, it’s a balanced wine redolent with melon-like fruitiness and bright acidity that keeps it fresh and you coming back for more.  A hefty Chardonnay weighing in at a stated 14.5 percent alcohol, paradoxically, it actually seems restrained.  There’s none of the overdone buttery notes so often seen in California Chardonnays of the past.