Kistler

Kistler 2018 Durell Vineyard Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast

$ 169.00

Limited single-vineyard Kistler Chardonnay now available.

95 Points Robert Parker:  "The Chardonnay Durell Vineyard opens with alluring lemon curd, green guava and ripe apricot notes with suggestions of allspice, coriander seed, almond croissant and orange blossom. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a seductive oiliness to the texture with loads of rich tropical fruit layers generously accented with baking spice notions, finishing very long...

...The single-vineyard wines all represent much smaller quantities of wine. There have been several noticeable changes in the Kistler wines over the last few years, as they are certainly picking the Pinot Noir at an earlier date and going for less extraction, more fragrance and delicacy. The Chardonnays are still powerful wines but they have backed off the new oak to about 40%. (About 10 years ago, it was around 60%.) Other than that they are still potent and rich Chardonnays that are meant to be drunk in their first 4-6 years of life."

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Kistler 2018 Laguna Ridge Vineyard Chardonnay, Russian River Valley MAGNUM (1.5L)

$ 345.00

*Rare 1.5L MAGNUM bottle*

Limited single-vineyard Kistler Chardonnay now available.

95 Points Robert Parker:  "The Kistler 2018 Chardonnay Laguna Ridge Vineyard is only bottled in magnum. It has delicate aromas of flint, saline and roasted almonds with wafts of floral perfume over a core of toasty peaches plus hints of quince paste and beeswax. Medium-bodied, it slowly gains amplitude in the mouth, beginning minerally and transforming to toasty, iodine-tinged fruits. It has very fresh, uplifting acidity and finishes incredibly long with shifting flavor layers.

...Kistler Vineyards remains one of the absolute benchmark producers of great Sonoma Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, sitting right up there with the highest quality examples of these grapes from throughout the world. While the wines come from as wide a range of top terroirs as Sonoma can provide, interestingly nearly all of the Chardonnays are produced from a proprietary selection of Wente clones taken from a Larry Hyde block in the early 1980s. The exception is the Kistler Vineyard, which contains some original Martin Ray Mount Eden clonal material. This can be found in the straight Kistler Vineyard Chardonnay bottling, as opposed to the Cuvee Cathleen, which is mainly Wente selection. All the vineyard-designate Chardonnays are produced in precisely the same manner, meaning the differences between them are almost exclusively down to the differences in terroir. And as readers will see from my notes, the differences are striking."                                   

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Kistler 2019 Hudson Vineyard Chardonnay, Carneros

$ 169.00

Limited single-vineyard Kistler Chardonnay now available.

95 Points Robert Parker:  "The Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard opens with profound notions of pink grapefruit, pear tart and green mango with touches of pie crust, almond paste, orange blossoms and honeycomb. Medium to full-bodied, it completely coats the palate with satiny textured tropical and citrus fruits, featuring loads of savory accents and a long, uplifting finish...

...The single-vineyard wines all represent much smaller quantities of wine. There have been several noticeable changes in the Kistler wines over the last few years, as they are certainly picking the Pinot Noir at an earlier date and going for less extraction, more fragrance and delicacy. The Chardonnays are still powerful wines but they have backed off the new oak to about 40%. (About 10 years ago, it was around 60%.) Other than that they are still potent and rich Chardonnays that are meant to be drunk in their first 4-6 years of life."

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Kistler 2019 McCrea Vineyard Chardonnay, Sonoma Mountain

$ 169.00

95 Points                               
Kistler McCrea Vineyard Chardonnay  - rare new release.

The Chardonnay McCrea Vineyard offers up gorgeous notions of ripe peaches, honeyed toast, grapefruit and orange blossoms with touches of ginger and marzipan. Medium to full-bodied, it has a lovely satiny texture and tons of stone fruit and savory layers with a good, long spice-laced finish...

...Kistler Vineyards remains one of the absolute benchmark producers of great Sonoma Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, sitting right up there with the highest quality examples of these grapes from throughout the world. While the wines come from as wide a range of top terroirs as Sonoma can provide, interestingly nearly all of the Chardonnays are produced from a proprietary selection of Wente clones taken from a Larry Hyde block in the early 1980s. All the vineyard-designate Chardonnays are produced in precisely the same manner, meaning the differences between them are almost exclusively down to the differences in terroir. And as readers will see from my notes, the differences are striking."

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Kistler 2019 Stone Flat Vineyard Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast

$ 169.00

Limited single-vineyard Kistler Chardonnay now available.

95 Points Robert Parker:  "The Chardonnay Stone Flat Vineyard opens with wonderfully seductive tropical fruit notes of fresh pineapple, green guava and passion fruit with compelling sparks of lemon zest, wet pebbles, baking bread and cashew pieces plus a touch of fresh ginger. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is bursting with exotic fruits and zesty nuances with a decadent oiliness to the texture plus a racy line to deliver a very long, invigorating finish.

...The single-vineyard wines all represent much smaller quantities of wine. There have been several noticeable changes in the Kistler wines over the last few years, as they are certainly picking the Pinot Noir at an earlier date and going for less extraction, more fragrance and delicacy. The Chardonnays are still powerful wines but they have backed off the new oak to about 40%. (About 10 years ago, it was around 60%.) Other than that they are still potent and rich Chardonnays that are meant to be drunk in their first 4-6 years of life.

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Occidental 2020 Pinot Noir, Freestone-Occidental (Kistler)

$ 69.99

New Occidental Pinot Noir release from Kistler. Limited.

previous vintage 95+ Points Robert Parker: "The Pinot Noir Freestone-Occidental comes mostly from younger vines at the Occidental property but is made with the same attention to detail as the other wines in the portfolio, using free-run juice. Its nose is an aromatic well, offering crushed blueberries, charcuterie, Earl Grey tea leaves, graphite, saline, bitter orange peel and potpourri aromas. In the mouth, it explodes with lush fruits that give way after their initial rush to bitter, citrusy, minerally accents. It has a fine grain, seamless freshness and long, layered finish. It's enjoyable now but will age well over the next five to eight-plus years."

previous vintage 94 Points Antionio Galloni (Vinous): "The Pinot Noir Freestone Occidental is a truly remarkable wine. Maybe that is the vintage, or the added complexity the vines are acquiring with time, but the Freestone Occidental makes me incredibly curious to taste the rest of the 2018s. Bright, focused and beautifully sculpted, the 2018 is a wine of total elegance and finesse. Moreover, it captures the savory, energetic, saline style that is so typical of this part of the Sonoma Coast."

Occidental is Steve Kistler's new Pinot Noir project, which is starting essentially as a spin-out from Kistler Vineyards. Steve Kistler remains CEO of Kistler Vineyards and very much in charge of day to day operations. At the same time, Kistler understandably wanted to manage a small project of his own with an eye towards his two younger daughters who will one day run Occidental.

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