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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.8 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 77 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by MicklethePickle on 1/12/2023 & rated 91 points: Tasted at Indie Wine and Beer Bar on Green Street in San Francisco. I think the two notes from tasters in 2022 are spot-on, except I do not agree this has lost its Chardonnay character. Palate less developed than the nose. At 16, I think this has held up admirably. Rare treat to taste a wine this old from a by-the-glass menu. 5-11-17-8: 91/100. (537 views) | | | Tasted by RajivAyyangar on 12/31/2022: toasty bruised apple. Medium acid. Nutty. Old and honeyed. A bit bitter. Alcohol 14%? (14.1%). Feels advanced and a bit like it’s lost Chardonnay identity. (507 views) | | | Tasted by Roentgen Ray on 10/23/2022 & rated 90 points: Golden hued with some particulate floaters which isn’t surprising given the age and that it’s unfined and unfiltered at bottling.
Baked apple, a little honey, butterscotch, and nutty sherry notes. (514 views) | | | Tasted by VinoDiver on 5/15/2020 flawed bottle: oxidised... Vinegar. (1014 views) | | | Tasted by hanratty21 on 1/13/2018 & rated 91 points: On the tail end but still had some life in it. Quince, pear and wet stone. Solid, but definitely past it's prime. (1925 views) | | | Tasted by hsacks on 5/21/2017 & rated 88 points: Similar appearance to the 3/23/17 bottle but more oxidized. Still pleasurable with spicy shrimp but past peak. (2389 views) | | | Tasted by hsacks on 3/23/2017 & rated 92 points: Somewhat scary brownish yellow color. Aromas of quince, minerals and white flowers. Ripe, nicely balanced fruit in the mouth with very good depth and excellent length. Very integrated and silky on the palate. Another surpring Kistler Chardonnay. More Burgundy than California, more lithe than powerful. Still reasonably fresh but drink up! (2410 views) | | | Tasted by Mike V on 4/17/2016 flawed bottle: oxidized (3204 views) | | | Tasted by stoneb on 4/2/2016 & rated 88 points: Deep gold, slightly hazy color. Kept this too long. More like a dry sauternes. Caramel and tropical fruit, with long, toasty finish. Interesting and good, but time to drink up. (2795 views) | | | Tasted by rpenn77 on 3/6/2016 flawed bottle: I should've drank it sooner (1976 views) | | | Tasted by Tudz Drkl on 2/28/2016 & rated 90 points: Pretty dark golden color with some notes of spoiling peaches, white pepper and soft spice on the nose. On the palate, this has very nice fruit - peaches and lemons but the balance could be better with a tad more brightness. Nice chardonnay but not at this price. (1206 views) | | | Tasted by lebo9968@gmail.com on 9/12/2015 & rated 89 points: Way, way better than the previous bottle last month. Previous bottle was definitely oxidized. There was a vintage or two from these Kistler chards where I seemed to have quite a bit of bottle variation and/or an oxidizing issue. It's been a while, but that is my recollection. This bottle had a deep golden color. Not dark, but deep. Classic Kistler chard nose with some tropical fruit overtones. Palate tougher to get a handle on. A bit hot with tons of acidity. (1408 views) | | | Tasted by lebo9968@gmail.com on 8/8/2015 & rated 86 points: Darkish yellow color. Nose and palate of a tired wine. Not bad, or really past, but more bottle age that I expected. Some people will like this more than me, just not my style. I should have consumed earlier. (897 views) | | | Tasted by Valbonne on 8/1/2015 & rated 91 points: Very light nose - flower and vanilla.
Stone fruit. Mineral.
Maybe fading a bit at this point. (997 views) | | | Tasted by Roentgen Ray on 11/15/2014 & rated 91 points: Golden straw color. Butterscotch, and apple flavors with a viscid mouthfeel and minearality in the middle. It has a soft finish and was medium in length. (1485 views) | | | Tasted by VinoDiver on 10/12/2013 & rated 87 points: Fall 2013 Wine Dinner (CL): The wine seemed flat on this night. It was consumed alongside a Herb Lamb SB and a Rivers Marie Chard and it was a distant 3rd to those two. What little flavor their seemed to be was dominated by oak and the normal lush, creamy fruit I find in Kistler was absent. (3183 views) | | | Tasted by briquette on 6/19/2013 & rated 95 points: Tasting really well (2662 views) | | | Tasted by Cali Fan on 6/9/2013 & rated 93 points: Elegant, floral, hints of apricot. Great on a warm day (2564 views) | | | Tasted by JDRFoster on 3/18/2013 & rated 93 points: Toasted brioche, citrus zest, bits of tropical fruit with a saline/iodine minerality. Great balance, medium finish. Excellent. (2838 views) | | | Tasted by dcwino on 1/18/2013 & rated 90 points: 1990 Bordeaux dinner with Latour, Beausejour Duffau, Montrose and etc (Capital Grille Tysons, VA): Ripe yellow fruits, lemon curd, butter, vanilla, a hint of limestone and oak. Warm ripe fruits, a hint of mineral expression, lacking acidity and slightly bitter finish. It is slightly advanced and a bit cloying. Excellent provenance. (3733 views) | | | Tasted by mjf@ulkner on 6/3/2012 & rated 93 points: Rich, ripe Cali chardonnay. Yes it is big, with plenty of oak and butter. Nicely balanced with crisp lemon and citrus acidity. There is just the slightest hint of ripe Granny Smith apple in the background which makes me worried that this is starting to obtain some oxidative notes. It is tough to imagine that this is going to evolve in any positive manner- drink up. (2700 views) | | | Tasted by Lord Rayas on 3/18/2012 & rated 91 points: BBQ party for Aidan's SPCC friends & parents (Roof): fat and round. seems more accelerated than previous bottles with hints of oxidation. time to drink up. (3163 views) | | | Tasted by jdlee1232 on 12/27/2011 & rated 90 points: A very muted nose; a full palate but ultimately a little short of expectations (3028 views) | | | Tasted by overhill on 4/17/2011 & rated 94 points: Layers of butterscotch and honey with zesty tropical fruits coating the palette. Everything seemingly in correct proportion with wonderful complexity and a true combination of power and finesse. Big but fresh. One of the best Cal chards I have had. (3996 views) | | | Tasted by danielbleier on 4/15/2011 & rated 95 points: Consistent with prior notes...what a big bruiser. (3834 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Josh Raynolds
Vinous, May/June 2010, IWC Issue #150
(Kistler Vineyards Chardonnay Durell Vineyard Sonoma Valley) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Kistler Producer websiteChardonnay The Chardonnay GrapeDurell VineyardOriginally planted in 1979 by Ed Durell, this famous vineyard is located in the southwestern foothills of the Sonoma Valley, north of the San Pablo Bay and east of the Petaluma Wind Gap. The site is characterized partly by its Region II climate, where conditions are moderated by the Bay and the Pacific Ocean effects, making it ideal for cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. The rocky, volcanic soils at Durell Vineyard create a challenging environment for the vines’ root system, yielding very small grape clusters that have tremendous concentration and power.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Sonoma CountyMendocino CountySonoma Coast * Sonoma Coast AVA (Wikipedia)
* Sonoma Coast AVA (Wine Institue) |
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