A found bottle that had gone missing/been presumed drunk. Deep color with notes of lemon and something a bit nutty. That turns to key lime and butterscotch. Flavors of citrus fruit- lime and lemon- along with vanilla cream and hints of spice. Pairs nicely with supper. Not bad- in fact, we like it we think- but perhaps the best way to describe this is more interesting than good...
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Medium yellow color. Aromas of pears, almonds, minerals and citrus oil. Ripe, well-balanced fruit in the mouth with excellent depth and length. Nicely long and complex on the palate. Surprisingly fresh and intact for a 12 year old California Chardonnay but drink up!
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4th Saturday Group brown bagger (Our house): Blind. Banana and subtle toasty marshmallow notes. Pale color. Terrific apple fruit with a nice tropical edge. Good oak- has integrated very nicely here. 93+ pts.
I did not pick this out as the Kistler, as I've had expected a darker color and more noticeable oak. When these are "on" they're tough to beat, but there's been so many over the years that have either oxidized or aged too quickly.
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Nose and pallet were predominately apricot and honeysuckle, but this wine is not really about the fruit. It is more about the mouthfeel, which is incredibly soft (buttery?) at this point, and a long and complex finish. I don't see it getting any better with more age, so drink up!
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Out of the MANY chardonnays enjoyed tonight, this one was the one that was probably the least intricate and seemed to have the least fruit. Perhaps this bottle is already starting to show its age? Maybe a 50/50 bottle? To me this one seemed to be a little out of balance. Very acidic. I was getting a little bit of Asian pear as well but I think this one was starting to lose its fruit.
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A wonderfully rich and complex Chardonnay that is holding up well. Wonderful flavors of green apple and tropical fruits, the oak plays a pleasing, complementary role. Richly textured mouthfeel, more mineral driven than other Sonoma chards.
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I really think that 8-10 years is the sweet spot for Kistler whites. After 10 they can turn quickly. Before 8 years they are too big, too much oak, etc. In the right place these wines can be softer and more nuanced which was the case with this wine. Darker yellow than it drank this was not overly oxidized. Tonight this was a nice example of California Chard aged into a place a more refinement and balance.
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I'm joining the crowd on this one. Wonderful stuff!! At 8 years young it alive, vibrant, focused and very poised. Big, powerful nose of spice and earth and minerals and a lofty whisp of vanilla. On the palate its almost juicy, alive with mature acids and complex flavors of toasty nuts, tropical fruits and minerals. A touch of savory.
Long finish.
Still a very powerful wine.
Certainly my white WOTY to date.
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Wonderful wine...golden glistening shiny in appearance, long slow legs, buttery caramel nose butterscotch honeyed balanced structure, full body for a white , honeyed rich mouth coating long finish beautiful cheers! Unfined slightly cloudy faded out at mid bottle journey took a dive...ended with loss of complexity; we all liked this wine best in the first half!
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The Lions Birthday Celebration (Restaurant Carlton, Zürich, Switzerland): Clear and light gold in color. Nose of Vanilla and white flowers, some hints of alcohol showing through. Still quite a bit of acidity but all intermingled with a superb honey like sweetness. Balanced but still much too young. A great Chardonnay. Considering the youthfulness of the 1992 Kistler in the glass next to it I can just imagine how nicely this wine is going to age...
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A nose reminiscent of american chardonnay with wood, butter on nose along with lemon and tropical fruits aromas, initially not very clean but gained intensity after an hour in the glass. On palate this is really good: powerful, oily, with ripe fruit, quince, slight mineral, medium to full bodied, mouth coating and with a remarkable long finish. Quite good, too bad it's so pricey here. (91-93)
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Nez boisé Bouche bien riche, typée, il a beaucoup de gras, une belle matière, un peu d'alcool. Bien mais encore un peu trop moderne, boisé encore après 5 ans. J'attendrais la prochaine 4 ou 5 ans. 90(+?) pts Le lendemain c'est pire, l'élevage le fait paraitre vulgaire. À revoir.
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A bit more retrained than other Kistlers we have had, though nevertheless quite opulent and rich. Lush tropical fruits, vanilla oak, and sweet lemon lead, with following dried herbs, honeysuckle, and hazelnut butter. Full bodied, with just enough lemon citrus acidity for adequate balance. Well made within it style. Drink.
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My gosh!!!!! What a wonderful wine!!! Smooth, fully balanced well developed fruits, and just a fantastic wine!!! Buy it whenever you can. You won't find a better wine!!!
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4th Saturday group "uptown" tasting (Our house): Deep color with a green tint. Notes of pear, toast, vanilla, hazelnut and lemon. Long finish, but perhaps a bit behind the first white in terms of pleasure, but not by much.
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Opened by Allred at 4th Saturday tasting. Tasted blind. Same greenish gold color as the Kistler vineyard opened with this. This had similar citrus notes, but also some honey. Finish just a fraction shorter than the Kistler vineyard sister.
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(Etter 7 t åpen flaske) Mildt gyllen gul med svakt grønnstikk. Nydelig nese av sitronskall, tangerin, smør, mineraler og samt milde toner av vanilje. Bløt inngang. konsentrert, aromatisk frukt med flott dybde. Følger nese med tangerin og sitronskall. Flott friskhet og med mild sødme. Sømløs, kremet og viskøs struktur med nydelig, svakt varm, syre i avslutningen. Svært lang ettesmak med flott mineralitet. 93+ P.
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Popped and poured. Light green gold; citrus on the nose, no over ripe flavors. On the palate, significant acidity and body which slowly unwinds to a very nice intense but smoother palate feel. This should last and improve for another 3-5 years. Of the Sonoma Kistler Chards this is the one I feel has had the best balance and ageability, although the Carneros wines may overall have an edge there.
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Surprisingly disappointing. Usually love the wines from this vineyard. This was out of balance with too much alcohol. Fruit was there, but it just was seamless. Hopefully '09 will be better.
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China Club BYO (Hong Kong): Nose of toasted hazelnut, apple, peach and lime. Wonderful rich creamy chardonnay with the right acidic balance that does not make it too thick. Smooth long length.
An excellent bottle and I will be back for more
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it's not my style but for a super rich chardonnay, this was superb... sweet and rich, could have easily served for an after dinner drink, but wasn't flabby, enough acidity to balance out reasonably well... given not my style it was outstanding... i bet for cali chard lovers this would have been a 94-95, had two of these over two nights, consistent
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Impressive for it's richness, complexity and very long finish. Exotic fruit with maple sap notes with tons of sweet spices with acidity to keep it focus and balance.
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Popped and let sit for an hour; others had their fill of this. Served just a bit under cellar temperature. I got to taste this late towards the end of the bottle. Wonderful bouquet of pineapple and vanilla. A rich wine with hints of apricot. There is much going on in the glass. Tasty juice.
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5/3/2020 - AllRed wrote:
A found bottle that had gone missing/been presumed drunk. Deep color with notes of lemon and something a bit nutty. That turns to key lime and butterscotch. Flavors of citrus fruit- lime and lemon- along with vanilla cream and hints of spice. Pairs nicely with supper. Not bad- in fact, we like it we think- but perhaps the best way to describe this is more interesting than good...
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2/6/2020 - hsacks Likes this wine: 93 Points
Medium yellow color. Aromas of pears, almonds, minerals and citrus oil. Ripe, well-balanced fruit in the mouth with excellent depth and length. Nicely long and complex on the palate. Surprisingly fresh and intact for a 12 year old California Chardonnay but drink up!
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10/8/2018 - cbforever1 wrote: 91 Points
Clearly a USA chard. Still, is creamy and powerful as it we all expect but retains excellent freshness and lightness. Finishes quite bitter and oaky
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4/28/2018 - AllRed wrote: 93 Points
4th Saturday Group brown bagger (Our house): Blind. Banana and subtle toasty marshmallow notes. Pale color. Terrific apple fruit with a nice tropical edge. Good oak- has integrated very nicely here. 93+ pts.
I did not pick this out as the Kistler, as I've had expected a darker color and more noticeable oak. When these are "on" they're tough to beat, but there's been so many over the years that have either oxidized or aged too quickly.
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4/8/2018 - MaineMark Likes this wine: 94 Points
Nose and pallet were predominately apricot and honeysuckle, but this wine is not really about the fruit. It is more about the mouthfeel, which is incredibly soft (buttery?) at this point, and a long and complex finish. I don't see it getting any better with more age, so drink up!
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3/17/2018 - mflesh wrote: 89 Points
Out of the MANY chardonnays enjoyed tonight, this one was the one that was probably the least intricate and seemed to have the least fruit. Perhaps this bottle is already starting to show its age? Maybe a 50/50 bottle? To me this one seemed to be a little out of balance. Very acidic. I was getting a little bit of Asian pear as well but I think this one was starting to lose its fruit.
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10/22/2017 - BastardMontrachet Likes this wine: 92 Points
Notes of citrus, acidity with a little hint of vanilla/oak ish, very buttery mouthfeel and very very good quality wine.
Like!!
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10/7/2017 - wine4lux wrote: 94 Points
A wonderfully rich and complex Chardonnay that is holding up well. Wonderful flavors of green apple and tropical fruits, the oak plays a pleasing, complementary role. Richly textured mouthfeel, more mineral driven than other Sonoma chards.
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7/10/2017 - latorsher Does not like this wine: 75 Points
bitter
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4/16/2017 - Kemo Sabe Likes this wine: 90 Points
I really think that 8-10 years is the sweet spot for Kistler whites. After 10 they can turn quickly. Before 8 years they are too big, too much oak, etc. In the right place these wines can be softer and more nuanced which was the case with this wine. Darker yellow than it drank this was not overly oxidized. Tonight this was a nice example of California Chard aged into a place a more refinement and balance.
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10/11/2016 - UpfromtheCellar wrote: 93 Points
I'm joining the crowd on this one. Wonderful stuff!! At 8 years young it alive, vibrant, focused and very poised. Big, powerful nose of spice and earth and minerals and a lofty whisp of vanilla. On the palate its almost juicy, alive with mature acids and complex flavors of toasty nuts, tropical fruits and minerals. A touch of savory.
Long finish.
Still a very powerful wine.
Certainly my white WOTY to date.
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7/13/2016 - Bacchus&Ceres Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wonderful wine...golden glistening shiny in appearance, long slow legs, buttery caramel nose butterscotch honeyed balanced structure, full body for a white , honeyed rich mouth coating long finish beautiful cheers! Unfined slightly cloudy faded out at mid bottle journey took a dive...ended with loss of complexity; we all liked this wine best in the first half!
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9/8/2014 - Wine_lvr Likes this wine: 93 Points
The Lions Birthday Celebration (Restaurant Carlton, Zürich, Switzerland): Clear and light gold in color. Nose of Vanilla and white flowers, some hints of alcohol showing through. Still quite a bit of acidity but all intermingled with a superb honey like sweetness. Balanced but still much too young. A great Chardonnay. Considering the youthfulness of the 1992 Kistler in the glass next to it I can just imagine how nicely this wine is going to age...
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6/21/2014 - plitton wrote: 92 Points
Typical oak and butter.
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5/15/2014 - Periko Likes this wine: 92 Points
A nose reminiscent of american chardonnay with wood, butter on nose along with lemon and tropical fruits aromas, initially not very clean but gained intensity after an hour in the glass. On palate this is really good: powerful, oily, with ripe fruit, quince, slight mineral, medium to full bodied, mouth coating and with a remarkable long finish. Quite good, too bad it's so pricey here. (91-93)
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5/4/2014 - d'Artagnan wrote: 90 Points
Nez boisé
Bouche bien riche, typée, il a beaucoup de gras, une belle matière, un peu d'alcool. Bien mais encore un peu trop moderne, boisé encore après 5 ans. J'attendrais la prochaine 4 ou 5 ans. 90(+?) pts
Le lendemain c'est pire, l'élevage le fait paraitre vulgaire. À revoir.
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4/28/2014 - Rob and Meg wrote: 88 Points
A bit more retrained than other Kistlers we have had, though nevertheless quite opulent and rich. Lush tropical fruits, vanilla oak, and sweet lemon lead, with following dried herbs, honeysuckle, and hazelnut butter. Full bodied, with just enough lemon citrus acidity for adequate balance. Well made within it style. Drink.
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4/8/2014 - johnbhamrick wrote: 95 Points
My gosh!!!!! What a wonderful wine!!! Smooth, fully balanced well developed fruits, and just a fantastic wine!!! Buy it whenever you can. You won't find a better wine!!!
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2/22/2014 - mclanew Likes this wine: 94 Points
Beautiful focused wine. Layers of flavor - white peach, pears, crushed rocks, buttery brioche. Full bodied with lots of life still in it.
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2/5/2014 - bonedoc wrote: 94 Points
Lemon, custard, citrus, Carmel oak, some brine, delicious and going strong. Last bottle but will go another 3+.
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1/16/2014 - affordableCollector wrote: 88 Points
light golden, in color. lemon, citrus, floral, mineral, course rocks, oak, on the nose. medium acid, on the finish.
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12/6/2013 - Badgermitch wrote: 89 Points
Very rich. Strong notes of pear. Good chard. Terrible qpr
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10/5/2013 - jbro Likes this wine:
Not quite up to the Tanzer review--perhaps fading a bit-91
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6/23/2013 - AllRed wrote: 92 Points
Pear, toast and nutty qualities with a subtle citrus overtone. Rich, full texture with pear, orchard fruit and citrus. Long finish.
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6/22/2013 - AllRed wrote: 93 Points
4th Saturday group "uptown" tasting (Our house): Deep color with a green tint. Notes of pear, toast, vanilla, hazelnut and lemon. Long finish, but perhaps a bit behind the first white in terms of pleasure, but not by much.
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6/22/2013 - thelostverse wrote: 93 Points
Opened by Allred at 4th Saturday tasting. Tasted blind. Same greenish gold color as the Kistler vineyard opened with this. This had similar citrus notes, but also some honey. Finish just a fraction shorter than the Kistler vineyard sister.
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12/29/2012 - buckeye76 wrote: 94 Points
CRISP FRUIT, APPLES, PEARS, AND VANILLA IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR. NICE ACIDITY AND COMPLEXITY AND A LONG FINISH.
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10/23/2012 - -E- wrote: 93 Points
(Etter 7 t åpen flaske) Mildt gyllen gul med svakt grønnstikk. Nydelig nese av sitronskall, tangerin, smør, mineraler og samt milde toner av vanilje. Bløt inngang. konsentrert, aromatisk frukt med flott dybde. Følger nese med tangerin og sitronskall. Flott friskhet og med mild sødme. Sømløs, kremet og viskøs struktur med nydelig, svakt varm, syre i avslutningen. Svært lang ettesmak med flott mineralitet. 93+ P.
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10/16/2012 - rosenst1 wrote: 91 Points
Popped and poured. Light green gold; citrus on the nose, no over ripe flavors. On the palate, significant acidity and body which slowly unwinds to a very nice intense but smoother palate feel. This should last and improve for another 3-5 years. Of the Sonoma Kistler Chards this is the one I feel has had the best balance and ageability, although the Carneros wines may overall have an edge there.
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9/23/2012 - Ed & MB's Wine wrote: 90 Points
Great chardonnay.
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4/9/2012 - kenthargis wrote: 82 Points
Surprisingly disappointing. Usually love the wines from this vineyard. This was out of balance with too much alcohol. Fruit was there, but it just was seamless. Hopefully '09 will be better.
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3/28/2012 - RayOB Likes this wine: 96 Points
China Club BYO (Hong Kong): Nose of toasted hazelnut, apple, peach and lime. Wonderful rich creamy chardonnay with the right acidic balance that does not make it too thick. Smooth long length.
An excellent bottle and I will be back for more
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3/23/2012 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 92 Points
it's not my style but for a super rich chardonnay, this was superb... sweet and rich, could have easily served for an after dinner drink, but wasn't flabby, enough acidity to balance out reasonably well... given not my style it was outstanding... i bet for cali chard lovers this would have been a 94-95, had two of these over two nights, consistent
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1/19/2012 - matt182 wrote: 94 Points
Impressive for it's richness, complexity and very long finish. Exotic fruit with maple sap notes with tons of sweet spices with acidity to keep it focus and balance.
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1/12/2012 - Miceri wrote: 95 Points
Light golden yellow; butter, apple, sweet tones; structured, well-balanced, neither fat nor lean, very precise, tasty; lots of aftertaste; candy, delicious
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9/6/2011 - oeno1820 wrote: 93 Points
Starts with some minerals and tartness and opens to honeyed fruit.
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8/23/2011 - stocksandbondage wrote: 94 Points
Classic Kistler chard. Concentrated, and rich with a lot of glycerin and toasted oak. Almost a bit green at this stage.
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5/21/2011 - t_moderne wrote: 93 Points
Popped and let sit for an hour; others had their fill of this. Served just a bit under cellar temperature. I got to taste this late towards the end of the bottle. Wonderful bouquet of pineapple and vanilla. A rich wine with hints of apricot. There is much going on in the glass. Tasty juice.
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4/23/2011 - BernieMSY wrote: 92 Points
Good, but unfortunately not a great chard. Lovely color, good nose. Ever so slightly astringent
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