Popped and poured. After a bunch of recent premoxed white wines, this was welcome. Lovely nose of white flowers, orchard and tropical fruit and a touch of spice. The palate is full bodied, nicely balanced, showing a nice touch of oak and god length. Early maturity. Drink over the next three to five years.
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Wednesday Afternoon Wine Tasting (Kevin and Vicki's House): It's Kistler...of course it's good! PnP...drank a small glass over the course of 10 mins....what can I say, I have no will power when it comes to wines I like! Nose shows poached pear, green apple, straw, lemon, and white flowers. Palate has a well rounded, creamy mouthfeel with pear, melon chalk and slight notes of honeysuckle wrapped in brine. The toasty oak is well-integrated and everything is in balance. A great wine, in a great place, and drinking extremely well! Laying these down for 6-8 years seems perfect! My last bottle, and I wish I had more....easy 94+ for me!
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Wine Wednesday (Rocknroller's (Kevin & Vicki's Place)): Light gold plus color. PNP, drank a glass over an hour. Fantastic nose; really powerful, briny citrus, spiced pear, a sweet essence of white flowers, ripe yet contained. The palate shows pear, lemon, toasted barrel, a little smoky flint, but less minerality overall, brine, long and deep.
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PnP.....Utterly delicious! Nose showed plenty of stone fruit, some white flowers and some toasty oak and mild spice. Palate was creamy, with loads of pear, melon and some apple, coupled with bramble and hints of buttered croissants. Loved this Chardonnay, and it is in a great place right now for my palate! 94+ with no problem! I would say drink these within the next year or two for peak pleasure (if you enjoy lots of fruit and some tertiary goodness!)
I thought this was drinking very well right now. A nice medium bright yellow coming out of the bottle. Nose is classic Kistler to me, burnt caramel, roasted almond, brioche, with just a pleasant hint of lemon peel to tease you with a beautifully complex aroma. Palate is nicely round and fat, good viscosity with the fruit lurking in the background, enhancing the structure with medium acidity and an ever so slightly savory finish. I’ve recently had some experiences with this producer where the bottles that were more than 6 or 7 years old have not shown well, but this was not the case here - it’s got a few years left and was in peak form. Sadly becoming extremely expensive, so will be last my last bottle.
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Intense, apple, wood, strong acids. Great profile; still quite immature -- I'll wait another 3-5 years before trying mine -- but nonetheless delicious and likely a promising future.
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Baked apple, cinnamon, vanilla, sweet aromas, and then a hint of mushroom. Kind of like a plastic bag that had mushrooms in it, through me off a little. Toasty oak on the palate with some acid to keep things together. Sweet sweet alcohol finished it off.
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very very nice, a Cali chard for sure but also very deftly produced with decent acidity to balance the full flavors... as more and more vintages of Kistler com along, I am finding that I need to drink them earlier and earlier to keep them as bright as I like... I will drink my '14's now / soon and even the '15s (tho I find them a little higher and tighter generally)
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Same clonal material from Larry Hyde as Durrell Vineyard, same dark loamy soils too. But different root stock. This is the aromatic wine so far. Some tangy vanilla aromas. With the clove spice. Definitely the wine of the flight.
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20ft away from Durell Vineyard, northern tip of Carneros. Here with more pourous/volcanic, large stones, less polished than Durell. More snap to the nose and focus to the palate. An extra level of depth to the palate. A little saw-dusty.
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This lovely Chardonnay needs another year or so in order to come into its own. Light yellow in color; medium in body; nose of Bartlett pear, minerals, and ocean air. Tastes of lemongrass, lime peel, quince, and almond, with a tart and lingering finish. 14.1% alcohol. I like the Vine Hill a bit better, but this is a tightly coiled wine that will improve with time.
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This review is over two drinking sessions with 32 hours of air between the second and first tasting. On the first sampling I thought this Chard could use some more bottle age. I think this wine will age beautifully and gain complexity with some patience.
This is wine has a wonderful structure with vibrant acidity, but not over bearing. The nose is complex with orchard fruits, including green apple, pears, limes with hints of vanilla and baking spices. It has marvelous mid-palate texture and all of the orchard fruits previously described in the nose. There's also a really nice Burgundian minerality going on, which I like.
This is drinking very well right now and has room to improve. Tuck this one a way for a few more years and you'll be rewarded.
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Medium gold in colour; nose of cream, honey, brioche and lemon - almost pineapple; palate follows nose; beautifully balanced and nuanced; a little less Burgundian than Les Noisetiers; delightful, nice finish
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Medium gold in colour; nose of cream, honey, brioche and lemon - almost pineapple; palate follows nose; beautifully balanced and nuanced; a little less Burgundian than Les Noisetiers; delightful, nice finish
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This is more compact but has great shape. The nose is vibrant with perfectly ripe orchard fruits and plenty of spice. It has seriously good mid-palate flesh and intensity and there’s good mineral cut to the finish,
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Finally opened one of my 2014's. Expected it to taste young and was surprised it was very mature. Nose of lemon and wet stone with a slight smokey fragrance. Beautiful golden color with minor acidity and lemon flavor upfront with a mineral finish very smooth when the finish fruit kicks in. One of the very best Sonoma Chardonnays I've had in the past 3 years. A very strong 94! Great with Paella!!
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Very nice. Lovely golden color. Fragrant bouquet of hazelnuts, lemon curd, and stone fruit. This should be better in two years, but it's so lovely now that it was worth the preview.
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Young, green and tight. Needs some time for flavors to blend and lengthen, but has that signature Kistler palate. Popped way too soon because I just couldn't wait to try one from the new set and had 3 of these, so this poor bottle had to make the sacrifice.
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4/19/2024 - mclanew Likes this wine: 95 Points
Popped and poured. After a bunch of recent premoxed white wines, this was welcome. Lovely nose of white flowers, orchard and tropical fruit and a touch of spice. The palate is full bodied, nicely balanced, showing a nice touch of oak and god length. Early maturity. Drink over the next three to five years.
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8/26/2023 - BLam Likes this wine: 92 Points
Edward brought this to the BBQ dinner but drank afterwards. A beautiful Chardonnay !
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9/21/2022 - I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wednesday Afternoon Wine Tasting (Kevin and Vicki's House): It's Kistler...of course it's good! PnP...drank a small glass over the course of 10 mins....what can I say, I have no will power when it comes to wines I like! Nose shows poached pear, green apple, straw, lemon, and white flowers. Palate has a well rounded, creamy mouthfeel with pear, melon chalk and slight notes of honeysuckle wrapped in brine. The toasty oak is well-integrated and everything is in balance. A great wine, in a great place, and drinking extremely well! Laying these down for 6-8 years seems perfect! My last bottle, and I wish I had more....easy 94+ for me!
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9/21/2022 - rocknroller wrote: 94 Points
Wine Wednesday (Rocknroller's (Kevin & Vicki's Place)): Light gold plus color. PNP, drank a glass over an hour. Fantastic nose; really powerful, briny citrus, spiced pear, a sweet essence of white flowers, ripe yet contained. The palate shows pear, lemon, toasted barrel, a little smoky flint, but less minerality overall, brine, long and deep.
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7/30/2022 - I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine Likes this wine: 94 Points
PnP.....Utterly delicious! Nose showed plenty of stone fruit, some white flowers and some toasty oak and mild spice. Palate was creamy, with loads of pear, melon and some apple, coupled with bramble and hints of buttered croissants. Loved this Chardonnay, and it is in a great place right now for my palate! 94+ with no problem! I would say drink these within the next year or two for peak pleasure (if you enjoy lots of fruit and some tertiary goodness!)
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1/29/2022 - hrazdiiv Likes this wine: 92 Points
I thought this was drinking very well right now. A nice medium bright yellow coming out of the bottle. Nose is classic Kistler to me, burnt caramel, roasted almond, brioche, with just a pleasant hint of lemon peel to tease you with a beautifully complex aroma. Palate is nicely round and fat, good viscosity with the fruit lurking in the background, enhancing the structure with medium acidity and an ever so slightly savory finish. I’ve recently had some experiences with this producer where the bottles that were more than 6 or 7 years old have not shown well, but this was not the case here - it’s got a few years left and was in peak form. Sadly becoming extremely expensive, so will be last my last bottle.
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7/20/2020 - Tylerk wrote: 93 Points
A classic kistler and great ow - we had with grilled flounder
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7/2/2020 - BigBoy_Sonoma Likes this wine: 94 Points
Granny Smith apples, creme brûlée, acidity, finishes with a touch of toasted oak. A
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6/13/2020 - alpha_ori Likes this wine: 93 Points
Intense, apple, wood, strong acids. Great profile; still quite immature -- I'll wait another 3-5 years before trying mine -- but nonetheless delicious and likely a promising future.
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6/12/2020 - BigBoy_Sonoma Likes this wine: 94 Points
Granny Smith, creme brûlée, minerality, acidity, finishes with a touch of oak. A
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4/12/2020 - Mattvino wrote:
Getting real close to being tired. Drink now
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1/30/2020 - Thief Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very mineraly with lemon and crisp peach. A touch of vanilla is present from the oak influence.
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6/21/2019 - ewasowicz wrote: 96 Points
Nose: lemon, Stone
Taste: buttery, lemon, light grapefruit and extremely smooth finish.
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1/14/2019 - I1bearup wrote: 90 Points
Baked apple, cinnamon, vanilla, sweet aromas, and then a hint of mushroom. Kind of like a plastic bag that had mushrooms in it, through me off a little. Toasty oak on the palate with some acid to keep things together. Sweet sweet alcohol finished it off.
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12/31/2018 - BigBoy_Sonoma Likes this wine: 93 Points
Apple, citrus, minerality, hints of vanilla, finishes with a touch of oak. A
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10/8/2018 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 91 Points
very very nice, a Cali chard for sure but also very deftly produced with decent acidity to balance the full flavors... as more and more vintages of Kistler com along, I am finding that I need to drink them earlier and earlier to keep them as bright as I like... I will drink my '14's now / soon and even the '15s (tho I find them a little higher and tighter generally)
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4/13/2018 - nzinkgraf wrote:
Same clonal material from Larry Hyde as Durrell Vineyard, same dark loamy soils too. But different root stock. This is the aromatic wine so far. Some tangy vanilla aromas. With the clove spice. Definitely the wine of the flight.
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1/10/2018 - knlowery Likes this wine: 93 Points
great chard with layers of fruit, acid and oak. a Burgundian style that is wonderful
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11/3/2017 - nzinkgraf wrote:
A much more dynamic wine than the Durell 2014. Tree fruit snap to the palate. More weight to the palate too. Poached spiced pear to the palate.
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10/30/2017 - nzinkgraf wrote:
20ft away from Durell Vineyard, northern tip of Carneros. Here with more pourous/volcanic, large stones, less polished than Durell. More snap to the nose and focus to the palate. An extra level of depth to the palate. A little saw-dusty.
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9/20/2017 - msuwine Likes this wine: 93 Points
This lovely Chardonnay needs another year or so in order to come into its own. Light yellow in color; medium in body; nose of Bartlett pear, minerals, and ocean air. Tastes of lemongrass, lime peel, quince, and almond, with a tart and lingering finish. 14.1% alcohol. I like the Vine Hill a bit better, but this is a tightly coiled wine that will improve with time.
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7/30/2017 - DawgByte Likes this wine: 92 Points
This review is over two drinking sessions with 32 hours of air between the second and first tasting. On the first sampling I thought this Chard could use some more bottle age. I think this wine will age beautifully and gain complexity with some patience.
This is wine has a wonderful structure with vibrant acidity, but not over bearing. The nose is complex with orchard fruits, including green apple, pears, limes with hints of vanilla and baking spices. It has marvelous mid-palate texture and all of the orchard fruits previously described in the nose. There's also a really nice Burgundian minerality going on, which I like.
This is drinking very well right now and has room to improve. Tuck this one a way for a few more years and you'll be rewarded.
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6/11/2017 - BigBoy_Sonoma Likes this wine: 94 Points
Granny Smith apples, minerality, creme brûlée, apricots, pear, lime acidity. So well balanced, so good. A
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5/25/2017 - Brent25 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Medium gold in colour; nose of cream, honey, brioche and lemon - almost pineapple; palate follows nose; beautifully balanced and nuanced; a little less Burgundian than Les Noisetiers; delightful, nice finish
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5/20/2017 - Brent25 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Medium gold in colour; nose of cream, honey, brioche and lemon - almost pineapple; palate follows nose; beautifully balanced and nuanced; a little less Burgundian than Les Noisetiers; delightful, nice finish
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2/12/2017 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
This is more compact but has great shape. The nose is vibrant with perfectly ripe orchard fruits and plenty of spice. It has seriously good mid-palate flesh and intensity and there’s good mineral cut to the finish,
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1/24/2017 - fcs@macsimsllc.com wrote: 94 Points
Finally opened one of my 2014's. Expected it to taste young and was surprised it was very mature. Nose of lemon and wet stone with a slight smokey fragrance. Beautiful golden color with minor acidity and lemon flavor upfront with a mineral finish very smooth when the finish fruit kicks in. One of the very best Sonoma Chardonnays I've had in the past 3 years. A very strong 94! Great with Paella!!
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12/29/2016 - BigBoy_Sonoma Likes this wine: 93 Points
granny smith, pear, lemon, lime, butter, cream, hints of acidity and hints of minerality. A-/A
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11/22/2016 - O'Meara Likes this wine:
Very nice. Lovely golden color. Fragrant bouquet of hazelnuts, lemon curd, and stone fruit. This should be better in two years, but it's so lovely now that it was worth the preview.
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10/9/2016 - EstimatedEyes wrote:
Young, green and tight. Needs some time for flavors to blend and lengthen, but has that signature Kistler palate. Popped way too soon because I just couldn't wait to try one from the new set and had 3 of these, so this poor bottle had to make the sacrifice.
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