Kistler 2010 Sonoma Mountain Chardonnay White Wine

Kistler Vineyards

Produced since 1986. Just shy of 1800 feet in elevation, in a small bowl on the western edge of the Mayacama mountains lies the original Kistler planting. Thirty year old vines grow dry farmed in deep red volcanic ash, producing a wine with an intense sense of the mountain heritage of the delicate stone fruit that is lifted, like its McCrea cousin, yet firmer, and with a stronger core and added layers of richness.
The wine is of the same high quality as Kistler's single vineyard chardonnays but, through blending, they are able to create a high quality wine, with a consistent flavor profile. Rich, complex smoky aroma of perfect ripe fruit with a delicious noisette note, in a pleasing, Meursault-like style. In the mouth the wine is very delicious, displaying intense, fruit flavors underpinned with toasty oak and smoky flavors. The crisp acidity in the wine highlights the delicious fruit and makes it an excellent accompaniment to a wide range of foods. It is richly textured with a long, lingering finish.

Wine Advocate

Robert Parker: "If the Kistler Winery could be magically transported to the middle of Burgundy's Cote d'Or, it would quickly gain a reputation as glorious as any producer of Burgundy Grand Crus."

Type	White
Varietal	Chardonnay
Vintage	2010
Bottle size	750mL
Alcohol content	14.1%
Appellation	California Sonoma County
Wine Advocate	--
Wine Enthusiast	--
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Other	n/a

Kistler Vineyards

Kistler Vineyards is a small, family established and privately owned and operated winery dedicated to the vinification of world class Chardonnay and Pinot Noir using old world Burgundian techniques applied to our new world vineyards.
We have consistently bottled some of the finest new world examples of these two varietals for over 30 years.
We produce single vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noirs.
The Kistler plantings on Sonoma Mountain, situated on a hillside bench perfectly suited for growing world class Chardonnay, are interlaced with the rare combination of red volcanic and fine grained chalky soils. These are east facing terraced vineyards, shadowed from the afternoon sun by giant redwoods. This is a remarkable marriage of site and orientation to the cooler trendings of the valley below. The vineyards are planted to California Heritage clones that we have selected for specifically over the last 30 years to ripen to our balanced wine standards. They are some of the oldest Chardonnay vineyards in Sonoma County. When coupled with the selections in the vineyard the textbook growing conditions afford a wine that is decidedly Sonoma Mountain in character. Annually some of our earliest vineyard pickings each year, this is a wine driven by a grounded, focused mineral core yet lifted by striking ethereal tones of vibrant light fruit raised at elevation.