1996 Chardonnay McCrea Vineyard
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Tasting notes
Revealing lively white fruit scents, the 1996 Chardonnay is a tangy, floral, silky-textured, and medium-bodied wine. It possesses lovely pear and hazelnut flavors that are marred by a high level of unintegrated acid. Regrettably, McCrea has decided that his Chardonnays must be artificially acidified in order to age well. Given my dislike of wines with unintegrated mouth-searing acidity, it is not surprising that I prefer his older releases to recent ones. Furthermore, my experience with the over-acidified Chardonnays, so prevalent in California during the seventies and eighties, leads me to believe that these recent releases may last longer, but they will not improve.a, and tropical fruit flavors. It should be drunk before 2001. Tel. (360) 458-9463.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 1996 Chardonnay McCrea Vineyard is a smoky, crisp, light golden-colored wine, with medium to full body, and a leesy, bread dough-like aroma, with plenty of honeyed citrus-like fruit intermixed with spice and smoke. Produced from one of Sonoma's coolest micro-climates, it possesses tart acidity for a 1996, and merits 5-7 years of cellaring. All the Kistler Chardonnays are made in a Burgundian manner. They are barrel-fermented, given full malolactic fermentation, extensive lees stirring, racked out of their barrels following a year's cask aging, and allowed to settle in tank until bottling, which usually occurs without any fining or filtration. All of the wines reviewed in this segment were tasted from tank as they were awaiting bottling early next year. Readers should recognize that Kistler's policy is to sell most of their production directly to consumers and restaurants. Readers who live in states that permit direct shipment of California wines should be sure and get on the winery's mailing list. Tel. (707) 823-5603; Fax (707) 823-6709
Unfiltered yellow-gold color. Aromas of dried fruits, clove and hazelnut, with a light sulfidey nuance. Thick and silky, but given shape by firm acids. Tightened up in the glass. The finish starts slowly but builds nicely.
About the producer
Kistler’s Chardonnays are some of the world’s most sought-after. This cult Californian producer crafts small volumes of exceptional, rich and generous, yet mineral and precise wines. With almost the entire production sold directly to their mailing list, the wines are also incredibly hard to find.