2008 Kistler Chardonnay Kistler Vineyard

A steely, tightly-knit offering that requires some introspection as well as more bottle age is the 2008 Chardonnay Kistler Vineyard. Unbuttered popcorn, crisp pear, white peach and steely, wet rock-like characteristics suggest lots of minerality in this wine that plays it close to the vest. It needs plenty of coaxing and will benefit from another 1-2 years of bottle age. It should drink well for a decade. Not only have the 2008s lived up to or exceeded their potential from last year’s barrel tastings, the 2009s appear to be fabulous as well. Of course, 2008 was a much more challenging vintage and 2009 was a cool year, much like 2005, with slightly lower alcohols and higher yields than the short crop of 2008. All of the 2009 Chardonnays finished with around 14+% alcohol levels and had more minerality than usual. Kistler’s bottled 2008s were all concentrated. The 2008 Chardonnays have the potential to last even longer than the 2009s given the fact that they are even more concentrated than those wines. Tel. (707) 823-5603; Fax (707) 823-6709