2023 Chardonnay McCrea Vineyard
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Tasting notes
The 2023 Chardonnay McCrea Vineyard is elegant and energetic. It has expressive aromas of quince, hazelnut, honey, toasted meringue and top notes of lemon peel. The medium-bodied palate pairs concentrated, honey-nut flavors with racy acidity, and it has a very long, layered finish. It will benefit from several years in the cellar.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2023 Chardonnay McCrea Vineyard Athearn Estate is a full-bodied offering from the Sonoma Mountain. On the nose, it offers aromas of smoky wet stones, honeyed citrus, lemon oil, verbena, and poached apples. The palate opens to notes of golden fruits, peaches and pineapples, with a salty finish and a stony darkness to its texture. Drink over the coming 8-10 years. Located in the Russian River Valley, Kistler is led today by winemaker Jason Kesner, who continues the long tradition of working from a singular clone of Chardonnay with Burgundian lineage that Steve Kistler, now of Occidental Wines, began in the 1980s. The wines for this report were tasted at the winery this spring.
The 2023 Chardonnay McCrea Vineyard is a classy, elegant wine. Apricot, chalk, graphite and dried herbs confer a decidedly savory flair to this layered, super-expressive Chardonnay. Time in the glass brings out brisk acids and compelling brightness to round things out. This is an especially fine McCrea. As always, the vineyard-designate bottling emerges from sections of the vineyard planted on white ash. These days, winemaker Jason Kesner prefers to pick a bit earlier than in the past. That is especially evident in the McCrea in 2023.
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.