2024 Kistler - Chardonnay Sonoma Mountain (750ml)

Few names in American wine carry the weight of Kistler. Founded in 1978 and long guided by the conviction that California's best hillside sites could produce Chardonnay to rival Burgundy's Grand Crus, Kistler has spent decades proving the point. The Sonoma Mountain bottling draws from the estate's own hillside plantings — a bench perfectly suited for world-class Chardonnay, interlaced with the rare combination of red volcanic and fine-grained chalky soils  — and represents some of the oldest Chardonnay vines in Sonoma County, planted to heritage Burgundian clones selected over 30 years.

Maritime influence and extended growing seasons preserve natural acidity while allowing full physiological ripeness.  In the cellar, the Kistler philosophy is one of non-intervention: native yeast fermentation, aging in French oak, eleven months in barrel with no bâtonnage, followed by three months in stainless before bottling, unfined and unfiltered. The result is a wine of genuine transparency to its site.

Tangerine, citrus, and smoky hazelnut notes intermix in this Burgundian-style white , anchored by a grounded mineral core and lifted by striking ethereal tones of vibrant light fruit raised at elevation.  The palate is tightly wound and precise — more about tension and length than richness or oak weight. This is California Chardonnay for the serious wine lover.

Drink: 2025–2033 | Pair with: Dungeness crab, roasted halibut, chicken with cream sauce, aged Gruyère