This 2019 McCrea Vineyard Chardonnay typically defined by white flowers and lime blossom with a chalk-driven, subtle, ethereal core of fruit.
Reviews:
- James Suckling: Offers buttered, salted toffee and toasted almond flavors, which add a rich thread to the core of juicy, fleshy pear, peach and papaya. Reveals a touch of aromatic white flowers and a savory thread of acidity.
- Wine Spectator: Some beautiful mango and papaya character to the tropical character here. Medium to full body. Phenolic tension frames it nicely and then gives a light and clear flintlock flavor at the end. Lemon curd here, too.
Producer Information
Kistler Vineyards is a wine producer in northern California’s Sonoma County. Its considerable reputation is thanks largely to its robust, buttery Chardonnay wines, which have established Kistler as a cult winery since the 1980s. The company was founded in 1978 by Steve Kistler and remains a family-owned and operated winery. It is a relatively small producer, making just 35,000 cases annually, much of which is sold through its significant mailing list. Kistler’s focus is the Burgundy varieties, making 10 vineyard-designated Chardonnay wines and four designated Pinot Noir wines. The fruit comes from three AVAs within Sonoma: Sonoma Coast, Sonoma Mountain and Carneros (which overlaps with the Napa Valley AVA). Kistler is seen as one of the pioneers of the buttery, fruit-driven Chardonnays that have come to be closely associated with California. In the winery, the use of small, new-oak barriques and malolactic fermentation have been used over the years to achieve this style of wine.
