2020 Kistler Les Noisetiers Chardonnay

Kistler Vineyards is a small family winery in the Russian River Valley. They have specialized in producing Burgundy type chardonnay and pinot noir wines. The winery was founded in 1978 by the Kistler family. They own some of the very best vineyards in Napa and Sonoma, including Dutton Ranch (Russian River Valley) in Western Sonoma County.

Kistler's chardonnay wines are produced according to the French example. The wines are fully fermented in barriques, using both indigenous and cultured yeasts. After malolactic fermentation, the wines remain in their lees (fine sediment) and are aged in French oak barriques (50% new). After 12-18 months of aging, the wines are bottled without filtration or fining. The Kistler Chardonnay Les Noisetiers is named after roasted hazelnuts, this is the most striking Chardonnay from Kistler Vineyards. The right balance between citrus fruit and freshness. A lively yet elegant finish. The wine has a beautiful, full color with an intense nose, with fresh fruit (pear), hazelnut, vanilla, butter, honey and other creamy aromas from fermentation and aging in wood. Full of structure in the mouth, silky on the tongue, oily but also fresh and juicy, with well integrated wood in the long finish. This type of fine wines should certainly not be served too cold. We recommend 12°C.

This powerful wine with ripe aromas calls for similar dishes: sole baked in butter with almonds, Bresse chicken with truffle and foie gras, rosé fried veal kidneys with 'moutarde à l'ancienne' cream sauce, turbot or brill with a creamy butter/white wine sauce, monkfish ham with beurre blanc, lobster with vanilla butter

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate “ ...Steve Kistler and his partner, Mark Bixler, are at the top of their game, making world-class Chardonnays of remarkable consistency .”