Kistler Vineyards Dutton Ranch Chardonnay 2003
-
Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Why is it that I always find buttery popcorn, tropical fruit, creme caramel, and almost roasted hazelnuts in the Chardonnays from the Dutton Ranch? The 2003 Chardonnay Dutton Ranch has that and a lot more fruit than is typical. Perhaps the low yields from a vineyard that is known for relatively abundant crops have produced a bit more intensity than usual. This is in-your-face Chardonnay that is not the most subtle wine by any means but Meursault premier cru-like, ripe and heady.
Range: 92-94
Other Vintages
2019-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
-
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
-
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker -
Connoisseurs'
Guide
-
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator -
Connoisseurs'
Guide
-
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker
-
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.