Winemaker Notes
Bottled since 1998. Made from fruit solely from one specific block at the Kistler Vineyard, the only section of the vineyard that has a broken shale uplift that dominates the red volcanics and faces the afternoon sun as opposed to the morning. Since its planting in 1989, the block stood out in our minds, and clearly called for a separate bottling. Produces one of our most classic, complex and complete chardonnays and nears perfection on an annual basis.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Chardonnay Cuvee Cathleen is quite reticent at this youthful stage, slowly revealing notes of lemon meringue pie, lime cordial, spiced pears and apple tart with touches of chalk dust, marzipan, brioche and acacia honey. Full-bodied, rich and decadent in the mouth, it has oodles of freshness lifting the tightly packed flavors with a very long, wonderfully layered finish.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Produced from a small and distinctive block in the Kistler Vineyard, the 2016 Cuvée Cathleen Chardonnay is a wine of somewhat mixed messages insofar as it at first impresses as being fairly rich and outgoing on the nose but tightens up midstream on the palate after a supple, slightly oily start and retreats a bit at the finish. Like its similarly firm sibling from the same site, it begs for additional time on the cork and, if needing three or four years before relaxing and opening to show all that it has, it has a very good chance at reaching its tenth anniversary in very fine and complex drinking shape.
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.
Perhaps the most historically significant appellation in Sonoma County, the Sonoma Valley is home to both Buena Vista winery, California's oldest commercial winery, and Gundlach Bundschu winery, California's oldest family-run winery.
It is also one of the more geologically and climactically diverse districts. The valley includes and overlaps four distinct Sonoma County sub-appellations, including Carneros, Moon Mountain District, Sonoma Mountain and Bennett Valley. With mountains, benchlands, plains, abundant sunshine and the cooling effects of the nearby Pacific, this appellation can successfully produce a wide range of grape varieties. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, and most notably, Zinfandel all thrive here. Ancient Zinfandel vines over 100 years old produce small crops of concentrated, spicy fruit, which in turn make some of the Valley's most unique wines. These can also be made as “field blends” (wines made from a mix of grape varieties grown in the same vineyard) along with Petite Sirah, Carignan and Alicante Bouschet.