Kistler Vineyards Durell Chardonnay 2018
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Jeb Dunnuck
From a site located near the nexus of Carneros, Sonoma Valley, and the Sonoma Coast, the 2018 Chardonnay Durell is a richer, broader Chardonnay that offers loads of mulled Meyer lemons, brioche, and honeysuckle notes as well as nicely integrated oak, medium to full body, plenty of toasty, nutty nuances, and a great finish. This classic, rich, powerful Sonoma Chardonnay does everything right. It will pick up even more complexity with a year or so of bottle age and evolve gracefully for a decade.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Chardonnay Durell Vineyard has a lush, open-knit nose of mushroom paste, charcuterie, wet hay, crushed almonds, spring blossoms and a core of ripe orchard fruits. In the mouth, it has a medium weight and silky texture and explodes with savory, honeyed flavor layers, seamlessly fresh and finishing long and uplifted. Wow!
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Wine Spectator
Powerfully crisp, with a savory essence to the green apple and fresh-cut pear flavors. Shows snap pea and lemongrass accents midpalate, with a mineral-filled finish that offers hints of anise.
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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.
Home to a diverse array of smaller AVAs with varied microclimates and soil types, Sonoma County has something for every wine lover. Physically twice as large as Napa Valley, the region only produces about half the amount of wine but boasts both tremendous quality and variety. With its laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth attitude, the wineries of Sonoma are appreciated by wine tourists for their friendliness and approachability. The entire county intends to become a 100% sustainable winegrowing region by 2019.
Sonoma County wines are produced with carefully selected grape varieties to reflect the best attributes of their sites—Dry Creek Valley’s consistent sunshine is ideal for Zinfandel, while the warm Alexander Valley is responsible for rich, voluptuous red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are important throughout the county, most notably in the cooler AVAs of Russian River, Sonoma Coast and Carneros. Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah have also found a firm footing here.