2019 Chardonnay Durell Vineyards
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Tasting notes
Lots of cooked green apple with coconut and salted-caramel undertones. Subtle, yet rich. Medium to full body, creamy texture and a flavorful finish. Yet you know there’s so much more there. Drinkable now, but you would want to keep it three or four years for it to show its best.
Critic scores
Average Score
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Showing a more mineral-laced, focused style than normal, as this cuvée is normally one of the richer wines in the lineup, the 2019 Chardonnay Durell Vineyard has classic Sonoma Coast minerality and salinity as well as white peach, pear, and white flower aromas and flavors. It has a touch of reductive, matchstick-like character, good mid-palate density, and a medium-bodied, fresh, focused style that will evolve for 8-10 years.
The 2019 Chardonnay Durell Vineyard has a nose of fresh quince and white peaches, with toasty notes of roasted almonds and accents of grapefruit, jasmine and crushed stone. The medium-bodied palate is savory and expansive, taking time to flesh out from intense citrus to nutty, mineral-streaked character, and it finishes very, very long. It’s so beautiful right from bottle but deserves more time in the cellar.
The 2019 Chardonnay Durell Vineyard offers a compelling interplay of floral and mineral notes. Vibrant and beautifully focused, the 2019 is a terrific example of this Sonoma site. There is translucency that is beguiling. Sage, mint, chamomile and anise linger on the dense, mineral close. Kistler Hyde/Wente clone Chardonnay on 3309 rootstock yields naturally small berries and a potent, heady wine. This is a fabulous expression of Durell.
About the producer
Kistler’s Chardonnays are some of the world’s most sought-after. This cult Californian producer crafts small volumes of exceptional, rich and generous, yet mineral and precise wines. With almost the entire production sold directly to their mailing list, the wines are also incredibly hard to find.