2008 Cuvee Natalie Silver Belt Vineyard Pinot Noir
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Tasting notes
Bright ruby-red. Heady bouquet of black raspberry, cherry-cola, star anise and potpourri. Vibrant and light on its feet, offering sweet red and dark berry flavors that deliver liqueur-like power but carry no excess fat. Candied rose and cola notes linger on the long, incisive finish, which also features strong mineral character.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2008 Pinot Noir Cuvee Natalie Silver Belt, all from the Joseph Swan clone of Pinot Noir, offers rich forest floor, raspberry, spice box and earthy notes in a style that reminds me of a Burgundy premier cru from Volnay. This beautiful Pinot can be drunk now or cellared for a decade. Not only have the 2008s lived up to or exceeded their potential from last year’s barrel tastings, the 2009s appear to be fabulous as well. Of course, 2008 was a much more challenging vintage and 2009 was a cool year, much like 2005, with slightly lower alcohols and higher yields than the short crop of 2008. All of the 2009 Chardonnays finished with around 14+% alcohol levels and had more minerality than usual. Kistler’s bottled 2008s were all concentrated. The 2008 Chardonnays have the potential to last even longer than the 2009s given the fact that they are even more concentrated than those wines. Tel. (707) 823-5603; Fax (707) 823-6709
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.