2016 Kistler Chardonnay McCrea Vineyard Athearn Estate
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Tasting notes
The 2016 Chardonnay McCrea Vineyard is expressive, creamy and wonderfully open-knit. Savory and phenolic in style, the McCrea has a ton of personality. Dried pear, hazelnut, tangerine, sage, menthol, and smoke all add shades of nuance to this inviting Chardonnay from Kistler.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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From a site in the Sonoma Mountains, the 2016 Chardonnay McCrea Vineyard is an elegant, racy at times, Chardonnay that has building minerality in its white flowers, brioche, and citrus-driven bouquet. It a brilliant, mouthwatering effort that’s going to put on weight with time in bottle. There’s been a distinct style change at Kistler, with winemaker Jason Kesner purposely pulling back on the harvest dates and making a classic, age-worthy style of both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. He’s done this without sacrificing depth, concentration, or richness, and these latest 2016s are truly brilliant wines.
The 2016 Chardonnay McCrea Vineyard offers up gorgeous notions of ripe peaches, honeyed toast, grapefruit and orange blossoms with touches of ginger and marzipan. Medium to full-bodied, it has a lovely satiny texture and tons of stone fruit and savory layers with a good, long spice-laced finish.
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.