Kistler 'Les Noisetiers' Sonoma Chardonnay 2021 750ml

“Kistler Vineyards remains one of the absolute benchmark producers of great Sonoma Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, sitting right up there with the highest quality examples of these grapes from throughout the world. While the wines come from as wide a range of top terroirs as Sonoma can provide, interestingly nearly all of the Chardonnays are produced from a proprietary selection of Wente clones taken from a Larry Hyde block in the early 1980s.”

– Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

Les Noisetiers, surrounds the Kistler winery on the Sonoma Coast. The new 2021 release has been out for a little while, and it really seems to be one of his best to date. I guess that shouldn’t come as a surprise since 2021 was a very special vintage throughout California and especially Sonoma Coast.

This one comes bristling with energy, nuance, juicy fruit and a mouthwatering mineral backbone. As always with these wines, it’s expertly made with tremendous balance and tension. Flavors of lemon, honeysuckle and stone fruit aromatics lead to a full bodied, juicy core that is just loaded with flavors of peach, apricots, pineapple and pear with great acidity and mineral backbone to bring it all together.