Ratings & Tasting Notes:
This wine has been recently released, and there are no ratings or tasting notes yet at the time this listing was created.
Cult Wines International Notes:
Kistler Vineyards has stood among California’s most revered Chardonnay producers since its founding in 1978 by Steve Kistler and Mark Bixler, who built the winery on a Burgundian philosophy of site-specific, single-clone winemaking. For decades, Kistler’s wines were nearly impossible to find outside a closely guarded mailing list, and the winery remains family-owned today. The Sonoma Mountain bottling is sourced from the historic McCrea Vineyard, which Kistler has farmed since the 1980s. The Sonoma Mountain blocks sit on deep red volcanic soils with higher organic content — distinct from the lighter, silica-based parcels used for Kistler’s other Chardonnay bottlings — giving this wine its characteristic fruit-forward richness and broader structure.
The 2024 growing season in Sonoma is being described by many growers as one of the finest in the past fifty years. The year followed a classic, well-timed pattern — early budbreak, a warm summer that arrived right on schedule to push the vines into ripening, carefully managed yields, and a smooth, uneventful harvest. The result is being called an exceptionally pure, well-balanced vintage across the region, if a slightly smaller one in volume. Expect a Chardonnay in the classic Kistler style: rich, layered orchard fruit and citrus, framed by vibrant acidity and subtle, well-integrated oak — built for both immediate enjoyment and further cellaring.
Suggested Price: $84.99 — Retailer prices I found for this exact 2024 bottling ranged roughly $72–$88, with Wine-Searcher’s average around $88. $84.99 sits comfortably within the real market range without being a rock-bottom outlier, appropriate for a wine with essentially zero secondary-market trading history yet.
Bottle Size:
750 mL
Storage History:
Always stored on its side in a climate-controlled cellar.
Condition:
Outstanding condition.
Please note: The condition of the bottle you will receive is accurately reflected by the one shown in the images.
