Kistler Durell Vineyard Chardonnay

2006
Sonoma Coast
No. 09774

So - I'm at it again. It is not another "budget" wine being reviewed here. It is another pick from my late Uncle's cellar. This one I brought home for my dear friend & walking partner ("M") who is a Chardonnay Freak like me. :)

Kistler is never a disappointment, but what is so interesting about this particular bottle (& indeed it is a particular bottle, as it is numbered) is that it's drinkability supposedly expired in 2013. I am very happy to report that it's flavor continues to be absolutely full-bodied-delicious with butter & toast nuances mingled with lemon & beautiful minerality - my favorite attribute.

M always puts out an AMAZING spread in seconds flat & this night was no exception. My personal opinion is that she should be a chef instead of a Real Estate mogul. LOL. She presents delicious & colorful presentations - very creative & tasty. She was concerned about what we should have to accompany our Kistler, & yet, as I told her, Kistler just IS. It is amazing on its own & can be even more enjoyable with food. And it was. Especially with the thyme chevre she served. It alone was the perfect accompaniment.

Spent the day today with one of my two art student college children. One of her charcoal portraits was chosen to hang in the campus Art Gallery. She happened to mention it to me only in passing as we returned from getting some groceries. She is so silly. She just doesn't understand how very proud I am of her & how I love to see her work, though I do tell her often. I try to tell all three of my children how much their hard work & determination mean to me. We do seem to get a lot of flack about our older two children being in Art schools & it really gets very tiring. I want them to choose paths that give them joy & allow them to express themselves creatively. I think that being able to express one's creativity is the ultimate  key to open doors, even if the majority of the world doesn't agree. I know only too well how the rest of one's abilities suffer, falter & can ultimately extinguish altogether if the creative fire within is not allowed to flourish.

The stones from my enemies
These wounds will mend
But I cannot survive
The roses from my friends

When the last word has been spoken
And we've bared witness to the final setting sun
All that shall remain is a token
Of what we've said and done

Roses from My Friend
--Ben Harper
(Just an aside, I am in love with Ben Harper)

BTW - If you're looking for one heck of a Book Ride, read Paul Hawkins "The Girl on the Train". I took it out of the library Friday night after work & I finished it in 24 hours. COULD NOT put it down!

$80 - $107/750 ml. bottle with $92 being the average current going rate if you can find it
9.5 out of 10
14.1% alc. by vol.

Kistler Pinot Noir

2007
Sonoma Coast
Sebastopol, CA
Bottle #00319

Not a budget wine. Sorry again. But it was our anniversary. A berry good wine - this is very fruit forward with a hint of minerality and wood. It tasted even better with French goat cheese, smoked gouda and aged cheddar and each tasted equally as good with the wine.

I wanted to go out to eat tonight - we never do that anymore. I didn't want any of the super expensive places, just a place that's worth the money: da Capo - my favorite italian ristorante. But it just wasn't meant to be.

So I went to the local grocery and bought various cheeses I thought would accompany a Pinot Noir well. We had the smoked gouda, aged cheddar, and French goat cheese which I baked for a bit drizzled with olive oil and thyme and spread over heated ciabatta. We also bought Sopresseta and red and green pears. It was a pretty good "at home" feast.

Upon our return, we discovered our house could have burned down. We left our kids home while we went 2 minutes to the store (16, 14 and 10 - old enough to be OK for less than half an hour). When we pulled in the driveway, our eldest was opening windows and doors. I immediately asked what was wrong. She announced that the oven wasn't "acting right" and had smoke billowing from it for no reason. She was correct -I'd turned it OFF before we left. I put pumpkin bread in it to keep it warm from when the oven was previously on an hour before. I walked into the smoke-filled kitchen to find the oven was still OFF but smoke was indeed billowing forth. I opened the door and found the pumpkin bread was BURNED black and smoking. It looked as though it had been on fire. The oven was indeed OFF, yet the temperature setting was registering at 500 degrees!!!! So, it's (4) days before Thanksgiving and I have no choice but to go get a new oven. I just finished getting my SEARS credit card down below $250 and now I have to throw an oven on there! One step forward, two steps behind.

Anyway, the wine was indeed NOT lost on me this evening. I just sucked it up and put together an appetizer plate for me and the Guy and we sat and ate and sipped in the haze of charred pumpkin bread with the distant sound of an upstairs fire alarm still beeping.

This wine was a gift my aunt brought to me from dear and late Uncle Bob's cellar. As Thanksgiving is nearing, and that is the holiday I will always remember him at, I felt it apropos to have on my husband and my eighteenth anniversary. A deeply felt thank you once again to my uncle for providing me with some of my greatest wine experiences - we miss him so incredibly so and can't believe he is no longer in our lives.

8.5 out of 10
$95 / 750 ml bottle
14.1 % alc by vol.

Kistler Cuvee Natalie Pinot Noir

2008
Pinot Noir
Silver Belt Vineyard
Sonoma County



Many thanks to my dear uncle for providing me with the ammo I would need tonight a couple of years ago. It is most likely advisable that I should have saved this wine a couple more years. However, today was one of those days that call for something out of the ordinary. The world looks different tonight. A light has gone out in my corner of the planet. My wonderful, supportive, unconditional-love-giving grandmother died today.

This velvety, silky, heavy-bodied cherry in the woods wearing a leather jacket was just what the doctor ordered. I've no regrets. Life is too short. I've enjoyed every last drop and am . . . comfortably numb.





Come on, come on down,
I hear you’re feeling down.
Well I can ease your pain,
Get you on your feet again.

Relax, relax, relax
I need some information first.
Just the basic facts.
Can you show me where it hurts?

There is no pain, you are receding.
A distant ship's smoke on the horizon.
You are only coming through in waves.
Your lips move, but I can’t hear what you’re saying.

I have become comfortably numb.

Pink Floyd, Comfortably Numb


9.0 out of 10
14.1% alc. by vol.
$145 / 750 ml. bottle

Kistler Cuvee Natalie

2007 Pinot Noir
Silver Belt Vineyard
Bottle No. 05109 (12,456 bottles produced)
California

The Dead Arm Shiraz, The Holy Trinity and Kistler's Cuvee Natalie. Those, so far, are my top three wines of my life. :)

I had a wonderful winetasting week last week and have listed my Thanksgiving week wines on the left of this blog which I will be reviewing. However, following the fantastic wines from last week, I opened this. Cuvee Natalie easily moved to the top of the posting list.

Let me tell you, it is recommended to let this age for the next 10 years, and I can't imagine how incredibly awesome it might evolve to as it was beyond pretty darn good right now. The scent is black fruit with warm, slightly sweet baking spice mixed with herbs. The flavor is right on with the scent and is LONG and heated and really SMOOTH with a subtle minerality (it's a bit like ME actually - hah!). A most excellent wine.

This wine was a gift from my Uncle Bob and it was indeed a gift. We loved it SO much that we have savored it. I shared some with my mother when she dropped by last night. I gave her half a glass which she downed in no time, commenting on how delicious it was with each sip. After she finished, she reached over and popped the cork again and said she wanted "just a little bit more". Yes! It is that good. You don't want to take it or leave it. You just want to take it. Yet, you also want to leave it . . . for later. Because you just don't want it to be gone.

Robert Parker gave this a 94-96 rating.


I want a perfect body
I want a perfect soul
I want you to notice when I'm not around

~RADIOHEAD~


9.5 out of 10
14.1% alc. by vol.
:0 $120 - $159/750 ml. bottle :0 (clears throat, not quite budget material)
www.kistlervineyards.com (You can buy it direct from the vineyard for *only* $90)

FAVORITE WINES OF 2008

Frederick Cooper's "A Glass of Wine Waiting"

A few days turn into a few weeks, but here, finally, is my list of top wines The Guy and I enjoyed throughout 2008. I must say, the majority are not budget material so I do apologize. But at least, if you find you've got some extra to spend, you know you're not wasting it (although I do realize your opinion may not be the same as mine).

I couldn't limit my top choices to only (5). A few more deserved mention for really grabbing my interest. No surprise that Australia kept me coming back.

PINOT GRIGIO
Terre di Tufi, San Gimignano, Italy, 2003
Thank You to The Bro for yet another wonderful wine experience and visit.
(you can find this review in my September 2008 post)

CHARDONNAY
Kistler, Dutton Ranch, Russian River Valley, CA #18222, 2005 (Exp. over $50)
Yet another Thank You to Uncle Bob for making it possible for us to experience the finer side of wine.
(you can find this review in my February 2008 post)

Clos du Bois, Sonoma County, CA 2006
(I couldn't find where I'd reviewed the 2006, but I think it may have actually been back in my 2007 posts. This is a wine that I go back to year to year {especially in summer, or with creamy, garlic pasta dishes and shrimp or lemon sole or creamy chicken dishes}. The 2006 is not so readily available now and I find I have to ask for it if I really want it. It's funny how I am always told proudly by the wine merchant that they do have the 2007. HUGE difference, to me, in taste and quality - what a difference a year can make in a vineyard. I don't bother with the 2007 - cherished mineral notes found in the 2006 are missing in the 2007)

CABERNET
Justin Vineyards, Paso Robles, CA 2006
(you can find this in my November 2008 post)
This was especially good at Christmas with prosciutto and fontina cheese phyllo appetizers.

SHIRAZ
Two Hands Bella's Garden, Barossa Valley, Australia 2005 (Exp. over $40)
(you can find this review in my February 2008 post)

Angel's Share, McLaren Vale, Australia 2004
(you can find this review in my October 2008 post)

A Thank You to Pasa Robles for providing the opportunity for us to experience the above two wines.

MOST PROMISING FOR FUTURE ENJOYMENT (2010 - 2012) - Buy Now
Passing Clouds, Reserve Shiraz, Bendigo, Australia 2004
(you can find this review in my December 2008 post)

Kistler Chardonnay

2005
Dutton Ranch
Russian River Valley
No. 18222

This was an excellent wine, but very expensive (if you are on a budget). This was another gem from Uncle Bob so I personally did not fork out any cash for it.

I was immediately struck with the smooth butteriness and, my personal favorite, minerality throughout and in the lingering finish. It was slightly lemonlike in flavor but with more butter and oil. I served this with "Pasta a la Passion" (Bow tie pasta with olive oil, garlic, sundried tomatoes, chicken, broccoli, basil and parmesean cheese), and the "Fish Man's" delicioso crab cakes. Excellent accompaniment to both.

I think I like the Russian River Valley for Chardonnays about as much as I like the Barossa Valley for Shiraz.

As this song hit home for me this evening driving home from work, and I sang along with it at the top of my lungs with so much emotion (zapped me right back to the '70's and made me feel all the old feelings as a kid and all the new "old" feelings as an adult), I am posting some of the lyrics here:

Whatever it is, it'll keep till the morning
Haven't we both got better things to do?
Midnight blue
Even the simple things become rough
Haven't we had enough?

And I think we can make it
One more time
If we try
One more time for all the old times . . .

Melissa Manchester

If you care, The Guy doesn't, Robert Parker gave this a 94-96 rating.

8.75 out of 10
$70 - $100 / 750 ml. bottle
14.1% alc. by vol.
http://www.kistlerwine.com/