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.