The 1996 Chardonnay McCrea Vineyard is a smoky, crisp, light golden-colored wine, with medium to full body, and a leesy, bread dough-like aroma, with plenty of honeyed citrus-like fruit intermixed with spice and smoke. Produced from one of Sonoma's coolest micro-climates, it possesses tart acidity for a 1996, and merits 5-7 years of cellaring. All the Kistler Chardonnays are made in a Burgundian manner. They are barrel-fermented, given full malolactic fermentation, extensive lees stirring, racked out of their barrels following a year's cask aging, and allowed to settle in tank until bottling, which usually occurs without any fining or filtration. All of the wines reviewed in this segment were tasted from tank as they were awaiting bottling early next year.
Readers should recognize that Kistler's policy is to sell most of their production directly to consumers and restaurants. Readers who live in states that permit direct shipment of California wines should be sure and get on the winery's mailing list.
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