2023 Durell Vineyard Chardonnay, Kistler Vineyard

Complex, sculpted and utterly captivating, the 2023 Durell Vineyard Chardonnay from Kistler Vineyards is a wine that walks the line between power and precision with perfect grace. Pale gold in the glass, it opens with alluring aromas of white peach, lemon oil and ripe pear, layered with notes of hazelnut, flint, brioche and a whisper of coastal salinity. The palate is seamless, rich yet restrained, with creamy citrus fruit gliding over a taut, mineral spine. Subtle oak adds warmth and texture without overshadowing the crystalline purity of the fruit. The finish is long and focused, leaving lingering impressions of lime zest, crushed stone and fine spice. Elegant, confident and luminous, a masterclass in coastal Chardonnay.

For when: the evening calls for quiet conversation and something truly special.
Pairs with: grilled lobster, roast chicken, or butter-seared halibut.
If this wine were a mood, it’d be late-summer sunlight filtered through sea mist, bright, calm, and endlessly layered.

Kistler Vineyards, founded in 1978 by Steve Kistler and Mark Bixler, is among California’s most acclaimed estates, celebrated for crafting Burgundian-inspired Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs of remarkable clarity and finesse. Adhering to their guiding principle, one clone, one approach, many terroirs, Kistler vinifies each site identically, allowing the unique character of each vineyard to speak for itself.

The Durell Vineyard, situated on the southern edge of the Sonoma Coast, sits at the confluence of marine and inland influences, a patchwork of volcanic and clay loam soils that produces Chardonnay of depth, tension and persistence. Hand-harvested fruit is whole-cluster pressed and fermented with native yeasts in French oak barrels (around 30–40% new), followed by sur lie ageing to build texture and length. The 2023 vintage perfectly captures the Durell signature: ripe stone fruit and citrus brightness framed by saline minerality, a wine of poise, energy and enduring beauty, as only Kistler can craft.