The dry-farmed vines at Kistler Vineyard, about 40 years old now, produced a wine with loads of personality. The 2020 Chardonnay Kistler Vineyard unfolds its aromatic layers slowly, blossoming from flint to white peaches and lime peel, plus touches of dried sage, beeswax, almonds and pie crust. The palate is surprisingly powerful and concentrated, with hedonistic layers of stone fruit and candied citrus. All that fruit density is supported by a silky texture and seamless acidity, and a touch of phenolic texture drives its tremendously long finish.

The 2019 Chardonnay Kistler Vineyard opens with youthful, smoky graphite and toast, offering crushed almonds and white blossoms with some time in the glass. The palate surprises with its depth of ripe, fragrant fruits and textural, expansive character balanced by mineral tones and bright acidity. It finishes long and lifted. All that intensity and lift will allow it to evolve over the next 3-5 years in bottle and hold in the cellar for 10+ years.

The 2018 Chardonnay Kistler Vineyard is one of the crown jewels of the Kistler portfolio in 2018. It has open-knit scents of toast, quince, iodine, roasted almonds, perfumed white peaches and honeycomb with loads of white flower perfume and a flinty streak. The palate is medium-bodied and intensely concentrated, giving up layer after layer of nuanced fruits. It has a rocky streak and energetic acidic spine, finishing unbelievably long—the flavors just go on and on. This may be the best wine from Kistler I've ever tasted.

There are two releases from the Kistler Vineyard, which lies on the Mayacamas side of the Valley, at an elevation between 1,200 and 1,300 feet above sea leave. This is a completely dry farmed, low yielding site, and the two cuvées show two sides of the same coin, with the Kistler Vineyard release seeing more morning sun, and the Cuvee Cathleen getting more evening sun. The 2018 Chardonnay Kistler Vineyard is a stunning, flawless Chardonnay that does everything right, with vibrant notes of honeyed lemons, apple blossom, salted citrus, toasted bread, and honeysuckle all emerging from the glass. Fresh, focused, yet also powerful and concentrated on the palate, it has a distinct sense of minerality as well as a finish that won't quit. It needs a solid 3-4 years of bottle age and will drink brilliantly for over a decade.

The 2017 Chardonnay Kistler Vineyard opens with savory notes of toasted hazelnut, hay, river stone, dried white flowers and citrus peel with notions of honeycomb and lemon meringue. It's medium-bodied, intense, rounded and textural with tangy acidity to lift and a long, savory finish. This needs more time in bottle to blossom.