Kistler - Hyde Vineyard Carneros Chardonnay 2023 (750ml)
Price: $199.99
| Producer | Kistler |
| Country | United States |
| Region | California |
| Subregion | Carneros |
| Varietal | Chardonnay |
| Vintage | 2023 |
| Sku | 8549 |
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Bottled since 1994. Located in the heart of Carneros, and planted in a marine loam soil set, that becomes leaner as our block transits the hillside. Produces a classically well poised mid-weighted Chardonnay without being heavy; threaded with salient natural acids and a bouquet of green stone and orchard fruit skins and a crushed oyster shell like minerality.
Kistler Description
Green-tinged pale yellow. Ready to jump tones of citrus rind and ripe green orchard fruit skins and flesh, with its minerality marked by tones redolent of crushed oyster shells, but there is a deeper nature to that this year, it doesn’t maybe come across as a new world wine at first. A lightly oiled texture behind its purity of green fruit segues to the savory. Striking natural acidities in the midst of it all. A poignant reflection of the other best site in Carneros, and speaks so clearly to our block at Hyde, as it is wont to do given the vintage that was more about site than any we can recall.
James Suckling: 100 Points
A brilliantly fresh and balanced wine with a marked mineral streak that only adds to its distinctive personality. Aromas of flint, white pepper and lemon zest lead to subtle lemon, lime, chalk, sea breeze, saline and grilled apple flavors. It's a unique interpretation of the famous Hyde Vineyard that keeps you coming back for more. Drink now or hold.
Wine Spectator: 97 Points
This remarkable wine leaps out of the glass with its complexity. Offers cardamom cake, grilled pineapple, peach preserves and apple pastry, plus a note of papaya that’s fleshy and juicy. The fresh thread of acidity is complemented by a mineral streak of crushed rock, lemon salt, white pepper, lemon balm and toasted sesame seed. There’s plenty of momentum on the long, expressive finish.
Wine Advocate: 96 Points
The 2023 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard is youthfully coiled on the nose, its fruit tucked behind a wispy curtain of matchstick. The medium-bodied palate is much more open at this stage, offering highly concentrated, peach and citrus flavors and a luxe, satiny texture. It’s balanced by firm, focused acidity and has a very long, mineral-driven finish. It’s dynamic, continually changing and shifting in the glass, and it should be long lived in the cellar.
Vinous: 94 Points
The 2023 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard is laced with apricot, dried herbs, chamomile and light tropical inflections. I find the reductive note here overpowering. It will be interesting to see what time brings. Tasted again after a decanting and 24 hours of air, the 2023 fills out nicely, softening some of the reductive edge. I find the Hyde to be a bit of a question mark, as its balances is on the razor's edge. It's a 50/50 bet as to whether that reduction will dissipate or get stronger over time. There is something so alluring about the 2023, but readers need to know what to expect.
