History
Steve Kistler planted the vineyard in 1979 on St. George rootstock, high on the western edge of the Mayacamas above Sonoma Valley, and the Chardonnay has been bottled as a single-vineyard wine every vintage since 1986. Kistler sold a stake to Bill Price, who also owns Durell, in 2008, and went on to found Occidental Wines on the Sonoma Coast. Jason Kesner has been head winemaker since 2017.
The Site
Deep red, iron-rich volcanic soil, dry-farmed, at an elevation the winery itself gives as just shy of 1,800 feet. The wine carries the Sonoma Valley appellation, though the site sits in the same upland country the Moon Mountain District covers and critics sometimes use that name for it.
Vines and Blocks
Chardonnay, planted in 1979 on St. George rootstock, farmed without irrigation. St. George is a phylloxera-resistant rootstock.
The Wines
Kistler Vineyard Chardonnay is the house's home bottling and the most structural of its single-vineyard wines, built on the volcanic soil's tension rather than on richness.