For the first time ever, I used a decanter on a chard for an hour of air time. Very thick, oily viscosity of a chardonnay. So much so, there were quotes of "please pass the 10/30W oil". Macadamia nuts, minerality and the softest of peach nuances. An excellent wine!

Ah, true, Jones. True.

I have a variety of ways to commute home, and, depending on my mood (and Mrs. TJ's) I can take any one of a number of these routes to stop by the appropriate place that our stomachs are telling us to go to.

Hunan Manor is one (best Chinese food in the MD burbs)

Tattoria Pizzeria is another (real Italians making real incredible pizza)

Thanks for the notes. And also thank you to a certain board member that sold me some of the single vineyard Kistlers so I could try them myself. Yipee!

Me too. I owe the two bottle of 2000 Durell I have to STW.
Probably never would have had the opportunity otherwise.

mountainman: I will reference your "decanter" statement & White Wines. I, also, never used to do that. But, Kistler made me into a believer lately. I can see the difference, big time. It helps.

In celebration of the sale of my house today, I popped this wine open tonight. First glass was good, but tight as a drum. After letting the following glass sit for 35 minutes...

POW! Cloudy, typical Kistler deep golden yellow color. Lovely pineapple and yeasty, doughy notes on the nose. Clean well delineated, palate gushing with tropical fruits, smoky notes, brazil nuts and sweet cream. Full bodied with excellent balance. Could definitely use another 1-2 years to explode even further. jb Rating 94 pts.

jb

Had this with my Laboratorio del Galileo gastronomic experience celebrating my 10th anniversary with Mrs. TJ. First small glass was a little too warm still, so we let it chill for a course and a half and tried to keep our hands off of it as we let it develop further. Stems were good, but didn't check exactly what.

This wine had a nice deep golden color. A nose of doughnuts and pineapple drifted upward as I flooded my moth with this nectar. Holy crap this is good wine. More pineapple and doughnuts mixed with honey and what I originally described as nut-cream, but I think was better described by mountainman above as macedemia nuts. Superbly put together wine with a delectable finish. I am dying to get my hands on more of this wine.

I will agree with jb's rating on this one --

TJ points = 94

might i inquire about how much one could expect to pay for this bottle? is $94.99 too high?

and what kind of food would you pair with? thanks!

The original winery price for this bottle was $65. So wether the $95 is okay depends upon how much you like Chards and are willing to pay. As for food pairing, I'd go with seafood. A nice Salmon filet should do great.

Lobster is always my first choice with a big New World Chardonnay.

That should go great Jones. After the Salmon I would have said shell fish.

Or a great risotto, or scallops, or even squab or man I am getting hungry

Tbird, I suggest if you want to get a hold of some Kistler Chards, you get them at mailing list price from a forumite. The '01 Durell Chard will be released in Nov and the mailer for that will probably go out in July/Aug. I would certainly secure some for you as I have been getting much larger allocations lately. Just send me a pm if you are interested. If I had more of the '00, I would sell you one at cost. I only have 2 left though and I want 'em.

jb

thanks jb. you are a gentleman. the truth is, i get their mailer too, but i resent their nazi like approach to buying. so here is where i pay the price. i need a bottle and i need it for this weekend. $95 is looking like my only solution. we all sleep in the bed we make! i can live with it. but i do appreciate the offer. cheers!

Since everyone is raving about this I decided to try one of my bottles this evening. I pretty much agree with what Mountain Man says. It can use some time and don't think I'll open another for at least a year or two.

purchased mine this afternoon in anticipation for this weekends events. news at 11!

Had this tonight with Scallops and Shrimp. Deep golden color. Nose of pineapple & mango.
Thick, oily, full bodied, deliciously smooth, honeyed, nice long finish. One of the better chards I had this year, glad I have another bottle. 94.

2000 Kistler Chardonnay Sonoma Valley Durell Vineyard (WIML92,WA95,WS90)

Tasted October 1, 2005 at an offline so brief comments only. Opened and served immediately in a Riedel Restaurant Series Bordeaux stem. Yellow to dark yellow color in the glass, clear hue throughout. The nose seemed slightly closed. Maybe showing a little pear, yellow apple and vanilla. Flavors had an underlying mineral component with some vanilla and citrus fruits. Better than the 2000 Dutton Ranch but not overwhelming in my book. Drink over the next 3-4 years. I’d recommend passing myself.

$70.00, Mailing List.

Decanted about 30-40 mins, tasted over an hour & a half or so. Awesome!

With the advice/posting of shaferguy the other day that it is drinking wonderfully, I decided to open my 1st bottle last night. I agree with the shaferguy & I am glad we opened this last night.

Tasted vanilla & toasted pine nuts with a refreshing lemony finish. A very well made bottle of wine, full body, goof complexity & lots of layers. Ohh & tasty as all hell, delish & luscious. A long lasting refreshing & very pleasant finish. A beauty of a bottle!

So, I agree with the shaferguy: drink or hold. I don’t see it improving but no rush either.

Rating: I will go down the middle. I think shaferguy rated 93 & Parker 95. I will go with 94 points & agree with most above. Yes, I liked it much more than the WS 90 points. I am closer with this one to Parker.

I have 2 more bottles that I will drink over the next 2 to 4 years.