Kistler Chardonnay Vine Hill Vineyard Russian River Valley 2012 750ml

Kistler Vineyards, founded in 1978, built its reputation on single-vineyard Chardonnay, and the Vine Hill Vineyard surrounds the winery itself in the cool Russian River Valley. The 2012 vintage was a generous, even year in Sonoma, giving wines with both ripeness and freshness. This one shows honeysuckle, white currant, quince and wet-stone minerality, and Vinous noted orange blossom, apricot pit and lemon oil along with "a real sense of vertical structure." Crisp yet full-bodied and concentrated, it balances power with elegance, and Wine Advocate summed it up simply as "a beauty." At more than a decade old, it is in a lovely mature window now; drink over the next few years.