The Cuvee Cathleen Chardonnay comes from a rockier block of the Kistler Vineyard, possessing a lot of broken shale and planted predominately to Wente clone selection with a bit of Mount Eden clone. This wine is a 20-barrel cuvee selection from the best of that block. The 2014 Chardonnay Cuvee Cathleen has a youthfully subdued nose of pebbles and wet slate over a core of grapefruit, peach blossoms and mandarin peel, plus the faintest hint of fresh herbs. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is restrained at this early stage, offering tightly wound citrus and mineral notes off-set by refreshing acidity. It finishes long and multi-layered. It is tempting to drink now, but I’d give it 2-3 years for that real “wow” experience and drink it over the next decade or more.

A wine of total understatement and class, the 2014 Chardonnay Kistler Vineyard Cuvée Cathleen is bright, lifted and wonderfully detailed. Citrus, white flowers and orchard fruit and soft contours shape this sublime, totally finessed Chardonnay. Along with the Hudson, the Cuvée Cathleen is one of the standouts in 2014.

The Cuvée Cathleen Chardonnay comes from a rockier block of the Kistler Vineyard, possessing a lot of broken shale and planted predominately to Wente clone selection with a bit of Mount Eden clone. This wine is a 20-barrel cuvee selection from the best of that block. The 2014 Chardonnay Cuvée Cathleen has a youthfully subdued nose of pebbles and wet slate over a core of grapefruit, peach blossoms and mandarin peel, plus the faintest hint of fresh herbs. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is restrained at this early stage, offering tightly wound citrus and mineral notes off-set by refreshing acidity. It finishes long and multi-layered. It is tempting to drink now, but I’d give it 2-3 years for that real “wow” experience and drink it over the next decade or more.