Twenty five years ago I was on the mailing list for Kistler. Their Chardonnays have been the best white wines I have ever tasted. When Steve Kistler went to $55 a bottle for his primo Char, three case minimum and you had to take a box of Pinot Noir as well, I opted out. Since then, when traveling to more cosmopolitan areas of the country, I would occasionally find Kistler on the shelves in some better wine shops, and would buy all they had and pay to have it shipped home.
Earlier this year I mentioned to my wine buddy Todd Vucovich at the East Hill Bottle Shop if he could get some Kistler chardonnay, just on a whim. He said he would look into it. Low and behold, he calls me last week and say he has some! I said, “How much do you have?” He says “One Case. How many do you want?” I said, “All of it!” Yes, Yes, Yes! There is a God!!
First moral of this story is: “Ask and you may receive!” If there is something special you are looking for, hit the local bottle shops first.
When I rearranged my Chardonnays to give my Kistler its primo place in my wine cellar, I found a bottle of Lewis Chardonnay I had been hoarding. Not paying proper attention to my cellar, the vintage was 2011! Cripes! Sunday I waited no longer. The wine was nice, but did not have the long finish it had in its youth.
Second Moral: Manage your wine stash or lose out on some nicer pours you’ve already paid for.
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