Kalin Cellars 'Cuvée W' Chardonnay 1997

The late Terry Leighton – the visionary behind one of California’s most eccentric wineries – was adamant that his wines were to be drunk only when ready. “No wine before its time,” went Kalin Cellars’ motto.

Although they owned no vines themselves, Terry and his wife Frances, both microbiologists, sourced fruit from distinguished vineyards in the Alexander, Dry Creek, and Livermore Valleys. Founding Kalin Cellars in 1977, the couple took a decidedly Old-World approach, with reds vinified in open-top vats and whites fermented in barrel. Only with an uncompromising commitment to artisanal methods, they maintained, could a wine improve over many years.

Kalin’s Pinots “approximate what Chambertin tastes like when made by the likes of Lalou Bize-Leroy,” raved Robert Parker, while the Chardonnays “smell like the classiest of Meursaults,” says Serena Sutcliffe. “Have faith in keeping them”.