| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.8 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 101 notes) - hiding notes with no text |
| | Tasted by mclanew on 11/16/2023 flawed bottle: Premox (324 views) |
| | Tasted by canan on 5/13/2023 & rated 93 points: Drinking lovely right now. Pineapples, butter and oak in a wonderful balance. The alcohol can however be felt but it seems to fit the flavors very nicely. Impressive wine (576 views) |
| | Tasted by Rubinstein on 11/5/2022: Slightly oxidized. Lacked freshness, but still rather enjoyable with white flowers and tropical fruit. (879 views) |
| | Tasted by sayward on 4/6/2022 & rated 94 points: No decant. Was a little worried that this wine might be over the hill, but it was fantastic. Drinking great. Not sure that I would hold much longer so plan on drinking this summer. (1246 views) |
| | Tasted by N.Bonaparte on 1/8/2022 & rated 92 points: Stored perfectly on release. This needed about 45 min in glass to open. Full bodied with nice balance and a finish of butter and apple tart. Certainly in its prime and should be consumed within a year or so. This is still going strong but no upside on this. (1561 views) |
| | Tasted by EmilyE on 12/11/2021: Oxidized (1332 views) |
| | Tasted by Bob23 on 11/7/2021 & rated 92 points: Definitely starting to oxidize, so don’t wait long, but with persistent acidity that made it a fascinating light amber. (1229 views) |
| | Tasted by ozstef on 10/8/2021 & rated 90 points: Old (1052 views) |
| | Tasted by mclanew on 3/7/2021 & rated 94 points: Popped and poured. Lemons rind, kiwi, pear, minerals and toast come through. The wine is full bodied but not heavy, showing a nice pairing of ripe fruit with a fine bead of acidity, and a long finish. This is in perfect drinking condition today and should stand well for another year or two. (1537 views) |
| | Tasted by robertek on 2/27/2021 & rated 94 points: Very good and balanced. Still young. Butter and some tropical notes. Love it. (1363 views) |
| | Tasted by ggj on 11/7/2020 & rated 86 points: Tired and fading. Not premixed, but close. Purchased on release and properly stored. (1478 views) |
| | Tasted by mclanew on 10/30/2020 & rated 93 points: Popped and poured. White flowers and orchard fruits on the nose. The wine is light to medium golden. Flavors of lemon, pineapple, minerals and a hint of vanilla come through on the palate. The wine is nicely balanced with elegant style as the oak seems pretty well integrated at this stage. I don’t think this gets better so drink up. (1316 views) |
| | Tasted by ggj on 7/17/2020 flawed bottle: Oxidized (1586 views) |
| | Tasted by mclanew on 5/27/2020 & rated 94 points: Consistent with last note (1346 views) |
| | Tasted by mclanew on 4/15/2020 & rated 94 points: This is fantastic. Light golden. Lovely nose of white flower and tropical fruits. Medium bodied, wonderfully balanced with layers of flavors of kiwi, guava, pineapple and minerals with discrete touch of oak. If the regular Chardonnay is this good I can’t wait for the Judge. This is in a perfect drinking window now and i would try to drink it over the next year or two. (1418 views) |
| | Tasted by bobvictor on 1/14/2020 & rated 94 points: My first one and I eally liked it, particularly compared to other comparable CA Chardonnay's like Aubert and Kistler. It had that Russian River Valley roundness, lusciousness and full body...and in addition had strong minerality and high acidity which created terrific complexity. The age also seems appropriate...the fruit and minerality were well balanced and over time the fruit will likely dissipate. (1480 views) |
| | Tasted by canan on 10/11/2019 & rated 94 points: Such a lovely wine and it has developed very nicely.
Lots of exotic fruit like pineapple and mango with a touch of butter and smoke. A nice lemon acidity balances the wine very nicely and overall it is just a wonderful wine!
Lovely flavor depth and balance. 94-95p.
It is certainly at what I would consider its peak but can easily last for a number of years. (1760 views) |
| | Tasted by fine137 on 5/12/2019 & rated 89 points: This has not aged well. Dark yellow, oxidative, burned butter and green oak. (2018 views) |
| | Tasted by pdemaio on 12/22/2018 & rated 94 points: Wow - this is tasting perfectly now. Balanced, full bodied, and just a touch of wood noted. Drink up.
PDQ94+ (2154 views) |
| | Tasted by cubswinws on 11/2/2018 & rated 92 points: Rich yellow color and nice fruit with some butter on the finish. (2164 views) |
| | Tasted by fcf3 on 8/31/2018: RP95 WS94 (2155 views) |
| | Tasted by whitmanlholt on 3/24/2018 & rated 87 points: Popped and poured. This is a medium-gold wine. On the nose, there are some spring flowers, wax, and popcorn. The mouth is a bit oaky with some butter notes, all leaving a pinched finish. Overall, this is plush but not in a fruity way; I think the wine is a bit tired or maybe a bit clobbered. Not really my style, but can see why it might be liked. 87 points. (2899 views) |
| | Tasted by TastesGoodToMe on 1/7/2018 & rated 93 points: I have been a long time lover of KG wines. This vintage is excellent. But not quite "outstanding". (3409 views) |
| | Tasted by beau11 on 12/23/2017 & rated 89 points: The 12 has never been my favorite. Rich with a lot of oak. A bit chunky and unbalanced. Finish again dominated by oak. Not on same level as 13/14 (2815 views) |
| | Tasted by Red Sox Fan on 11/25/2017 & rated 94 points: Reliably one of the best California Chardonnays. I think John Kongsgaard has a more deft touch with oak (at least for this cuvée) then some of his high end competition. (2663 views) |
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| Kongsgaard Producer website | Kongsgaard discussion at calwineries.com
John and Maggie Kongsgaard own one of California’s few cult wine labels. Along with their estate vineyard east of the town of Napa, they also buy grapes from Carneros and St Helena. Human intervention is kept to a minimum at every step of the winemaking process. Owners John and Maggie Kongsgaard recently built a new winemaking facility in a cave east of the town of St Helena. They made their first vintage there in 2006.
“The Judge” is one of the most sought after Chardonnays in California. It is made with grapes from hillside vines grown east of the town of Napa. Amazingly, only one-half of a bottle is made from each vine. The wine is named after John Kongsgaard’s father, who was a judge in Napa for many years.
The Kongsgaard Napa Valley Chardonnay is made with grapes from the same estate vineyard as The Judge. It was fermented and aged in new French oak barrels with gentle lees stirring. It was not fined or filtered before bottling.
The Kongsgaard Napa Valley Syrah is made with grapes purchased from Hudson Vineyard in the Carneros AVA. The 2.7 acres of Syrah on Lee Hudson’s property are thinned to once cluster grape cluster per shoot, making yields very low. It is aged in 50% new French oak barrels for 2 years and is not fined or filtered.
Kongsgaard also makes a very small amount of a Viognier and Roussanne blend. It is fermented with its natural yeast and is aged in French oak for 10 months.Chardonnay The Chardonnay GrapeUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Napa ValleySt. Helena |
