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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 93.5 pts. and median of 94 pts. in 54 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Burgnick on 2/25/2023 & rated 91 points: Butter, caramel, banna, tropical fruit and vanilla. Palate exhibits round and ripe tropical fruit with fatness. The acidity level is moderate for its age. (1001 views) | | | Tasted by danseng on 10/6/2022 & rated 80 points: Unfortunately I got an oxidized bottle. Tastes more like a Lopez de Heredia Reserva Blanco than a Napa Chard. So disappointed. (836 views) | | | Tasted by mclanew on 4/3/2022 & rated 96 points: Popped and poured. This is a magical wine. Beautiful nose of white flowers and orchard fruit. The palate is rich, enveloping, layered and poise. White peach, apples, a little tropical fruit, minerals and toast. Full bodied and long. This has aged well. Fully mature now. I would drink up soon. (1070 views) | | | Tasted by PatrickO33 on 12/26/2021 & rated 93 points: Lemon peel, crushed stone, sweet herbs on the nose. Showing little signs of aging, this wine is still wonderfully fresh. Peaches and roasted nuts on the palate. (1021 views) | | | Tasted by Peech on 3/10/2021 & rated 91 points: definitely oxidized nose with a little acetone, and some savory notes under the sweetness. After some aeration, this seemed leaner, a little more alcoholic, and somewhat bitter on the palate. Sweet, buttery notes showed up after about 30 minutes. Still very much alive. (1325 views) | | | Tasted by nvandyk on 12/27/2020 & rated 98 points: I have been concerned about the aging potential of these beauties due to several bottles that, after about year 7-8, tasted maderized. I don't think they were all from the same vintage, so I hadn't chalked it up to bottle variation. Regardless, all I know is this wine is drinking beautifully right now. I think I can taste the hint of what I did before but it's not troublesome at all right now. I wouldn't hold another five years, but I would drink with confidence for the next year or two. (1317 views) | | | Tasted by mclanew on 12/8/2020 & rated 96 points: Consistently one of the best California Chardonnay’s I have had. This is still at a beautiful stage. Lovely nose of white flowers, orchard fruit and a touch of smoke. The palate is nicely balanced but full bodied and generous with flavors of peach, lime peel, a little tropical fruit and crushed rocks. There are layers of flavor here and the wine exudes sophistication. I would drink up as you never know when this starts to deteriorate. (1126 views) | | | Tasted by dafmd on 5/9/2020 & rated 94 points: Opened 60 min prior; golden straw; floral and apple/pear notes; medium bodied to almost mouth filling; some mineral, toast, spice, very enjoyable. (1176 views) | | | Tasted by mjf@ulkner on 9/27/2019 & rated 90 points: Straw yellow. Big, ripe, opulent style. Rich honeyed apricot and nectarine fruit. Well cellared since purchasing direct from winery, but some almond/nut notes on finish concern me a bit that some oxidative elements are creeping in. (1429 views) | | | Tasted by mclanew on 9/25/2019 & rated 93 points: Not as good as the last bottle I had but still a pretty good quality chardonnay. Nice floral nose opens to a medium bodied fully mature palate. Sweet orchard fruit, minerals and toast predominate on the palate and this end with a long satisfying finish. My only complaint is the oak seemed a little elevated in this wine compared to what I remembered (1178 views) | | | Tasted by mclanew on 3/9/2019 & rated 95 points: This is still fairly youthful and a very big chardonnay with lots of structure. This needs about a 45 minute decant to be at its best. The nose is lovely white apricot and flowers. The palate shows tremendous concentration with verve with flavors of pear, apple, tropical fruits and minerals framed in well integrated cloak of oak. Long finish. My only concern here was there was a little heaviness to the wine. Should continue to evolve for a few more years. (1481 views) | | | Tasted by Caruso on 1/12/2019 & rated 98 points: Light golden coloured. First a bit shy with only some citrus but intense flinty notes yet. With time in the glass or from the partly emptied bottle, that depends how patient you can be, it gains in complexity as well as in intensity. It is nearly dominated by its minerality with its flint, slate and crushed stone notes from the volcanic soils. But there are underlying fruity components as well as citrus, apricot and peach blossoms, and apple skin smells from the emptied glas and toasty yeasty components like white bread, brioche. In fact the long finish ends on the fruity notes. Concentrated but light on its feet, first one can be a bit disappointed if one has expected a monster of wine with intense fruit components. It is really much like a Batârd Montrachet from Leflaive for example and it gets his points first of all for its complexity and poise. Galloni rated it as high as 98+ points in 2011 for the WA and as low as 95 points for Vinous in 2013. This is typical because if you don't get it in its first year after bottling it seems to be best at 6-8 years after bottling and in the following years. For me it is one of the best chardonnays I ever had including all this Ramonets and Leflaives etc. If it had a bit more punch I couldn't give it less than 100 points, but well, maybe in the other vintages sleeping in my cellar. Nevertheless it is extraordinary anyway and maybe Galloni would confirm his initial score if he would have this wine today. 98 points TWA and 95 points Vinous. 5/14/19/10, -2030+ in a cool cellar.
After ca. 6 hours it became different. Getting a bit tired and loosing significant parts of its mineral scents and flavors. The used new oak is coming trough then. So decantation is not a good idea, I believe. (1548 views) | | | Tasted by hshdream on 8/29/2018: I drank this wine in "The Kitchen" Macau. (1613 views) | | | Tasted by mclanew on 8/1/2018 & rated 96 points: This is up there as one of the best Cali chardonnays I have had recently. What distinguishes it are it’s balance and lightness of being. The nose is a pretty floral lilies and lemon oil. The palate is concentrated crystalline and focused for a Cali chardonnay with flavors of apple, pears, touch of kiwi, minerals. The body is graceful but the finish retains power and length. Still has three to five years of further aging ahead. (1415 views) | | | Tasted by Bandreas on 12/29/2017: Dark Golden color; turning to amber...
Very soft; ultra-ripe and almost sweet on the palate. Close to being "over the top". Borderline tired...Probably needs to be drunk up
"Un vino da meditazione" It was overwhelmed by the Chinese food we had at "Q" (1698 views) | | | Tasted by Verb on 11/11/2017 & rated 92 points: lemon yellow - oaky nose with abundant fruit of white peaches, ripe apples and caramel - big fruit carries over into the mouth with a full rich body and very nice acid balance - long smooth finish - doesn't taste alcoholic despite 14.1% EtOH - a huge fruit-rich chardonnay which initially tasted over-extracted and overly oaked, but actually was fuller, richer and more focused 24h later - will reserve judgement until waiting 1-2 h after decanting before drinking the next bottle (1465 views) | | | Tasted by jclary on 10/31/2017 & rated 94 points: Good, not great. I can't put my finger on it, just that it was missing that extra gear. Very well made and complete, with a beautiful golden color. Seemed more elegant than I remember other bottles being. Had two bottles pre-dinner and both were spitting images of each other. No sign of fading. (1641 views) | | | Tasted by wine65 on 5/14/2016 & rated 94 points: Golden yellow color. Floral sweet nose. Apple, pear, meyer lemon slight oak spice at the end. This is a large scaled wine but perfectly balanced. Drinking very well now. (2787 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 5/13/2016 & rated 93 points: Close to over the top. This is incredibly concentrated, oaky and lacks elegance. On the other hand, there is a purity of fruit in the lemon, lime and apple notes, fat, juicy textures and a lush, vanilla drenched finish. More impressive than fun to drink. (3052 views) | | | Tasted by sdr on 3/24/2016 & rated 93 points: There's good balance of fruit and acidity in this behemoth. Per G it is probably fresher at this age than the "regular" 2009 Kongsgaard chardonnay. Oaky, viscous, concentrated and obviously California in style, it's clearly a success and avoids the excess of butter and sugar that plagues some less well made chardonnays that strive for home runs. That said, I still question whether the high tariff is justified. (2227 views) | | | Tasted by gotwine on 2/8/2015: not spectacular but elegant and Aubertish - fully mature, I would not wait longer, at peak - light but seamless with everything in balance - my best Kongsgaard yet - perfect with molecular cuisine at Commonwealth - 96 (3354 views) | | | Tasted by Dnathanson on 1/13/2015 & rated 94 points: Bee's wax, pear rind, honeysuckle. Elegant from top to bottom. (3201 views) | | | Tasted by SYR on 12/20/2014 & rated 95 points: Stunning. Shocked me on the first sip. Beautiful wine. (2405 views) | | | Tasted by Collector1855 on 11/16/2014 & rated 95 points: Tasted at Wine Advocat event - A matter of taste. Medium yellow. Expressive and complex nose of vanilla, oak with lots of white fruit, nuts and other aroma. Multidimensional on the palate as well combining freshness and aromatics. Hefty price tag though. (2883 views) | | | Tasted by Kemo Sabe on 10/23/2014 & rated 95 points: Probably the best Chardonnay in all of California. In all of the US. This is amazing. Richness, flavorful, crisp and balanced. This will get better over time. 95+ (2402 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, 2011 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: Terroir Matters - Updated (Nov 2013)
(Kongsgaard Chardonnay The Judge Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, New Releases from Napa Valley (Dec 2011)
(Kongsgaard Chardonnay The Judge Napa) Subscribe to see review text. | By Josh Raynolds
Vinous, May/June 2011, IWC Issue #156
(Kongsgaard Wines Chardonnay The Judge Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| 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 |
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