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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 93 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 90 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by nzinkgraf on 6/5/2023: @ The Office w/ John Kongsgaard: Med/- straw color. Loads of melon fruit to the nose. A gorgeous wine. Not as oak framed as the 2000. Coconut flows across the palate. Yes, it’s before lunch still, but I’m done spitting for the time being. J**** C*****. Sweet and generous.
Now this is truly ‘old Meursault’ that still drinks. Coconut cream pie aroma and not at all oaky like the 2000. (380 views) | | | Tasted by soyhead on 5/29/2022: nose - dried apricot, almost smells like a desert wine
mouth - big body, rich, vanilla, butter-creamy, and lacking the requisite acidity to make it of any interest. (some) others like it. i found it lacking balance. (906 views) | | | Tasted by fdub on 6/4/2020: Oxidized and not drinkable (1510 views) | | | Tasted by Naplesgolfer on 3/31/2018 flawed bottle: flawed (2412 views) | | | Tasted by Rosengoo on 1/22/2016 & rated 92 points: This was drawn at a local sushi place with no decanting. The wine was slightly cloudy and mid deep yellow in colour. The bouquet was of assorted citrus smells. In the glass was a smooth wine with strong flavours of lemons and some oranges. There was also a noticeable honey flavour. This wine seems to be aging quite well for a 13 year old bottle. (3960 views) | | | Tasted by jlgnml on 11/1/2015 & rated 90 points: Popped and pour, dark hay color, stringent taste, almost set like, checked back in 30 min, softened up, good qualities, checked back in 1 1/2 hrs and the color lightened up, flavor a developed. Drink now. (3861 views) | | | Tasted by Monte Boy on 9/14/2014 & rated 90 points: Unfortunately, past its prime. (4611 views) | | | Tasted by sandwich on 7/23/2014 & rated 91 points: Not as good as the 2002 but still serviceable. Classic California chard with a lot of oak, a lot of fruit, and a lot of chill. Good summer swill. (4380 views) | | | Tasted by Rosengoo on 6/30/2014 & rated 95 points: This bottle was a pop and pour at home. The wine was clear and was a deep gold in colour. Very citrusy on the nose. In the glass was a wine that was filled with tastes of oranges, honey, and some butter. There was still a good amount of acidity in it which bodes well for some time to come. This wine is in a really good drinking space right now. (3862 views) | | | Tasted by JBVino on 8/3/2011: unfortunately nothing special...I am not purchaser of Kongsgaard wines but was given this chard...this wine lacked the acidity and structure to be anything but ordinary. It had decent mouthfeel but lacked the acidity to give the wine presence in the mouth...also was missing secondary flavors that typically come with age. Nothing unappealing about the wine but just ok. (5072 views) | | | Tasted by wineismylife on 7/22/2011 & rated 92 points: Sacred Cow Rocky Mountain Offline - Day 3 (CAVU Cabin, Hartsel, CO): WIML92
Tasted non blind. Opened and served immediately.
Yellow color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of vanilla, cream, apple and yellow pears. Flavors of lemon zest, yellow pears, cream and yellow apples. Medium acidity, full bodied. Drink any time. (5606 views) | | | Tasted by phenricsson on 1/17/2011 & rated 92 points: Very good, nothing wrong but not as bright as other vintages. Good minerality and complexity but lacking a bit of the umph that normally sets his chards apart from most. (4716 views) | | | Tasted by Mrbuzz on 10/15/2010 & rated 95 points: Last bottle....great wine! Needs some air, and cellar temp is key. This is still rich in honeyed fruit(fig,baked apples,peach,apricot), bright, and somewhat tart, citrus acidity, good dose of toasted vanilla oak barrel. Age has brought out a nice sherry-ness, hazelnut/caramel butter....but still TONS of lively acidity and minerals to keep it young. Wonderful spices, smoke, toasted marshmallow, butterscotch flavors.....really seems like it will go a lot longer. The only negative to some might be the acidity, which seems harsh at times. For me, it's such a big wine, that I like that kind of cut to it. Good stuff! (4927 views) | | | Tasted by ShannonGroomes on 7/12/2010 & rated 90 points: rich with hazelnut flavors a bit of citrus though, prefer younger (4717 views) | | | Tasted by Rosengoo on 7/8/2010 & rated 90 points: I enjoyed this bottle. The wine had a mid range colour and was buttery smooth. It did have a slightly sour aftertaste but this might have been because we poured it right out of the cellar. (3817 views) | | | Tasted by Peech on 4/9/2010 & rated 93 points: beautiful... lots of honey, butter, caramel, straw and grass notes along with the oak, and some lemon citrus. Pretty ripe on the palate, a long finish that is a little tart. (3979 views) | | | Tasted by el borracho on 3/14/2010 & rated 89 points: Good, but fading. Drink up. (4217 views) | | | Tasted by Peech on 3/4/2010 & rated 93 points: Lots of toasty oak here, with minerals, ripeness, sweet butter in the nose. Pretty sweet and ripe on the palate, with a bit of sweet grass and a little tart on the finish. A nice Cali Chard but not something that everyone would like. (4058 views) | | | Tasted by tbone on 12/4/2009: Ok before food. Gaining quite a bit of tone, a deep golden color. Exotic nose, of which I could recognize pears, hazelnuts and butter. Palate is a mix of minerals (a good thing) and alcohol (a bad thing) with some mature fruit. With food this wine was undrinkable, just an alcoholic mess. (food was roasted halibut, cauliflower, tomatoes and aged goat cheese). After dinner went back to the same state as when opened. If I had more I would send to auction or wait and see what happens in 5 years. $75 at release is a little steep compared to what is available from the Burgundy area of France.
Day 2 - BLEH!!! Down the drain (4265 views) | | | Tasted by vinojones on 11/25/2009 & rated 93 points: Light gold; rich nose of vanilla bean, hint of cinnamon, pear; Full body, carried the bouquet into the flavors adding ripe peach, papaya flavors- exotic rather than classic; a little heavy on the finish,not as lively and cleansing as I would like it to be but definitely an attention grabber. Drink up (4281 views) | | | Tasted by Mrbuzz on 11/18/2009 & rated 96 points: My third bottle of this since release...the first was an epiphany(97pts), the second showed some unbalance, but still tasty(95pts)...tonight, an aged beauty! Dark golden Sauternes in color....still quite huge in creamy fruit(peach,apricot,baked apples,honey figs)...absolutely wonderful mineral spices and aged honey nuttiness! Ok, tell me this is an expensive super Grand Cru....and I wouldn't doubt you. Age has brought out the perfect combo of hazelnut/butter/lemon acidity/waxy honeycomb....all hugely spiced, and lifted well with minerals galor. Add the creamy butterscotch oak, and it brings it all together. As it warms in my glass...the better it gets! Glad, and sad, to have one more left......Calif. Chard at its best! (4380 views) | | | Tasted by wdb001 on 8/11/2009 & rated 93 points: Last bottle. Probably has peaked but still drinking really well. The wine had a light gold color, with notes of apple and peach on the nose. Medium bodied with lovely acidity and a smooth finish. Very nice. (4558 views) | | | Tasted by ShannonGroomes on 7/13/2009 & rated 96 points: Wow two great whites in one day!! This was a lot of banana, marshmallow, some cinnamon brioche yeast to it, I really enjoyed this wine. Rich yet not a heavy wine!!! (4567 views) | | | Tasted by dbkitc on 7/6/2009 & rated 92 points: Wonderful Chardonnay. At the end of its peek maturity table, but luscious, balanced and long. Very nice richness with some mature caramel like notes. Drink up. (92) (4595 views) | | | Tasted by wineismylife on 7/5/2009 & rated 90 points: WIML90
Tasted July 5, 2009.
Opened briefly before serving. Light yellow to yellow color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of paraffin. nutmeg and some camphor. Flavors of pear, apple and nutmeg. Light to medium acidity, medium body. Drink over the next couple of years. (4541 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| 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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