9/19/2020 - jrh82 Does not like this wine:

I have to be honest, this was a disappointing wine right now. Was tasted blind alongside 6 other California Chardonnay + 1 Oregon Chardonnay and for me it finished second-to-last. It was massive, buttery, lots of smoke, oaky, but not especially integrated. There was quality lurking behind all of the massive aromas and flavor. I guess it could work already today with something like a creamy risotto. But with, say, seafood this wine would completely steamroll the dish.

The one caveat I should give was that this was my very first Kongsgaard Chardonnay and I gather it will evolve into a more cohesive wine and that it was rather silly to open the wine already today.

Here and now though I'm only at 87-88 pts.

5/11/2019 - vinkeger wrote:

Etter den sublime ‘18 Goldtropfchen Kabinett var dette skuffende. Kanskje litt vel moden frukt, men det som virkelig forstyrrer er toner av gjærrester/kjeller/jord på nese. Litt slapp og intetsigende i munn. Kan nok være en dårlig flaske.

6/16/2018 - Regina wrote:

This has now passed into its mute phase. I still have high hopes, but we'll need to hang on a for a couple of years before trying again.

6/7/2018 - vinkeger wrote:

Ufokusert og rotete nese ved åpning, men en studie i presisjon og eleganse etter to timer på karaffel. Dyp og hypnotiserende nese av hvit, glassklar frukt, gule blomster, hasselnøtter og et noe avdempet steinpreg. Nokså beskjeden fatbruk. Delikat i munn med en pen fedme av hasselnøtter og smeltet smør i anslaget. Backes opp av krystallklar sitron og hvit, lys frukt. Beundringsverdig lineær (er med ut hele kurven) og samtidig vibrerende syrestruktur. Nydelig lang finish med både frukt, syre, og salt jordsmonnspreg. En vin for sjelen. En vin for livet.

3/22/2018 - pinoteer Does not like this wine:

There's much to like about this wine, but the heavy-handed oak treatment is not one of them. If I'd know about the oak dominance in this wine before buying, I don't think that I'd have purchased 8 bottles. I'm hoping that the oak further integrates in the coming years, as this could still be a stellar wine. As it is, the oak creates a flavor imbalance that leaves one drinking an 85-point wine, at best. Frankenwines such as these are completely anathema to making wine in the vineyard.

1/24/2018 - Andre Brattland wrote:

Vinen kommer svært forførende og feminint opp av glasset med presise røde intense bær som smelter hjertet litt. Her er det fine kirsebær, bringebær og lette herlige jordstøv på nesen.

Vinen er konsentrert i flere lag men kommer ut som en rund fløyelsesrik masse som er raffinert, sjarmerende og flott. Druene er presise med litt generisk røde bær, noe våt lær preg, de fine brente steinene og med det samme lette jordpreget som nesen viste fram. Tanninene merkes ikke, de holder sømløst vakt over den flotte frukten. Vinen har en lang konsentrert utgang med et preg av lett toffee og noe brent eik. Vinen trenger litt tid, men det er lett å oppsummere denne vinen. PENT! www.botti.no

1/13/2018 - hajoha wrote:

Ung og litt tight - trenger mye luft.
Dyp pen nese hvor frukten er litt på den mørkerøde siden.
Pinotparfyme, edelt treverk, spice og hint av mandelessens.
Kraftfull og konsentrert på smak med fin friskhet.
Elsker dybden i den flotte 12 frukten.
Det bor mye i denne, men er litt røff i kantene pr i dag.
Bra pondus og deilig fruktsødme.
Lang finish med bestemte finkornede tanniner.
Flott vin, men gi den noen år til i kjelleren. 93p+

12/1/2017 - fcxj wrote:

Lush. Lovely Napa.

10/29/2017 - perisolb Likes this wine:

Tropical nose, peach, apples, perfume. Good acidity, dry, high concentration. Apples, tropical fruits, very ripe. Good, but more tropical and ripe than I like my Rieslings. A bit overwhelming.

9/29/2017 - jrh82 wrote:

I'm going have to have to agree with Redted here. When I first had this 2 years ago I was completely floored by it, but this time I came off as thick and lacking freshness. It did come around to show off some apricote and honey but not in the same ball park even as prev bottle. Hoping this was an off bottle and not '09 imploding.

8/9/2017 - Dagman Likes this wine:

Perhaps this bottle was a little off - good enough but somewhat "light" and unimpressive.

5/7/2017 - Bernt Olav wrote:

Lys strågul farge. Aroma med preg av grønne epler, sitrus, våt stein/skifer og mineraler. I munn har den lett sødmefull frukt og en frisk og tydelig syre som bærer vinen fint. Dette gjør også at det er bra balanse i vinen, noe som er veldig viktig for at jeg skal like en vin. Smaken domineres av grønne epler og sitrus. Flott konsentrasjon og bra lengde. Fungerte utmerket til grillet laks og gikk faktisk bra til italienske pølser også.

4/22/2017 - yossarian.livez wrote:

Opaque on the palate of fruit and oak. A touch of heat at the finish with aggressive tannins that were way overly drying. Disjointed really. Tasted blind, guessed Bordeaux. 85

Tried again later (so a total of 1-2 hour decant plus another couple back in the bottle) and the tannin was certainly more integrated but still overly drying but then only up to an 87.

I can't see this aging well or becoming any more balanced.

2/28/2017 - jrh82 Likes this wine:

Dark, large wine of licorice, dark fruit, tobacco. Quite apparent when tasting next to Haut Brion how La Mission is a tougher, bigger more masculine wine than HB. Very nice wine - especially for the vintage. Tell you what, '04 keep surprising me. Maybe an under-the-radar vintage. Classic. That said, guess I was expecting a wee bit more of such a legendary winery.

12/31/2016 - jrh82 Likes this wine:

Ok where to begin...first of all this is the youngest looking old wine I've ever had. Dark red colour, no red brink in sight. Straight out of the bottles a wee bit shy. But the soon enough when swirling in the glass it starts giving off aromas of tobacco, dried rose petals, wood (cedar). Initally the aromas are displayed almost induvidially, you need to "search" for them but gradually with more air the melt together nicely. On the taste it's smooth as silk, until a second or two after swallowing when there is a slight drying sensation which in all fairness is welcomed as it provides nice structure. After appox 3 hous in a caraph the wine doesn't disintegrate at all but not sure it provides new elements either. Overall I'm a little torn. On one hand it's an impressive wine which in a Lafite-esque way displays its complexities little by little and is still quite young and will obviously live on for many years and is certainly worth raving about. But on the other side it's an expensive bottle with a considerable reputation which I'm not sure it justifies nor lives up to. I'm missing the last 2%, the x-factor. For now I'm rating this wine 94, but I was expecting 97-98 which I'm hoping the next bottle will deliver in a few years' time.

11/11/2016 - dpolivy wrote:

Vindredi (Bellevue, WA): Tasted blind. Sadly I don't have more detailed notes, but this was my (and the group's) least preferred wine of the flight. It was up against some really tough competition -- while good, the others were better!

12/26/2016 - DFBW wrote:

Christmas day wine. Pulled the cork and left in the bottle for 4 hours then debated and left for a further two. Opened up nicely. Deep ruby colour but also a little cloudy in the glass. It was a good drink bit I have to say with a slightly odd background aroma and taste. It didn't make the wine bad, it still had some good fruit there just a lurking sensation that something was not quite right. I am getting the impression that this is the case with older CNdP - that it can be a little hit and miss.

12/22/2016 - Motz wrote:

Drank over two days. Effusive bouquet of forest picked purple and blue berries (boysenberry, blackberry, blueberry), berry essences and liqueurs, pomegranate juice and essence, potpourri, thick petal flower garden, sun warmed gravel, musk, and integrating oak, all of which become more pronounced with air. In a word, fresh! The wine delivers quality elements throughout the tasting experience...and it is a pleasurable experience indeed. Lush attack, expansive, 'sweet' tannin-driven middle, gritty, mineral laden back, bracing and persistent finish. Only the 14 abv might be regarded as mildly distracting (13.5 would make it even better), yet the wine packs the substance to handle the alcohol. This has not shut down like some other same vintage Left Bank Bordeaux have, but it remains very young. Five to seven years should reveal a fully integrated elixir, likely to last through 2030 and beyond.

This wine consistently attains or exceeds classed growth quality and remains my preference of all non-classed growth commune (Margaux, St. Julien, Pauillac, St. Estèphe, Listrac, Moulis) and former Cru Bourgeois Supérieur and Exceptionnel offerings.

12/20/2016 - rmalloy Likes this wine:

Unfortunately, I have to join the minority opinion that this wine is overrated and/or past its prime. The wine does have a good aroma profile of cedar, black truffle, and blackberry. But on the palate, this wine is a mess. The fruit is thin and tart. And while tannins on the finish are still fairly strong, the combination of unintegrated tannins and thin body is not felicitous. I don't remember how much I paid for this, but I'm thinking it's probably about 5-6 times what I consider it is worth based solely on today's drinking experience.

Given that every professional critic raved about this wine (not to mention most CellarTracker reviewers), I wonder whether I'm drinking an off bottle -- or my taste buds are out of whack today. Usually, I at least understand where the critics are coming from, and that's not the case here. I strive to be as objective as I can in all of my reviews. So I'm sticking with my rating of 85.

11/29/2016 - jrh82 wrote:

Wonderful Rioja. Ruby red colour. Starting to show its age as colour fading on the rim. Fairly light-bodied (like the '01 although maybe just a tad more density). On the nose ripe red fruit / berries. Some spices. Very slight animalistic element, hint of blood but faint and indeed pleasant. Minerality too, with some dark component - tar or licorice. Incredibly balanced wine which shows off something new for each sniff and sip. Refreshing acidity. Very fine tannins. Such great value for money.

11/11/2016 - jrh82 wrote:

On the nose nuts (almond), some citrus, crackers, even some vanilla. The big drawback was after a great first impression the wine was abruptly short. All of a sudden all of the nice aromas and tastes were gone. But by all means - a nice Champagne.