December 29, 2023 - My favorite of all California Chardonnay
July 17, 2023 - although the palate was very ripe as expected, there was still good amount of acidity on the palate. Initially some pineapple on the nose, but after 1 hour this became dehydrated pineapple and we also got lots of vanilla oak. Really sweet and oxidized now.
December 21, 2022 - Kongsgaard The Judge 2006
Nose: lemon tart, nail polish, coconut water
Notes: this wine is certainly on the oxidative side and unfortunately I would say this falls into the premox category. It is a little sad to be in this situation as I was told that other bottles in the same batch were fine.
Drink: now+
Rating: N/A
May 1, 2022 - Oxidised, as were the last couple of bottles of this that I tried
December 14, 2021 - This was opened for my good friend, and winemaker for Montagu & Silver Ghost, Weston’s birthday. Our local group has long had many opinions on if Kongsgaard’s Judge is worth the up-charge due to expected lifespan. With Kongsgaard’s “death and resurrection” winemaking style, we’ve come across more overly oxidized bottles of Judge within 10yrs than we’d expect. And the regular Chardonnay bottling at less than half the price drinks just as good, if not better, at all stages. That being said, when the Judge is in that magical spot, it is simply spectacular.
My hopes here were fairly low in terms of vibrancy, but at first pour, I knew I was in for something special. Had that green tinge I come across ever so often (which normally leads to young wine and/or wine not exposed to oxygen…neither of those apply here). Steely and tart initially before turning quickly to a more powdered lemon bar, exotic tropical ripe fruits like nutmeg dusted white peach and juicy stone fruit (a bit Peter Michael Point Rouge like on the nose). Salted honey roasted cashews, pineapple, rich honeycomb and a lanolin type twang on the mid palate. Finish here is astoundingly lengthy. While this was likely profound 2-3yrs ago, it’s fantastic today (assuming you don’t experience bottle variation)! Drink up!
August 7, 2021 - This taste better than the first btl opened a few years back, The group through its old world Rhone. Very oily but with excellent balance, alcohol and oak are both in check. The btl countinued to evolve and improve as the night progress. Sadly its my last btl. I think this can age for another 15-20 years easy.
May 21, 2021 - I thought it was premoxed after popping the cork, but after 2 hours and serving very chilled, the wine got much better. Still ripe on the palate, but not too bad. A little lean and there was some acidity there. Flinty notes and some ripeness on the nose, with caramelized vanilla 3 hours after opening.
May 21, 2021 - I thought it was premoxed after popping the cork, but after 2 hours and serving very chilled, the wine got much better. Still ripe on the palate, but not too bad. A little lean and there was some acidity there. Flinty notes and some ripeness on the nose, with caramelized vanilla 3 hours after opening.
November 14, 2020 - definitely too ripe, but improved significantly with chilling down to a lower serving temperature. Showed a good amount of mineral and flint, with a big toasty nose. Still ripe on the palate and the finish was kinda short, with a little bitterness.
October 10, 2020 - Drank at Noble Rot
Huge amount of debate at the table about this wine. Some oxidise notes on the nose but beautiful rich palate. Not to everybody's taste