Kongsgaard: As Close To Perfection As They Come
Is this the greatest Chardonnay we’ve ever bought?
“As with all magical experiences, I remember with absolute clarity my first Kongsgaard moment.
It was 2018 and I was in Napa Valley. I had headed to Yountville intending to dine at the French Laundry, but for various reasons this did not happen. I was pointed to a bistro down the road connected to the iconic restaurant. I picked up the wine list and saw that they had a Coravin section… BOOM Kongsgaard By the Glass. I was with my family – before they’d even sat down I’d ordered my wine!
The Kongsgaard Chardonnay was one of the greatest wine experiences I have ever had. The wine was delicious and as close to perfection as wine can get – but like all great things, it felt effortless, it was just beautiful.”
Puneet
Ever since Puneet returned from this 2018 Napa Valley trip, he’s been determined to get Kongsgaard to New Zealand. Each year, he’s tried for an allocation and finally, this year is the year. Eight years on and it’s official, we’re getting an extremely limited but extremely real allocation of Kongsgaard
The Wine, The Myth, The Legend
“John Kongsgaard is in search of the Holy Grail and these are the most interesting, naturally made wines one will find on Planet Earth.”
– Robert Parker
Many legendary wines hark from the old-world with grand domaines or châteaux spanning back centuries, so Kongsgaard is admittedly very unique, having had its inaugural vintage less than 30 years ago. But in these short decades, a true legend has been created.
While Kongsgaard’s winemaking history is more recent, their roots in Napa are not. The saga started in the 1970’s when fifth-generation Napa natives, John and Maggy Kongsgaard planted the 6 acre “The Judge” vineyard to Chardonnay in the 1970s on family land in the hills east of Napa. 1996 was the inaugural vintage, meaning the vines already had more than 15 years of age under their belts upon release.
Alex Kongsgaard and Evan Frazier, both winemakers, joined the partnership a decade later.
Kongsgaard limits its production every vintage to what John, Alex, and Evan can make with their own hands – usually around just 4000 cases per year, and “has become one of the most sought-after… Chardonnays in the world” (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)
“Robert Parker once called Kongsgaard’s technique “The Death & The Resurrection.” Clearly, it works—these classically forged Chardonnays are consistently jaw-droppingly incredible… The Judge vineyard’s signature clearly, impactfully, beautifully shines through. I can’t recommend these wines highly enough.”
– Lisa Perrotti-Brown
John Kongsgaard
Wine wasn’t always California’s claim to fame – the 1970’s and 80’s saw immense time and effort go into building the foundation for the famous region we love now. Our hats go off to a number of pioneering winemakers and visionary growers, one of which is John Kingsgaard.
“A Chardonnay Master in Cabernet Country”
– Wine Spectator
Throughout his high-school years in the 60’s, John recounts that the number of wineries nearby were probably in the teens. Undeterred and able to see this diamond for what it was becoming, he studied for a master’s degree in viticulture and enology and by the time he graduated, this number had started to accelerate (albeit still only in the double digits, a faraway figure from the 1800+ today.)
“St. Helena, Yountville, and Napa were just one-horse-towns back then,” The Wine Independent explains, “While the valley transitioned from being mom-and-pop orchard fruit growers into a growing community of small, family-owned wineries and vineyards… Fifth-generation Napa native John Kongsgaard remembers the construction of this region’s wine industry infrastructure well, having paved many of those roads himself.”
While “The Judge” vineyard was planted in the 1970’s shortly after his graduation, he was not ready to produce wines from it just yet. In the meantime, he honed his knowledge, working at Spring Mountain, Stony Hill, Luna and Newton Vineyards (where he worked until Kongsgaard’s 1996 launch), doing two harvests at the Christian Brothers and one at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars.
It was at Newton Vineyards that he became the first Californian winemaker to produce and market an unfiltered commercial white wine. He studied in this period under Bordeaux based master blender Michel Rolland. This, coupled with visiting and researching prominent winemaking regions in France, really started to help him find his preferred style which most definitely has a strong European influence.
Aside from Michel Rolland, John was also influenced by Fred McCrea of Stony Hill, Warren Winiarski from Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, and André Tchelistcheff of Beaulieu Vineyards – “André Tchelistcheff was our near neighbor on Stonecrest Drive,” John told The Wine Independent. “He and my dad, the Judge, and my mother were social friends.” Ultimately, it was André who advised John to plant Chardonnay at Stonecrest Drive which would later become The Judge vineyard.
All of this to say, John Kongsgaard was onto something when he planted that lot in the 70’s, and knew even more by the time he launched the inaugural 1996 vintage.
The success since the launch has been meteoric, and today The Judge is one of the most sought-after chardonnays in the world less than 30 years after its first vintage.
“All of his wines are unfined, unfiltered, singular in style, and often some of the most expressive and remarkable wines in Napa Valley. Talking to John Kongsgaard is akin to talking to some medieval wizard or mystic, but it all makes sense.”
– Robert M Parker Jr.
“That’s kind of the hallmark of John’s white wine. If you close your eyes, it could be red,” says Lee Hudson of Hudson Vineyards, talking to the San Francisco Gate. “It’s one thing to make big Chardonnay. It’s another thing to make big Chardonnay that’s light on its feet, and that’s what John’s Chardonnay does. It’s athletic. It’s got great abs.”
“Today, he makes two of California’s most acclaimed Chardonnays, the products of a unique fusion of Napa’s cultural heritage, time-honored Burgundian techniques and precisely farmed fruit.”
– Wine Spectator
A Generational Project
First there was The Judge, John Kongsgaard’s father. Then John himself, the pioneer and now, the new guard – Alex Kongsgaard.
“The best thing about my winemaking and grape-growing career is that my son has become my colleague and partner.” John remarks to TWI.
Alex came on board alongside Evan Frazier in 2007. It was an after-college job but unfortunately in 2011, Alex’s mum and John’s wife – Maggy – became unwell and so Alex stepped up to take on more responsibility.
One of Alex’s main responsibilities is perhaps one of the most critical – care of the famed Judge vineyard. From his first day working the vineyard, he started working toward organic farming.
“Alex has been slowly evolving the wine style,” John told TWI. “And 2021 is like a perfect vintage — so saline on the finish and intense. Maybe the best Judge ever. The high notes are so high, and there’s almost a caraway note.”
“As the second generation, I see it as my role not to change the wines but to refine them.”
Critics would agree with the trajectory of this – the 2021 vintage of The Judge has received scores of 100 from multiple wine reviewers, with Vinous’ Atonio Galloni remarking “The stylistic change here in recent years has been so remarkable.”
The pride that John feels for his son is evident. “Alex and his generation are bringing an impressive level of refinement and thoughtfulness to winemaking and grape growing.”
Kongsgaard ‘The Judge’ Chardonnay 2023
- On Order: 1 case only
- Named for John Kongsgaard’s father, who was the Superior Court Judge and a prominent local civic figure. From the 6-acre original planting with some vines going back to the 1970s, this gnarly old vineyard miraculously gives Kongsgaard, year in year out, a wine completely unique in the world and offers proof of the French adage that the greatest vineyards are not subject to much vintage variation.
- It’s like a riddle: how can a wine be so sublimely subtle and so unbelievably intense at the same time? The Judge (John’s father and the wine’s namesake) would have been 103 this year.
This vintage allocation has not been received yet and thus no reviews are available. To demonstrate the wine’s calibre, please see this round up of previous vintage scores, including the 2021 which has scored 100 Points across the board:
2021:
100 Points
Lisa Perrotti-Brown for The Wine Independent: “The 2021 The Judge Chardonnay is slightly more closed than the Napa Chardonnay at this stage, needing some coaxing to bring out notes of ripe apricots, candied ginger, baking bread, and white truffle giving way to nuances of orange blossom, chalk dust, and lime zest with a hint of brine. The full-bodied palate is paradoxically both rich and elegant, with a myriad of savory and mineral accents complementing the mouth-coating stone fruit flavors, framed by a decadently creamy texture and great tension, finishing in a whole firework display of spices, chalk, saline-coated nuts, and things that are absolutely indescribable. A masterpiece. Drink 2026-2041”
100 Points
Vinous: “The 2021 Chardonnay The Judge is dazzling. Bright, precise and crystalline, the 2021 possesses stunning concentration and textural intensity without being over-the-top in any way. The stylistic change here in recent years has been so remarkable. Crushed rocks, mint, white pepper, lemon peel and slate all grace this mind-blowing Chardonnay from John and Alex Kongsgaard.”
2013:
100 Points
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate: “Of course, it’s hard to find any, but there are usually about eight to 15 barrels of his estate Chardonnay from Coombsville called “The Judge” in honor of his father. From old Wente clones originally planted in 1975, yields are rarely in excess of one ton of fruit per acre, which no doubt accounts for its extraordinary intensity and richness. The 2013 Chardonnay The Judge is perfect, and certainly one of the greatest Chardonnays I have ever tasted. Keeping in mind that Kongsgaard is no youngster at this game (2015 was his 41st vintage making wine), his 2013 The Judge, from the white volcanic soil in Coombsville called tufa, is an amazing wine of great intensity, power, glory, elegance, texture, density and richness. The wine offers up loads of tangerine oil, caramelized citrus, honeysuckle, white peach, apricots, and wet stones. It seems to be a smorgasbord of aromas and flavors that just keep opening as the wine sits in the mouth. This is an amazing effort and one of the greatest Chardonnays ever made in California.”
Kongsgaard Chardonnay 2023
- On Order: 3 cases only
- The Chardonnay has been primarily sourced from the Carneros growers Lee Hudson and Larry Hyde. Beginning in 2020, Kongsgaard have been privileged to include fruit from the spectacular Coombsville vineyard planted by Warren Winiarski.
- In line with the previous bottlings, the wine is defined tension of mineral energy and opulence, honoring its Burgundian antecedents.
This vintage allocation has not been received yet and thus no reviews are available. To demonstrate the wine’s calibre, please see this round up of previous vintage scores:
2001:
Robb Report #1 Best Californian Chardonnay (Best 50 Californian Chardonnays of the 21st Century): “We received Kongsgaard 2001 Chardonnay as a Christmas gift in December 2004 and as staunch devotees of Burgundian whites we were both blown away by this Napa Valley gem. It had everything we loved about Chardonnay from Burgundy including aromas and flavors of lemon curd and white peach with bracing minerality on the palate. We hate to use the term “ah-ha moment,” but this was definitely one of those instances for us that highlighted the quality of well-made California Chardonnay.”
2021:
97 Points – The Wine Palate “The 2021 Chardonnay comes bounding out with eager-to-please notes of fresh grapefruit, Golden Delicious apples, and juicy pineapple plus suggestions of nutmeg, yuzu zest, and Marcona almonds with a hint of struck flint. The medium to full-bodied palate is super intense, with a crisp line of freshness cutting through the tightly wound citrus and tropical fruit flavors, finishing long and sparkly.”
17.5 Points
Jancis Robinson: “Medium cloudy lemon. Creamy lemon mousse with chalky undertones to the nose. Rich and layered with buttery, lightly salted brioche, spread with lemon cream and swathed in high-quality oak leading to aromatic vanilla and cedar notes. Bright acidity and a pinch of lemon pith at the end. It’s classic California and absolutely brilliant.”
97 Points
Vinous: “The 2021 Chardonnay (Napa Valley) is stellar. Wonderfully refined and airy, the 2021 impresses with its total harmony. It is especially elegant. Whether that is due to the vintage, a tendency to pick on the earlier side these days, or the combination of sites, the 2021 is magnificent, if a bit less showy than it used to be.”
2019:
97 Points
Falstaff: “Medium green-yellow color, silver reflections. A hint of Bourbon vanilla, delicate yellow tropical fruit, a floral touch, a delicate hint of baby pineapple, light nougat in the background, incredibly fine and complex. Full-bodied, powerful, and complex, ripe yellow peach notes, subtle wood nuances, mineral undertones, a salty finish, still showing some baby fat on the finish, undeniable Grand Cru quality, with assured development potential.” (Translated from German)
96 Points
Wine Spectator: “A stunning wine, showing both power and elegance, this has a creamy, supple texture paired with vibrant, mouthwatering acidity that turns up the intensity. Presents plump, fleshy apricot, peach cobbler and dried mango flavors complemented by notes of savory Himalayan salt and butterscotch. The long, harmonious finish features lingering accents of candied ginger peel.”
Kongsgaard Syrah 2023
- On Order: 1 case only
- Kongsgaard have made Syrah from the 2+ acre Hudson vineyard in Carneros since the inception of the brand in 1996. Over 27 vintages it has been as distinct from its competition as the Judge is from the rest of California Chardonnay.
- This Syrah is a force of nature. Of course, they make a lot of winemaking decisions as the wine ferments and ages for the 20 months before bottling, but this wine’s magnificent, undeniable voice is beyond man’s control. More animal than vegetable, Kongsgaard’s savory Syrah lives in its own rarefied world.
This vintage allocation has not been received yet and thus no reviews are available. To demonstrate the wine’s calibre, please see this round up of previous vintage scores:
2022:
95-97 Points
The Wine Palate: “The 2022 Hudson Vineyards Syrah, tasted as a barrel sample, is deep garnet-purple in color. Notes of juicy ripe plums, boysenberries, and star anise leap from the glass, plus hints of peppered salami and candied violets. The medium to full-bodied palate is surprisingly bright and crunchy, with great freshness and super-plush tannins, finishing long and peppery.”
99 Points
Vinous: “The 2016 Syrah Hudson Vineyards is simply magnificent. Deep and unctuous, yet also exquisitely layered, the 2016 has so much going on. A rush of black pepper, menthol, lavender, licorice, cured meat and smoke build into the explosive finish as this dramatic, statuesque Syrah shows off its personality and pedigree. In a word: tremendous.”
