Critical Acclaim
Issue 222, December 2015
One of the great wine producers in Napa Valley, Kongsgaard first worked at Newton winery, where he had been taught well by the world guru in winemaking, Michel Rolland. When he went out on his own, he developed a strong relationship with the Hudson family and now produces fruit from specially planted clones in the Hudson Vineyard, while also maintaining his own estate on Atlas Peak in Coombsville. 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.
Wines tasted from barrel are scored in parenthesis:
2014 Kongsgaard Chardonnay The Judge Napa Valley
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 2014 Chardonnay The Judge has a magnificent fragrance of peach pie, honeysuckle, white currants, wet rocks and quince. Gorgeously full-bodied, with great acid and stunning purity, this is a tour de force in Chardonnay.(96-100) points
2014 Kongsgaard Chardonnay Napa Valley
Kongsgaard’s speciality is Chardonnay, and he continues to excel, making some of the finest and longest-lived Chardonnays in California. The basic cuvée is his Bâtard-Montrachet of Napa. The 2014 Chardonnay offers wonderful minerality, with notes of apricot, white peach, honeysuckle and crushed rock, all coming from an old Wente clone with tiny, tiny yields. One of the last to put any SO2 in it, the 2014 may have been one of the finest Chardonnays I tasted on my second swing through Napa. (95) points
2014 Kongsgaard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Kongsgaard’s Cabernet Sauvignon comes from Atlas Peak on a parcel of leased ground. What he likes about it is the fact that the vines in 2014 were 35 years of age. The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, this has 20% Merlot in it, which is his standard practice, and exhibits loads of chocolate, graphite, dusty, loamy soil undertones, blackcurrants and blackberry fruit. It is a big, full-bodied wine that in many ways could be considered the vinous equivalent of John Kongsgaard himself. Drink it over the next 15-20 years. (91-94) points
2014 Kongsgaard The Fimasaurus Napa Valley
Kongsgaard’s Fimasaurus, which is equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in 2014, comes from, as he said, the “gnarliest vines” in this leased parcel planted in the white tufa volcanic soils. The wine shows slightly more toffee, chocolate and black cherry notes to go along with the blackberry and cassis. It is impressive, rich and full-bodied. (92-95) points
2014 Kongsgaard Syrah Napa Valley
Kongsgaard also makes an amazing Syrah from a clone he obviously knows a lot about, because it does remind one of a great Côte-Rôtie such as Guigal’s La Landonne. Both the 2014 and 2013 are just loaded with notes of beef blood, grilled steak, raw beef, chocolate, asphalt, truffle and black olive tapenade. The 2014, which may not quite have the complexity of the 2013, smells like walking into a French butcher shop, with all kinds of charcuterie hanging from the ceiling. If that doesn’t turn you on, I don’t know what will. Drink it over the next 10 years. (94-96) points
Tasted from bottle:
2013 Kongsgaard Chardonnay The Judge Napa Valley
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. 100 points
2013 Kongsgaard Chardonnay Napa Valley
The 2013 Chardonnay, which is already in bottle, displays nectarine, tangerine oil, crushed rock, earthy, full-bodied richness, and magnificent texture and length. This is just a stunner to drink over the next decade or so. 96 points
2013 Kongsgaard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Kongsgaard’s Cabernet Sauvignon comes from Atlas Peak on a parcel of leased ground. The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon is sensational. This looks to be great stuff, but needs another 3-4 years of cellaring to show its full potential. Layers of ripe blackcurrant fruit and again some dusty, earthy minerality are present, and the wine shows plenty of blackberry and cassis. It is full-bodied, moderately tannic, and relatively extravagant in its density and richness. This wine should be put to sleep for 3-4 years and drunk over the following 25-30 years. 94+ points
2013 Kongsgaard The Fimasaurus Napa Valley
The 2013 Fimasaurus might be the finest red wine made with Bordeaux varietals that Kongsgaard has produced to date. Dense purple, with notes of spring flowers, roasted coffee, white chocolate, blackberry and cassis, the wine is full-bodied. Some mocha comes out as it sits in the glass, but this is a massive, monster wine to be forgotten for 4-5 years and drunk over the following 25-30. 96+ points
2013 Kongsgaard Syrah Napa Valley
Kongsgaard also makes an amazing Syrah from a clone he obviously knows a lot about, because it does remind one of a great Cote Rotie such as Guigal’s La Landonne. Both the 2014 and 2013 are just loaded with notes of beef blood, grilled steak, raw beef, chocolate, asphalt, truffle and black olive tapenade. The 2013 has even more body and richness, and is a dead ringer for a great Cote Rotie from Guigal, especially one with no Viognier in it. It is pure meat, blood and black fruits. Drink it over the next 15-20 years, although I found it irresistible when I tasted it. 98 points
2014 Kongsgaard VioRous Napa Valley
The 2014 VioRous White, which is 60% Viognier and 40% Roussanne, is perhaps the only blend of this nature from Northern California that can compete with similar blends from the great Manfred and Elaine Krankl on California’s Central Coast. This wine went through full malolactic and was bottled unfined and unfiltered. It has an absolute killer nose of rose water, apricot and peach marmalade, honeysuckle, a touch of smoky wood in the background, the incredible texture of a great Chardonnay and a stunning finish. It is totally dry, but the delicacy of the amazing aromatics often deteriorates quickly with Viognier, so drink it up over the next several years. 95 points
2014 Kongsgaard Albarino Napa Valley
The 2014 Albarino from the Hudson Vineyard should make believers of this varietal in California. Of course, there is not much of it, but the wine exhibits terrific notes of white peach and apricot as well as a wet, pebbly minerality and has that wonderful, flowery fragrance that one expects from a top Albarino from Northern Spain. This wine is meant to be drunk in its exuberant youthfulness, and that’s what readers should do. 92 points