The Judge 2019 is Kongsgaard's flagship Chardonnay from the family vineyard in the hills east of Napa. Only about 300 cases were made, and the major critics scored it 97 to 98 points.
About This Wine
Wine Spectator reported just 300 cases of the 2019 Judge. Antonio Galloni rated it 98, finding lemon confit, white flowers and almond emerging slowly, and a mix of textural richness and energy that he expected to reward patience; his window runs from 2024 to 2039. Wine Spectator, at 97, described lemon curd, dried pineapple and Fuji apple with grey sea salt, toasted sesame, orange blossom, honey and tarragon. The wine is fermented with native yeasts and bottled without filtration, and it carries 14.1% alcohol.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Lemon confit, white flowers and almond, with dried pineapple and orange blossom.
- Palate: Dense and layered, with lemon curd and Fuji apple, sea-salt minerality and plenty of energy.
- Finish: Expressive and long, with honey, spice and a savoury, herbal close.
Serving & Food
Serve at 12 to 13°C in a Burgundy glass, after a 30-minute decant. It is just coming into its window and will hold for another ten years or so. Pair with pan-roasted halibut, pork belly with apple or a wedge of aged Gruyère.
How to Enjoy
A single-vineyard Napa Chardonnay to open now or cellar for the next decade.
Product Details
Producer: Kongsgaard
Country: USA
Region: Napa Valley, California
Cuvée: The Judge
Vintage: 2019
Grape Variety: Chardonnay
ABV: 14.1%
Volume: 750mL
About the Winery
John Kongsgaard's career began in the 1970s, with the 1975 harvest at Stony Hill and the 1977 vintage at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars under Warren Winiarski. He moved to Newton Vineyard in 1983, where he became known for bottling Chardonnay unfiltered, still rare in California at the time.
After later work at Luna and Arietta, he and Maggy started Kongsgaard in 1996. Their son Alex Kongsgaard and Evan Frazier, both winemakers, joined about a decade later, and production is kept to what the three of them can make by hand.