January 15, 2016

KONGSGAARD "The Judge" Chardonnay 2013

(Napa Valley, CA) $175

The 2013 vintage of Kongsgaard’s “The Judge” may well be the only chardonnay in Napa Valley with a waiting list as long as the ones for the cabernet sauvignons from superstars Harlan and Colgin. A mere three hundred thirty cases are made (hence the price). The Judge is unlike any California chardonnay I have ever experienced. The flavor equivalent of a tightly woven golden-colored tapestry, it is a wine of unbelievable textural sumptuousness with long lines of intensity punctuated by pinpoints of what can only be described as energy. Comparisons to Montrachet float in the mind. This is the sort of wine you really do never forget.

98 points

Which of the following terms in Australia is given to the oldest vines?

A. Old Vine

B. Survivor Vine

C. Centenarian Vine

D. Ancestor Vine

Ancestor vines must be at least 125 years old and are considered living tributes to Australia’s European settlers. Penfold’s famous Kalimna “Block 42” (source of both the heritage cuttings planted in Penfolds’ Paso Robles vineyard in 1999, and the cabernet sauvignon blended into the California Collection in 2018) was planted in the Barossa Valley in 1888 and is thought to be the oldest cabernet sauvignon the world over. Given that many of the world’s oldest vines live in the Barossa Valley, it’s fitting that winemakers there were the first in the world to codify what “old” means. For the record: Old Vines are at least thirty-five years of age; Survivor Vines are at least seventy years of age; and—you guessed it—Centenarian Vines are at least one hundred years of age.

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KONGSGAARD "The Judge" Chardonnay 2013

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