The Judge 2006 - Kongsgaard

•  Presentation of the winery

Napa Valley is an American wine region, located in California. This area is renowned for the high quality of its wines, thanks to a Mediterranean climate. 

5th generation Napa native, John Kongsgaard and his wife Maggy are the founders and owners of the eponymous estate, which they operate with their son Alex. Their philosophy is to produce only the quantities they can manage themselves, about 3000 cases per year.
John Kongsgaard, after specialized winemaking studies, went to Burgundy, where he could enjoy and study the production of white wines from some major estates : Coche-Dury, Bonneau du Martray and the Domaine des Comtes Lafon. He kept using this non-interventionist approach. He also studied the great Pinot Gris, during a second visit to Europe. He worked with various and famous estates and winemakers in Napa Valley, and is the co-founder of Arietta Estate, with Fritz Hatton.
He was the first in California to produce and promote unfiltered white wine.
The grapes used for its production partly come from the estate vineyards (Chardonnay vines planted in the '70s), and partly from selected vines carefully cultivated under the same non-interventionist principles, which all produce highly qualitative but extremely low yelding. The vinification is long, the fermentation too, which  operates using indigenous yeasts, and may last a year. The wine is then bottled without filtration.

• The estate wines

The Kongsgaard Estate currently produces the following wines: The Judge, Chardonnay, VioRous, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. All these wines are produced in the estate underground winery. The first vintage from Kongsgaard was produced in 1996.

• Wine

The Judge is named after the father of John Kongsgaard, Thomas, who was Napa Superior Court Judge.
We find in this wine apricot notes, a touch of caramel and dried fruit. The finish is exceptionally long.