2001 Kongsgaard Chardonnay

A rather obvious ringer but an excellent wine. Pale straw. Sweet, pineapple sherbet nose. Glossy and opulent with a hint of Batard quality aromatically. Sweet and seductive, positively slides on to the palate. Rich start, very sweet and powerful. Toasty and almost more Montrachet-like in its power. A glorious dry white wine by any standards! So powerful yet with real structure and fabulous acidity. Reminds me slightly of DRC 1978 Montrachet – need one say more? Hot finish though and already approachable. Quite hot… lemon cough pastille flavours. It seems more evolved than most. (JR)

Pale medium yellow. Slightly high-toned aromas of candied orange peel, mirabelle, smoke and exotic herbs, as in Chartreuse or Benedictine. Wonderfully restrained and precise in the mouth, with the nervosite of great Burgundy. Bright, minerally and gripping, with hints of citrus peel and exotic herbs lifted by brisk acidity. Not at all an in-your-face style of California chardonnay despite its obvious density and strong extract. This will make a killer ringer in a white Burgundy tasting six or eight years from now. Kongsgaard described 2002 as a good, "coolish" year for chardonnay, in fact the latest ever for his north-facing chardonnay vineyard in the southeastern corner of Napa Valley.

An awesome effort, the 2001 Chardonnay may be this estate’s finest Chardonnay to date. Boasting profoundly intense notes of orange marmalade, minerals, lemon oil, and honeysuckle as well as great delineation for its massive size, this terrific Chardonnay tastes like a grand cru white Burgundy. The finish lasts for 45 seconds. Wines such as this make a mockery of some of the uneducated rhetoric coming from wine journalists who constantly criticize mediocre, over-oaked Chardonnays, but fail to identify the great ones. It is capable of lasting and evolving for a decade. The mystical John Kongsgaard is one heck of a winemaker. These are low tech, artisinal offerings that eschew commercial yeasts, bacterial strains, and enzymes. Of course, they are bottled naturally, with no fining or filtration. What one gets is the essence of the varietal, vintage, and vineyard. As readers know, these wines are sold via a mailing list. Fax (707) 963-4512