Kongsgaard Wine

Kongsgaard Wine
4375 Atlas Peak Road
Napa, California
USA 94558
Phone: 707.226.2190
http://www.kongsgaard-wine.com/?CFID=1135005&CFTOKEN=12837619

Contact: Maggy Kongsgaard
Email: [email protected]

Kongsgaard Wine is a private vineyard, winery, and residence which is not open for tours or tasting. Our Napa County Use Permit forbids visitors. The wines are offered annually to our mailing list in May.

Our four-week shipping season begins in mid-October depending on the weather in the destination state.
THE JUDGE CHARDONNAY NAPA VALLEY is grown on a rocky hillside just east of the town of Napa, which was acquired by John’s grandparents in the 1920’s as a potential quarry site. The extremely rocky ground produces a miniscule crop of around one ton per acre, yielding less than one-half bottle of wine per vine. Robert Parker called this super-concentrated wine “the essence of Chardonnay – one of the most profound Chardonnays made in California.” The Judge is fermented in all new, Burgundian oak barrels with the indigenous yeast and bacteria requiring six to twelve months to finish the alcoholic and malolactic fermentations. Resting on the primary lees for fifteen months before the first racking, the wine is clarified by gravity. This allows bottling without filtration or fining after nearly two years of barrel age. The wine is named after John's late father who was the judge in Napa County from 1959 to 1985.

CHARDONNAY NAPA VALLEY is a blend of our shy-bearing blocks of the Hudson and Hyde vineyards in the cool Napa Carneros. The Hudson vines provide the extravagant richness and the peach pit and almond aromatic intensity. The Hyde vineyard contributes to the mineral depth of the wine and the super high tones in the aroma. Like the Judge, the Napa Valley Chardonnay develops for 22 months in barrel before bottling. This unusually long barrel-ageing regime encompasses the slow fermentation and the subsequent very gentle exposure to oxygen, which both prepares the wine for graceful bottle ageing and unifies the wine’s diverse character into one complex voice.

CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA VALLEY is a blend of two vineyards: our 1000-vine block in the Kongsgaard vineyard in the hills east of Napa and the Abreu Madrona Ranch in St. Helena. Our vineyard is composed of four Cabernet clones from the great chateaus of the Medoc. Abreu grows for us two heirloom California selections that proved themselves in the early days in Napa. The key to Cabernet for us is getting the tannin balanced properly – strong enough for staying power, but silky and gracious for the near term. These qualities are governed first by the two growing sites, next by our farming techniques, and finally by our cellar practices. At every meticulous step we think first about the tannin. These choices guide the structural development of the wine. Look for graphite, cedar, and violets in the aroma, and enjoy the luscious and powerful flavors.

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