2006 The Judge Chardonnay

Bright greenish-yellow. Reticent aromas of citrus peel and butterscotch, plus a whiff of exotic fruits. Dense, dry and light on its feet, with strong rocky and saline elements that give the wine more lift and aromatic persistence than the 2006 Napa bottling. Complex, classic and very long. Kongsgaard describes the Judge as a tannic vineyard. "The wine's Chablis-like acidity is really partly a function of the tannins," he explained, adding that he uses most Damy barrels (100% new) for their subtlety.

The 2006 Chardonnay The Judge is one of the vintage’s more compelling examples of this varietal. Like its siblings, it is aged 22 months in French oak (mostly new), and is bottled with no clarification. The Judge represents a selection of the finest barrels and is an homage to Kongsgaard’s father. It exhibits more white peach, pineapple, and tropical fruit characteristics as well as a steely minerality, full body, and more power than the regular cuvee. The idiosyncratic, but brilliant producer of Chardonnay, Roussanne/Viognier, Syrah, and more recently, Cabernet Sauvignon, John Kongsgaard, and his low-tech, artisinal winemaking style have had an enormous influence on many top northern California winemakers. It’s always a treat to taste with him. All his wines are limited in quantity as the family’s vineyard in Coombsville is only 9 acres, so he draws fruit from special plots in the Hudson Vineyard for his Syrah, and more recently from some of David Abreu’s vineyards for his 350-case cuvee of Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2006 Chardonnays were underperforming compared to my notes from last year. This trend is apparent in many producers’ Chardonnays in this vintage. The exuberant fruit that was noticeable out of barrel seems to have become more reserved. Nevertheless, these are still top-notch Chardonnays, just not as brilliant as I first thought. Normally, Kongsgaard’s Chardonnays are better from bottle than from barrel. Kongsgaard employs no additives, proteins, or enzymes, ferments his Syrah in pungeons with indigenous yeasts, and does not sulphur the wine until long after malolactic is completed. In the huge Hudson Vineyard, he has an unusual block of vines planted totally in volcanic soils and shale. This is the source for his Syrah, one of the most provocative and individualistic Syrahs made in California Fax (707) 963-4512

Bright pale yellow. Pungent, somewhat high-toned aromas of candied lemon peel and crushed rock. Dense, chewy and tactile, with outstanding energy and extract to its pure flavors of lemon, flint and crushed stone. Not as broad as the 2005 but perhaps even more sharply focused. This is evolving at a snail's pace and comes across as wound-up, uncompromisingly dry and extremely vibrant. Finishes firm, fine and impressively long. This chardonnay is likely to need a good five years of bottle aging, which is rare for California.