Chardonnay

" A barrel sample, the 2018 Chardonnay bursts from the glass with bold notes of warm peaches, spiced pears and applesauce with hints of candied ginger, honeycomb and lime cordial. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has electric intensity, with a refreshing line of racy acid cutting through the tightly wound stone fruit and spicy layers, finishing long and honey laced. “There is a trade-off,” Alex Kongsgaard told me when I asked he and his father, John, about the benefits of their extended barrel age regime for the Chardonnays. “With more time in barrel, the wine gains more complexity. But if you go too far, then you overwhelm the terroir. The place becomes less transparent. For us, there’s a sweet spot. We like to have the fruit at the background. Our wine has enough inherent structure that it thrives on that. The terroir gives it the structure so that it can take more and more in terms of natural fermentation, long elevage, etc.” Robert Parker once called Kongsgaard’s technique “The Death & The Resurrection.” Clearly, it works—these classically forged Chardonnays are consistently jaw-droppingly incredible. The 2017s and 2018s couldn’t get more different in terms of styles, but The Judge vineyard’s signature clearly, impactfully, beautifully shines through. I can’t recommend these wines highly enough. "