PRODUCER: Kongsgaard
REGION: Napa Valley
WINEMAKERS: John & Alex Kongsgaard, Evan Frazier
Since establishing his reputation at Newton Vineyards in the 1980s, where his Unfiltered Chardonnay became an instant classic, fifth-generation Napan John Kongsgaard is now rightfully revered as the one of the finest winemakers in California. From their bunker-like winery at the top of Atlas Peak Mountain, John produces profound wines from Chardonnay, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon with the help of his son Alex and assistant winemaker Evan Frazier. The wines are produced in tiny quantities and are difficult to find, but the trouble is more than worth it once the cork gets popped.
WINERY HISTORY
Like his friend and contemporary Cathy Corison, John Kongsgaard studied at UC Davis in the mid-1970s and had a front row seat for the explosion in interest in Californian wines following the 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting. Having decided to make Chardonnay his speciality, John scored a winemaking job at Newton Vineyards and was duly dispatched to Burgundy to witness how the best white wines in the world were made. While there, he learned a host of old school Burgundian techniques, particularly the unique strategy of letting the must to oxidise. This high-risk strategy reaped high rewards, as John’s wines emerged from their brown stupor brighter and fresher than ever before. Thanks to the ever-present California sun, John’s wines also had deep weight and complexity in every sip.
Using the experience earned from his efforts at Newton, John and his wife Maggy would found their eponymous vineyard atop Atlas Peak in the 1990s. Farming high up on the eastern rim of Napa, the grapes were sourced from Chardonnay plantings on family land dating back to the 1970s. Since its inaugural vintage in 1996, Kongsgaard Chardonnay has entrenched itself as one of the most highly regarded wines in Napa. Indeed, their single lot cuvée - ‘The Judge’ - might just represent the apotheosis of the varietal in the New World.
In addition to producing great wines, John has also acted as mentor for some of the most important young winemakers now plying their trade in the state. Abe Schoener of the Scholium Project, Duncan Meyers of Arnot Roberts and Andy Erickson of Favia (previously Screaming Eagle and Mayacamas) have spent time learning from this modern great of Californian wine.
VITICULTURE & WINEMAKING
These principles are still followed to this day at Kongsgaard, the label that John founded in the mid 1990s. He is also insistent on using the highest quality low yielding fruit, which he either farms himself at his home vineyard or purchases from long term partners such as Larry Hyde and Lee Hudson (two of the finest grape growers in the USA). The wines are fermented and aged in French oak barrels, with native yeast fermentations, minimal sulphur additions and minimal batonnage.
Now joined by his son, Alex, and celebrated winemaker Evan Frazier, John continues to produce Chardonnay - alongside limited quantities of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon - much as he always has. Intense farming, paired with venerable, low intervention winemaking, produces some of Napa’s most distinct and vibrant wines. These wines are marked by an indelible grace and lightness of touch which amaze given the concentration of Kongsgaard’s bottlings. Not only has this winery earned an undeniable legacy of its own, but its cellar has also proved a forge for some of the Valley’s most revered oenologists.
GRAPE VARIETIES
Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah
IN THE PRESS
"Robert Parker once called Kongsgaard’s technique “The Death & The Resurrection.” Clearly, it works—these classically forged Chardonnays are consistently jaw-droppingly incredible." - Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate
"My fall tasting was memorable for the number of utterly sublime wines I tasted with John and Alex Kongsgaard. As I have written here previously, my impression is that the wines are a bit more refined today than in the recent past. These remain some of the most unique and deeply human wines being made in Napa Valley today." - Antonio Galloni, Vinous
"Each time I have the opportunity to taste the wines from Kongsgaard my pen seems to get stuck on the page, words fail me, and then I muddle through, writing a tasting note that I’m never completely satisfied with. On my latest trip to Napa, I repeated this excruciating exercise four times, tasting their 2021 Chardonnay, 2019 The Judge Chardonnay and their 2021 and 2014 Syrahs. Each wine was more mind-bendingly wonderful than the previous and it took me an embarrassing amount of time to judder out the inadequate notes below. Like many good things, quantities are extremely limited. The wines are made by a three-man team of John Kongsgaard, Alex Kongsgaard and Evan Frazier in a tiny winery on Atlas Peak that is likely the highest in all of Napa at 2,300 ft (700 m)." - Jancis Robinson MW
