2011 VioRous

My recent tour of the best Napa Valley addresses began with a bang with John Kongsgaard's wines.Kongsgaard's performance in the tricky 2011 vintage is especially impressive.He views 2011 as "a great cold year," adding that the wines "have magic balance and are surprisingly giving."The 2010s, he affirms, are massive wines that will require aging.Despite the difficulties of the October rainy spells, Kongsgaard let his fruit hang until it ripened.He told me he picked his Atlas Peak cabernet on November 2, and brought in his syrah from Hudson Vineyard beginning at 4:00 in the morning of November 3, just before it began raining again that afternoon.Kongsgaard's chardonnays and syrah are consistently among the greatest examples of their varieties made in California.

These wines from John Kongsgaard were among the highlights from the month I spent in Napa Valley this year. The overall quality level here is absolutely remarkable. It is rare to see someone who is so brilliant with so many grape varieties, but Kongsgaard seems to have the magic touch. The Chardonnays remain among the most exquisite in California. Kongsgaard favors longer élevage for his Chardonnays and is generally willing to take greater risks than most of his colleagues. No guts, no glory, as the saying goes. Well, there is plenty of glory here.