Kongsgaard The Judge Chardonnay, Napa Valley, USA, 2005, 750ml

Good bright yellow. Brooding, mineral-driven aromas of peach, pungent stone, smoke and nuts. Extraordinarily dense and tactile in the mouth, with a distinctly saline character to the superconcentrated flavors of peach, lemon and liquid stone. Conveys a much sweeter impression today than the 2006 Judge but without any loss of vibrancy. Perhaps most impressive of all on the whiplash of a finish, which features palate-saturating peach and apricot fruit flavors and great tannic support. It’s tempting to say that this monumental chardonnay is Burgundian, but it would be hard to find a Burgundy with the sheer size to stand up to this. Kongsgaard advises drinking it between 2010 and 2016.
Stephen Tanzer, vinfolio.com, May 2008