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2011 Kongsgaard Syrah

Not Currently In Auction

Latest Sale Price

May 5, 2024 - $131

Estimate

RATINGS

96Vinous / IWC

Ash, game, smoke and licorice all add complexity to a core of huge, dark fruit. With time in the glass, rose petals and crushed rocks add finesse to the rich, palate-staining finish

93Stephen Tanzer

Sappy and dense, with insinuating intensity to the flavors of dark berries, chocolate, smoke and spicecake.

89-91Robert M. Parker Jr.

The 2011 Syrah, which was only 100 cases in this tough vintage, was harvested from mid-October to November 2. It displays loads of bacon fat, black cherry and black currant fruit and a touch of black olive tapenade in an exotic, evolved...

PRODUCER

Kongsgaard

Kongsgaard Wines was founded in 1996 by John Kongsgaard, a Napa Valley native whose family has been in the valley for generations. The winery’s stellar reputation comes from its Chardonnays, which regularly win praise from reviewers for their resemblance to fine Burgundian Chardonnays. The estate also makes Roussanne/Viognier blends and some Cabernet Sauvignons and Syrahs. Kongsgaard’s primary vineyard is a 10-acre plot planted in the late 1970s in southern Napa Valley. The land has been in the Kongsgaard family since the 1920s. Kongsgaard also uses grapes from contract growers with long time ties to the winery. John Kongsgaard remains the owner and winemaker.

REGION

United States, California, Napa Valley

Napa Valley AVA is the most famous winemaking region in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world. With nearly 43,000 acres of vineyards and more than 300 wineries, it is the heart of fine wine production in the United States. Winemaking started in Napa in 1838 when George C. Yount planted grapes and began producing wine commercially. Other winemaking pioneers followed in the late 19th century, including the founders of Charles Krug, Schramsberg, Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyards. An infestation of phylloxera, an insect that attacks vine roots, and the onset of Prohibition nearly wiped out the nascent Napa wine industry in the early 20th century. But by the late 1950s and early 1960s Robert Mondavi and other visionaries were producing quality wines easily distinguishable from the mass-produced jug wines made in California’s Central Valley. Napa Valley’s AVA was established in 1983, and today there are 16 sub-appellations within the Napa Valley AVA. Many grapes grow well in Napa’s Mediterranean climate, but the region is best known for Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay is also very successfully cultivated, and about 30% of the AVA’s acreage is planted to white grapes, with the majority of those grapes being Chardonnay,

TYPE

Red Wine, Syrah (Shiraz)

This grape is grown in milder climates and produces a medium-to full-bodied wine. It is also known as Shiraz, but should not be confused with Petit Sirah, which was developed by crossing Syrah with Peloursin.