The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Trace Ridge is one of the very best wines I have tasted from Kendall-Jackson of late. Powerful and structured, with a super-classic expression of fruit, acid and tannin, the 2015 is flat-out beautiful. Blueberry, gravel, menthol, game and licorice all run through this deeply expressive Cabernet. The 2015 has tons of Knights Valley character, and yet winemaker Kristy Melton has managed to reign in the tannins. What a gorgeous wine this is.

As for the Mt. Veeder cuvée, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate Napa Mountain is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in nearly 50% new French oak as well as a handful of American barrels for 21 months prior to bottling. This is a 25- to 30-year wine from KJ. Inky blue/purple, with notes of blueberries, blackberries, white flowers and cedar wood, the wine hits the palate with some espresso and chocolate. The wine is concentrated, rich, full-bodied and multidimensional. It is a stunner, but very limited in production (521 cases). It should evolve for 20 or more years.

Weekend Wine Picks A half year down the road there are no substantial changes here. The Hawkeye Mountain is K-J’s signature Alexander Mountain property, planted from 900 to 2200 feet above sea level. Shallow, rocky and gravelly loam on steep, westward facing hillsides with some terracing is the home to the limited release Hawkeye Ridge Cabernet — an island in the sky above the fog line. The mountain textures are accentuated by spicy, licorice, tobacco, black cherry fruit. The finish is long, savoury and persistent. This will easily repay a decade in the bottle. Private wine shops only.

The dense purple 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Trace Ridge (400 cases of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Knights Valley and their Kellogg Estate Vineyard) offers up hints of spring flowers, blueberry liqueur, crème de cassis, camphor and wet rocks. It’s mineral-laced on the palate. Displaying a full-bodied mouthfeel, sweet tannin and a long, long finish, this classic, ostentatious Cabernet can be drunk over the next 12-15 years.

A gorgeous Cab that shows the density and concentration, but also the elegant structure, of a fine mountain vineyard. Dry and richly tannic, this 100% Cabernet has pinpoint flavors of currants, plums and cedar. Brilliant now, and should evolve through at least 2012.

From a slope of Mount St. Helena overlooking this small valley appellation comes this very dense, young 100% Cab. It's an impressive wine, not only for the sheet concentration of blackberry, currant and plum fruit flavors, but for the plush mouthfeel, which has a gorgeously soft quality. K-J's winemakers really rock in the science of tannin management.

Tremendous Cab, grown on the high slopes of this appellation where great Bordeaux reds come from. It hits the palate with hugely concentrated Cab flavors, flooding the mouth with black currants, plums, coffee, spices and gorgeously toasty French oak. Feels lavish, powerful, complex and ageworthy.

From mountain vineyards comes this deep, dark, impressively intense Cab. Opens with a blast of new oaky smoke, char and vanilla, but once in the mouth, huge waves of flamboyant blackberry and cassis, black cherry and vanilla oak flavors unfold, with a meaty note. The wine is totally dry and balanced, and while it's drinkable now, it should improve through 2015

Peppery, earthy, saddle leather nose with cardamom, blackberry and cassis with smoky, coffee, vanilla streaks. Rich, supple and concentrated palate with spicy, peppery, coffee, cassis jam flavours and lively sweet blackberry fruit flecked with cedar and tobacco. Fine-grained tight tannins on the long finish.

My favorite is the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Highlands Estate Trace Ridge, a Knight's Valley vineyard planted at a relatively lofty elevation of 500-1,000 feet. Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and aged in French oak, it is meant for long-term cellaring. The bouquet offers scents of tobacco leaf, sweet black cherries, black currants, a dusty, smoky earthiness, and hints of crushed rocks and flowers. The wine reveals impressive fruit intensity, and an enticing, full-throttle texture. While accessible, its best days are probably 5-7 years ahead of it, and it should keep for 15-20 years.

Rich, ripe and complex, offering a pretty array of plum, cherry, currant and berry all dressed up with toasty oak flavors.

Open spicy, floral, clove, apple and pear nose with ripe melon, vanilla, lees and butter well integrated. Very rich and viscous with a touch of oiliness. Big melon, mango, clove, lees, spice flavours and a long baked-apple, butterscotch finish. Very refined and long, top quality here.

This impressive new bottling for the Jackson Family starts with fresh aromas of preserved limes on toast, rounded nectarine, chalk and lemon syrup. There is a strong tension to the palate, where racy flavors of kumquat and lemon sorbet lead into a grippy, tense finish.

Yesterday, I sat down with Randy Ullom, the affable 'winemaster' at Kendall-Jackson, and tasted ten wines from their portfolio. Some of the entry level wines are currently available at (and imported by) Dan Murphy's, with the higher end of the range looking for distribution. Vineyard here is in the Santa Maria Valley, using clone 5 Chardonnay grown on its own roots. Vine age is around 40 years. Rich, biscuitty, sweet cinnamon spice oak, more to the peach and sweet lime fruit spectrum, though tropical fruit lazes in the mix. Full bodied, burst of flavour, light butter and savoury spice, gentle flintiness and very good length. Bold, but beautiful. Manages to combine larger scale Chardonnay flavour with style and precision. Liked it a lot.

Very pure, focused, intense, a Chardonnay whose minerality and fresh acidity provide grounding and structure to the elaborate, decadently good flavors. Exotic, with waves of tropical fruit pastry, lemondrop candy, golden mango, pineapple, crème brûlée, buttered toast and dusty Asian spices.

Absolutely brilliant, but very limited production...the 2007 Highland Estates Chardonnay Seco Highlands.

The nose is a sensational mix of oatmeal, subtle oak and vanilla, with bits of butter, mineral and spicy orange flecks. The palate is a creamy mix of pineapple, papaya, citrusy lime notes, along with a créme brûlée finish. Perhaps the best finesse yet, with only 55 percent new French oak in the barrel ferment. A first-class chardonnay that over-delivers.

Even better is the exceptionally complex 2006 Chardonnay Seco Highland Estates, which is a brilliant Chardonnay from Monterey. This is a more limited production cuvée of 560 cases, but the price is certainly fabulous for a Chardonnay of this quality. It has that nice greenish hue to the straw color, a gorgeous nose of orange blossoms intermixed with brioche, leesy waxiness, and some superb tropical fruit, with beautiful acidity and minerality. This is a stunner that could easily pass for a great French grand cru in a blind tasting.

Another first rate release from KJ's Highland Estate series this time from Santa Maria Valley, Santa Barbara County. Stunningly rich and sophisticated, it's 100 percent barrel fermented but by using only 35 percent new French oak it has both power and elegance wrapped about a tropical fruit tour de force of pineapple, mango, baked apple pie and spicy vanilla. This is the full meal deal without being over the top. One of the best California chardonnay in the market at a highly attractive price.

K-J's new Highland Series has whittled down the barrels and vineyards to a single elegant expression of Santa Maria fruit aged in only 30 percent new French oak barrels. Its flavour intensity is off the scale, yet the wine is polished, elegant and eminently worthy of the dinner table. Look for super, tropical fruit flavours and apple pie spiked with cinnamon and lime rind, and finished with a creamy lees undercoating. Terrific, to say the least.

I could imagine drinking this wine throughout an entire four-course meal and it making everything from salad to steak and dessert, better. It's fabulously rich, dry, acidic and complex. The Santa Maria Valley is famous for the tropical fruits and spices this wine shows in spades.

Floral, citrus, honey, baked apple, vanilla cream and mineral aromas waft out of the glass. Ripe and round with big spicy, citrus, floral, mango, peaches and cream flavours and a creamy, vanilla orange finish. Elegant, crisp and long with a spicy, lees aftertaste. Very stylish.

Ripe mango, pineapple, citrus, mineral aromas with fine toasty, spicy lees, vanilla and honey notes. Rich, ripe and round but elegant with oily, creamy, mango, pineapple, spicy vanilla flavours and a long toasty, honey, mineral finish. Good acidity and length, extremely fine and tasty.

Biggest Australian Wine Tasting Ever: 2,700+ Ratings Impressive and harmonious aromas here with such juicy and intense red-fruit flavors, as well as blueberries and plums on offer. The elegance and focus is impressive, as is the delivery of long, sustained and dense, smooth tannin. Integrated. Really works well. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

Biggest Australian Wine Tasting Ever: 2,700+ Ratings Attractive cassis and ripe purple fruit with a wealth of blueberries and hints of cola nuts. The palate has a juicy feel with exceptional depth, length and a complete tannin texture. Really seamless and long. Excellent cabernet. Drink or hold. Screw cap.