Chardonnay Masters 2017: Master The leading light among these was North America’s best-selling ‘premium’ Chardonnay, Kendall-Jackson’s Vintner’s Reserve – a barrel-aged white wine made on a massive scale, but to an extremely high standard, and, importantly, in a creamy style that would delight any longtime Chardonnay drinker on a budget.

On Premise Advice: The Best of the Best in 2017 ...All was not lost in this year’s selections. I noticed Roederer Estate Brut, Tait “The Ball Buster,” and Justin, “Justification,” all at levels of production that allow them to be shipped into Rhode Island. But, one wine in particular jumped out at me, number 28, the 2015 Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay. I thought this was remarkable, because at more than 100,000 cases produced, it is readily available and it is ubiquitous in off-premise and on-premise. By the way, many over the years have turned their noses up at this wine because it was everywhere, citing quality, mass production. K-J Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay has been produced for more than 30 years, and if it were not for the suggestion of my salesman back in the mid-80s, I may have missed placing it on The Mooring’s list, where it quickly became the number one selling wine by-the-glass and continues as such to this day. K-J has changed this wine’s style over the years. When it was first released, it was somewhat sweet, to meet the demand of consumers who were transitioning from white zinfandel to drier wines, and it was a perfect compromise. Since then, the style has evolved to a drier chardonnay that is made with a lot of care. It retails for about $17 and is probably around $9 or $10 wholesale, but don’t quote me on that. My point: if you are not pouring this wine, you should be. It is well known, highly rated, reasonably priced and available. It’s not often that a wine shows up on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list that has all these attributes and I would guess that there will be a spike in demand just because of this rating, especially in retail as the price point is sort of the sweet spot for decent lifestyle wines. If you are already pouring it, bravo! You have a strong selling point, let your staff know. As a reminder, your guests are looking to you to have a beverage program that is current, and this K-J offering makes that simple.

Chardonnay Masters 2017: Gold

Although this chardonnay presents abundant ripe tropical fruit notes especially pineapple, it does so in a elegant presentation that won’t overpower food. Vanilla and spice notes complement the fruit and make this a very enticing wine.

What to Drink Now: Reds for 2018 Winemaker Chris Carpenter began splitting his time between Napa and Australia a few years ago when Jackson Family Wines purchased the historic McLaren Vale Hickinbotham Estate. His years crafting premium wines for Cardinale and Lokoya help him produce individualistic Cabernet, Merlot, and Syrah from Australian vines that date back to 1858. Hickinbotham Revivalist Merlot layers black plum, spice, and woody herbal notes.

The Russian River Valley is a cooler region in southern Sonoma County. Perfect conditions for a cool climate grape like Pinot Noir. This wine has a very pretty nose, showing floral, red fruit and sweet spices. It is dry, light bodied, and light tannins. Flavours of red fruit, red cherries and nutmeg. Some pepperiness as well. A very balanced wine, between the fruit, acidity and tannins. Delicious. 4½ - 5 stars.

The Sins of Old Vine Zin, Part 3: Russian River Valley Mystique The Hartford Russian River Valley 2015 kicked off my tasting with hints of what was to come. It had depth, edge and blackness, as well as a signal of red, a brightness brought on by the ever-present acidity, packing tons of cherry fruit, boysenberry, blueberry and floral cinnamon. It weighed in at 15.5 percent alcohol but didn’t feel it at all.

The Sins of Old Vine Zin, Part 3: Russian River Valley Mystique This points to their production standards: Hand-picking, cold-soaking and creating textures that simply describing as “silky” does not do justice to. Case in point, the 2015 Highwire featured vines farmed by Lloyd Celli that are trellised out of the old head-trained vines, so there are two levels of fruit on the vine: those up high on the wires and those down low on the heads. This bottling features the Highwire’s pepper and the heads’ fruit character. Very cool. And the mouthfeel is beyond silky, to fluffy, whipped cream pillow-like. There are little percents of carignan, petite sirah and syrah on board. Less than 400 cases were made. It garnered 96 points and – surprise! – it was startlingly good. I took a bottle home and immediately enjoyed it with homemade carne asada tacos.

The Sins of Old Vine Zin, Part 3: Russian River Valley Mystique The 2014 Jolene’s Vineyard featured 100-year-old vines from a slightly warmer site, with more fruit even and “symphonic” in its call. All the fruits harmoniously burst at once. Not baked or jammy, it was rather bright and fresh.

12 Days of Christmas with Champagne and Sparkling Wine: 12th Day Gran Moraine Brut Rosé, nv, Yamhill-Carlton District, comes from a Jackson Family Wines property in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. It’s a blend of 53 percent chardonnay and 47 percent pinot noir, aged in bottle on the lees for two years. It displays a very pale coral-salmon hue and a dynamic array of tiny bubbles; notes of orange zest and lime peel are woven with hints of macerated raspberries and touches of red currant and almond skin. It’s dry, crisp and lively on the palate, offering the energy of acid and a scintillating limestone element, yet overall embodies elegance and delicacy. It is, in fact, delightful. Excellent.

Wait a minute, what? You mean we're not in Champagne? Because I could have sworn we were in Champagne just then… A-

Chardonnay Masters 2017: Gold

A blend of 53% Cabernet Franc, 21% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Malbec, the 2014 Le Desir is monumental stuff that has a Château Ausone-like character that’s hard to describe. its vibrant purple color is followed by a to-die-for bouquet of blackcurrants, black raspberries, cedar, tobacco leaf, and charcoal. This gives way to a concentrated, rich, yet incredibly delineated wine that has fine, fine tannin, notable freshness and purity, and a great finish. While blockbuster stuff, it’s for consumers with cold cellars and lots of patience. I’d hide bottles for 7-8 years and it’s going to keep for another 3+ decades.

From a site Chris calls their closest to Bordeaux, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain flirts with perfection and tastes like the essence of this cooler mountain terroir. Blueberries, cassis, plums, menthol, and violet notes all emerge from this full-bodied, elegant, yet incredibly sexy, seamless 2015 that has fine, fine tannin, and a finish that won’t quit. With both mouthfilling power and richness as well as elegance and finesse, it’s an incredible wine that could come from nowhere else. Drink it anytime over the coming 2-3 decades.

The 2014 Cardinale is another awesome wine from winemaker Chris Carpenter, and I actually like it more than the 2015. A blend from multiple estate vineyards, its deep purple color is followed by a larger than life bouquet of sweet crème de cassis, scorched earth, graphite, tobacco leaf and spicy wood. A big, opulent, sexy wine, it has incredible grace and elegance as well as beautiful purity and a great finish. This is a tour de force in Cabernet Sauvignon that does everything right. It's approachable today (as are almost all 2014s) yet is going to cruise in the cellar for another two decades or more. Bravo!

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain is sensational stuff and comes from a warmer region in the northern part of the valley. It boasts a deep purple color as well as full-bodied, deep, rich aromas and flavors of black fruits, truffle, scorched earth, charcoal, pen ink, and chocolate. With a ripe, hedonistic style, terrific purity of fruit, and notable freshness, it’s a sensational Cabernet Sauvignon from Chris Carpenter that will drink well for 2-3 decades.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain comes from sites just south of Diamond Mountain, yet it offers a very different style in its black and blue fruits, bay leaf, spring flowers, damp earth, tobacco and mineral bouquet. With incredible purity and intensity, full-bodied richness and power, integrated acidity, and silky tannin, it needs 2-4 years of cellaring but will evolve for 2-3 decades as well.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is flat-out sensational and literally jumps out of the glass. Blackcurrants, crème de cassis, bay leaf, scorched earth, graphite and kiss of spring flower nuances give way to a powerful, concentrated, yet ethereal 2014 that glides across the palate. It's one of the more structured, tannic wines from Chris and really need 3-4 years or cellaring to shine, but it's going to evolve beautifully.

A gorgeous effort as well, the 2014 La Muse is a Merlot-dominated cuvee blended with 10% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec. This deep ruby/purple-colored beauty boasts a terrific perfume of black raspberries, cassis, graphite, chocolate, and a beautiful earthy minerality. This isn’t your over the top, opulent Merlot and shows incredible class and purity, as well as full-bodied richness, high, yet integrated tannin, impeccable balance and a great finish. It’s not anywhere close to primetime (which is rare for a 2014) and needs 4-5 years at a minimum. It’s going to be incredibly long-lived.

The estate’s Cabernet Sauvignon dominated release is the 2014 La Joie. It’s an incredible wine based on 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and the balance Petit Verdot. Reminding me of a top vintage of Ducru-Beaucaillou (the 2010?) with its classic Cabernet character, it offers thrilling notes of crème de cassis, exotic flowers, liquid rock-like minerality, and graphite and lead pencil nuances. Deep, concentrated, and backward, it has perfect balance, good acidity, and an undeniable Bordeaux-like weight and texture. Nowhere near primetime, it needs 5-7 years of cellaring and is going to keep for three decades.

From a vineyard owned since 1994, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder is another mountain wine that’s going to benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age. Staked with layers of blue fruits, crushed rock, graphite and lead pencil characteristics, this beauty is full-bodied, super concentrated, opulent, and texture. It’s another awesome wine from this estate that will have three decades of longevity.

More backward and tight, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain comes from a handful of vineyards around 1,900 feet in elevation. While they have been buying fruit from Spring Mountain since 2003, the first vintage for this cuvee was 2005. This deeply colored 2015 reveals loads of floral and violet nuances as well as brilliantly pure blue fruits, graphite, and crushed rock characteristics. With building minerality, full-bodied richness, and an elegant, seamless, silky style on the palate, it needs 4-5 years of bottle age and will keep for 2+ decades.

The 2015 Cardinale is heavenly juice made from 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Merlot that’s from a number of AVAs in Napa Valley. It offers a beautiful perfume of crème de cassis, black raspberry jam, graphite, and scorched earth. This gives way to a full-bodied, elegant, impressively concentrated 2015 that has the deep, concentrated fruit of the vintage, yet stays fresh, lively and graceful on the palate. This is high-class stuff that can be drunk anytime over the coming 20-25 years.

Bright ruby color; soft plum nose; another Chris Carpenter masterpiece; incredibly smooth and elegant, rich and precise but generous; bright plum, cherry and boysenberry with notes of vanilla, toast and spice; deep and intense, ageworthy and long.

Exotic, layered and stunning, the 2009 Cardinale Red Wine is an incredible blend of 91% Cabernet with the remainder Merlot. Having an extremely deep hue, this opens with hoisin sauce, mocha and blackberry cobbler aromas. The texture is outrageously good, as is the mouthwatering acidity. Black tea, mocha and creme de cassis flavors impress. The exceedingly long finish dazzles.