...offers a silky elixir of blueberry and blackberry fruit spice with lavender, rosemary and cocoa.

This entry-level Kendall-Jackson's syrah is no slouch. It comes from premium, cool climate hillside vineyards and gets a full quotient of oak aging. Although ripe and fruity in the California mode, the more austere flavors of the hillside fruit provide a robust, rustic style. Appealing to both California and Rhone wine lovers, this will prove a crowd pleaser.

KJ wowed the world with its off-dry Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay, selling pallets of the stuff in restaurants and grocery stores around the U.S While it made Jess Jackson a billionaire, he wanted something money couldn't buy: respect. This Syrah is a perfect example of where they are going, filled with big black fruit flavors (cherry, berry, and currant) and just enough of the grape's cranky natural aromas (black pepper, leather, and tar) to make you take a second whiff to analyze why you like it so much.

Very nice texture with a dry finish...

Well-defined as Syrah with glints of peppery spice and nominal oak seasonings scattered throughout its length. Gets the job done at a very fair price.

This is one of the better wines produced by Kendall-Jackson, a winery that focuses on wines with broad appeal. Although the aromas are a bit light, the flavors are medium-strong, well-balanced and refined. Enjoy the wine's deliciously smooth texture with light-flavored meats such as pork.

Deep sandy soils, deep crimson. Dry and very serious. Not at all the California sweetness factor - signs of real potential in this particular fruit.

Juicy, with good concentration to beef, pomegranate and cola flavors highlighted by mocha oak and round structure. Drink now through 2006.

If I had to count on one hand the most serious, environmentally responsible and price-sensitive wine producers from California, Kendall-Jackson would be high on the list. Like K-J's other varietals, this is one big lip-smacking wine for $12. Flavors are robust and complex, texture is silky and dense, finish is long and lingering. Aromas shout out blueberries and black currants, with a chocolatey/smokey quality from the combination of French and American oak barrels. The fruit comes from steep Central Coast hillsides that grow small berries with dense flavors. Add this bottle to your weekend shopping list.

K-J's Vintner's Reserve line is complex for the price point and delivers pure varietal character. The 2002 K-J VR California Syrah is rich and full with dark fruit notes and a touch of black pepper on the finish. Smooth and supple.

Stock up on Petite Sirah. It just could be the next hot California varietal. No varietal won more regional awards...Kendall-Jackson Vineyards 2001 VR California Petite Sirah, named the best wine with a California appellation. It was made entirely with Mendocino County fruit.

Smells and tastes just like what it is, a young, fresh and jammy wine, sharp in acidity and vibrant with black-berry and cherry flavors. Extremely dry, but with a nice ripe sheen.

Although 2000 was an excellent vintage for California Syrah, 2001 is almost certainly the best since the early '90's. Nearly ever major Syrah-growing region in California produced perfectly ripe, plump and concentrated grapes in '01. With its Vintner's Reserve Syrah, Kendall-Jackson may have benefitted more than most from this uniform excellence, as it draws the grapes for this offering from geographically dispersed but well-established Syrah vineyards across California. This wine offers a lushly textured palate of bright cherry, spice, vanilla and bacon-smoke one expects from fine Syrah. But what closes the deal is the almost Pinot Noir-like nose, contributed by the small amounts of Carignane and Petit Sirah. At such a reasonable price, this offering should be this season's red wine of choice for spring lamb, grilled poultry and meat-based pasta sauces.

recognizing wines that cost less than $20 as champions of value.

Other Syrah(s) that offer a lot of flavor for the money include the 2001 Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve.

Also very good is the 2001 Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Syrah, which is fruity up from with a tannic kick and a hint of white pepper on the finish.

Spicy and blunt, this medium-to full-bodied Syrah can age several years.

Another very good value, produced primarily from North Coast and Central Coast fruit. Deep ruby-colored with a purple hue, it offers sweet black currant and berry fruit along with hints of smoke and licorice in a medium-bodied, soft, supple style.

One cannot help but be impressed by this wine's keen focus on ripe blackberries and its solid structure. It is fairly viscous but not heavy on palate, and its somewhat brusque tannins are within reasonable expectations for the variety.

This is an excellent value because it delivers lots of fruit from California's coastal vineyards. Forward blackberry and cassis flavors with a racy and oaky finish.

Rich cherry and blackberry fruit flavors, with notes of leather and licorice.