Hint of oak, flavors of cassis and espresso, soft, ripe, tannins.

One great characteristic of well-made Cabernet Sauvignon is an almost immediate olfactory impression when the wine is poured. KJ's Grand Reserve bursts with aromas of black currant, blueberry, smoke and spice, enticing a taste to reveal rich flavors of blackberry, dark chocolate, herbs with a finish of vanilla and toasty oak.

A cab with good structure. Aromas and flavors of black cherry, blackberry, herbs and spice. Long finish.

Very few red table wines have the oomph to stand up to a dessert as sweet as this one (Chocolate Bread Pudding with Bourbon Caramel Sauce); a full-bodied Cabernet like the cassis-rich, structured 2004 Kendall-Jackson Grand Reserve is the best option.

Closed, but quite fresh and lively. Well-defined. Balanced and ripe. Some nice fleshy fruit present and good acidity.

...this '05 has the benefit of rich tannins and well-ripened cherry-berry fruit...

Forest floor and leafy herb notes with bold, well-ripened black fruit, with spice, coffee and anise.

Concentrated and muscular, with cassis, plum, graphite and chocolate notes. Firm tannins need time, yet it's fresh and focused.

Generous cassis nose, ripe, but not overly.

Deep, resonant cassis/mulberry nose. Refined structure, good core of fruit, long satisfying finish- this is terrific.

K-J turns out oceans of wine, but it's all made with the precision of a boutique grower. The new Cabernet Sauvignon is smooth and round, with ripe, dusty tannins for structure and toasty French oak for mouthfeel, spice and complexity. It's all Napa and Sonoma fruit, with splashes of Merlot and Petite Verdot, and is aged 15 months in wood, 34 percent new barrels. Aromas of cassis, blackberries, cocoa and brown spice are followed by notes of cedar, smoke and earthiness on the palate. If you're overwhelmed by all the labels on wine shelves today, don't worry a second about picking a Kendall-Jackson wine. They're always on my short list of reliable, affordable producers.

Intensely colored and shy at first, then opening up to show tightly wound blackberry, cassis, gravel dust, coffee aromas, nice red currant and raspberry flavors, a bit of cola and licorice and lots of rocky minerality and stiff muscular structure.

Of the three Highland Estates Cabernet Sauvignons, the 2004 Trace Ridge is the softest, full of blueberry with hints of coffee and coriander.

The 2004 Hawkeye Mountain Cabernet is a spicier blend of plum, boysenberry, and tobacco.

Among the virtues of this Cabernet are that it is very concentrated in ripe fruit character - and yet it is not overly huge and powerful. The concentration comes from the vineyards, which, at 900 to 2,200 feet, are high and have shallow, poor soils typical of mountain sites that foster small, concentrated grapes. Another virtue is the soft, velvety tannin that makes the wine very enjoyable even at this young age. A large glass will enhance the wine's warm blackberry, toffee and dusty-earth aromas, as well as its ripe black cherry and cassis flavors; a narrower glass will enhance the wine's concentration.

Ripe plums and black currants come to mind when tasting this medium-to-full-bodied red, which seduces the drinker with hints of mint and soft tannins. Kendall-Jackson may be best known for its wines under $20, but this strong effort can hold its own with the big reds of Napa.