Black raspberries, cassis, spring flowers, and tobacco notes dominate the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, a beautiful, classic, medium to full-bodied, incredibly satisfying Cabernet that does everything right. Drink this complex, perfumed, elegant beauty over the coming two decades. The blend is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec, aged in 81% new French oak.

Black fruits, scorched earth, graphite, toasted spice, and some chalky minerality all emerge from the 2019 Cabernet Franc. It's a straight, focused, layered Cabernet Franc that's going to benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age.

Also beautiful, the 2019 Cabernet Franc checks in as 100% varietal that was raised in 67% new French oak. Inky purple in color, with a brilliant perfume of raspberries, cassis, spring flowers, scorched earth, and graphite, it hits the palate with medium-bodied richness, a terrific sense of elegance and purity, ripe yet present tannins, and a great finish. It's going to benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age and shine for two decades.

Durell is one of California’s truly great Chardonnay vineyards, and this wine shows superb depth and richness along with amazingly elegant mouth feel.

Mt. Brave Vineyard sits high atop Mt. Veeder at an elevation of 1,400 to 1,800 feet on the original home of the Napa native Wappo tribe. The area has been planted since the early 1860s. The site is all about high elevation, meaning thin, rocky soils and numerous winegrowing challenges. Four cabernet clones (191, 4, 8, and 337) and three rootstocks (3309C, 101-14, and 1103P) combine to give this wine a certain complexity under its attractive juicy black fruit opening. Youthful and a long way from the finish, the wine does have a certain charm for a mountain wine that lends itself to drinking for experimental purposes. I love the earthy, savoury, restrained fruit with rich, dense sweet tannins that will disappear over time. Winemaker Chris Carpenter likes to say, “Mt. Brave Cabernet Sauvignon is meant to show all that is Mt. Veeder without overt tannins.” And it is readily apparent in 2018. In all, it spent 22 months in 82 percent new French oak. The blend is 88/6.5/3.5/1/1 cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, malbec, and petit verdot. Drink through 2035.

Helena Montana Vineyard runs northeast to southwest at an elevation of 950 feet above sea level. It is an impressive 60 acres, featuring vast rolling hillsides and benches that tilt as much as 30 degrees, allowing them to capture an adequate supply of sunlight. The soils are described as firm, dense, white/yellow gravelly loam that drain well. It was tasted alongside its El. 750 Feet Helena Dakota Vineyard sibling. The differences are subtle, but Helena Montana cab presents with a bit more power showing some of the bigger, more mountain characters. The fruit is black and spicy, the tannins dense and at this point fairly muscular, but in the hands of winemaker Pierre Seillan there is always balance and elegance, and the biggest key of all is the juicy acidity to keep it fresh. The wine spends 13 months in 90 percent new French oak.

Stunning, a generous, deep mix of wild blackberry, blueberry and cassis flavors at the core that are juicy and fresh, while meeting notes of dark chocolate, cumin and a touch of smoked paprika. Tannins are thick and velvety, adding a wonderful density and toothsome quality. Shows plenty of harmony on the long, expressive finish. Drink now through 2040.

Sleek and agile, yet well-structured, with graceful raspberry, mineral and spiced tea flavors that build richness and tension on the way to refined tannins. Drink now through 2028. From Oregon.

Impressive for its detailed structure and rich polish, this shows expressive raspberry, black tea, sweet anise and forest floor accents that with finish with silky, medium-grained tannins. Drink now through 2030.

This offers blackberry, boysenberry and açaí berry compote flavors that sparkle with anise, sassafras and sage accents. Shows serious tarry grip, but that recedes into the fruit as this airs in the glass, leaving embers of singed juniper and alder at the very end. Best from 2023 through 2040.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesAt just 200 cases, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Stature is the smallest production Cabernet in the Kendall-Jackson range. It is a blend of fruit from Kellogg in Knights Valley and Alden in Alexander Valley - a combination that works beautifully. Ripe red and purplish fruit, wild flowers, mint and blood orange give the 2017 striking layers of nuance. This is such a pretty and expressive wine.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2018 Chardonnay Stature is fabulous. Rich, creamy and super-elegant, the 2018 is one of the best wines I have tasted from Kendall-Jackson. The wine's balance is just unreal. The 2018 is ample, deep and layered, but also light on its feet.

Seeing 20/20 – Sonoma & Anderson Valley New ReleasesThe 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Réserve Spéciale is a dark, brooding wine. Gravel, smoke, black cherry, lavender, licorice, spice and menthol infuse the 2016 with notable darkness and power. This dense, muscular wine needs a bit of time for the tannins to soften, but it is impeccably done.

This is full of vibrant cassis, blackberry and plum fruit notes, all driven by intense, briar, anise and apple wood accents. Features notable grip, with the vibrant acidity to match, and is built for the long haul. A serious mountain Cabernet. Best from 2024 through 2040.

A 60/22/18% blend, destemmed, mechanically sorted, wild yeast-open fermented, plunged, on lees, matured in used oak for 10 months. What a lovely wine from a lovely vintage. It's not an ounce over medium-bodied, but it articulates the place, varieties and the year with utmost clarity. Fine tannins are stitched through the scarlet taffeta of the perfectly pitched palate.

Fine-grained red fruit and berry flavors are refined and etched with rich spice and sandalwood accents. The juicy finish lingers with vibrant minerality and hot stone notes. Complex and elegant, exhibiting a vibrant balance. Drink now through 2025.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future The 2017 Pinot Noir Rita's Crown Vineyard is one of the most distinctive wines in this range. Powerful and vertical in feel, with a real sense of energy, the Rita's Crown is fabulous. Firm tannins give the 2017 much of its shape and overall drive, but there is more than enough fruit to keep things impeccably balanced. The interplay of aromatic intensity, transparency and structure is compelling. The 33% whole clusters add complexity without overpowering the wine.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future The 2017 Pinot Noir Radian Vineyard captures all of the natural density and pure power that is such a signature of this site. A rush of dark red cherry, plum, spice, new leather, sage and menthol builds as this potent, explosive Pinot shows off its personality. This is a fabulous showing.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future The 2017 Chardonnay Hapgood is ample and broad in the glass, with a real sense of phenolic intensity that gives the wine its overall shape. Tangerine, sage, mint, chamomile and dried flowers add aromatic nuance, but it is the wine's vertical feel that stands out most. The 2017 Hapgood is a superb Chardonnay endowed with tremendous character and sheer class.

Santa Barbara: Present & Future Another highlight in this range, the 2017 Chardonnay Machado is striking for its sense of translucence and nuance. Lemon confit, almond, dried pear and mint add shades of complexity to this super-expressive, layered Chardonnay. In 2017, the Machado is all about understatement and class. I loved it.

Wine Each Week – 2015 Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon/Rutherford There are two kinds of Napa Cabernet. Those that reflect the iconic traditional style of Napa Cab and have been for decades…and everything else. In the last number of years many stalwart Napa producers have gone for over ripe fruit, extracted wines and a homogenized style that offers nothing unique. On the plus side, wineries like Freemark Abbey have retained the iconic Napa style. What sets their 2015 Rutherford Cabernet apart is the sheer seamless-ness of the wine, deftly pulling together oak, fruit, wood, tannin and acidity to create an absolutely indulgent wine. With grapes from three separate Rutherford vineyards the result is classic blueberry, black berry, boysenberry, hints of black cherry, plum, lingonberry and those “dusty” tannins Rutherford is famous for, not to mention subtle signs of mocha and sweet tobacco. Nearly 27 months in barrel (just under 60% was new French oak) has helped create a gorgeous wine, the kind of drinking experience you never rush through, but savor because you don’t want the bottle to end too quickly.

USA, California, Central Coast: The 2017 Vintage in Santa Barbara County Chardonnay vines in the Nielson vineyard were originally planted in 1964; this wine comes from those cuttings used to replant. Youthfully shy on the nose, the 2016 Chardonnay Nielson Vineyard opens very minerally with aromas of saline, crushed shell, gunflint and toast with ripe Golden Delicious apple, baked quince, warm Meyer lemon, pie crust and peach. The palate is medium to full-bodied, rounded and silky, oozing layer after layer of ripe, savory, spicy fruits, framed with tangy acidity and finishing very long and very flavorful.

Tasting the Traumatic 2017 Vintage (And Others) in Northern California This is a tight, Chablis-like white with sliced-peach and honeysuckle character. Medium-to full-bodied, tangy and vivid. Precise. Wonderful energy. No malo. Drink or hold.