K-J has long been the standard-bearer for value in California wine, utilizing a vast network of excellent vineyard sources to produce good wine at a fair price. The Vintner's Reserve Cabernet is a shining example, retailing for $24 but doing a great impersonation of a wine that should/could cost much more. This vintage offers layered black fruits, generous wood spice that adds warmth, and depth and structure that speak to the quality of the grapes that went into this bottling. Drinking well now, but this wine will easily hold for another eight to ten years.

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate Trace Ridge delivers evocative black soil, truffles, sautéed herbs and smoked meats notes with a core of cassis, red currants and plums. Medium-bodied, finely textured and with a good core of red and black fruits, it finishes long and understated.

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Hawkeye Mountain is open-knit and inviting, with attractive mineral and savory notes that add nuance. Grilled herbs, crushed rocks, menthol, licorice and sage add nuance to this deeply flavored yet mid-weight mountain wine.

Jackson Estate wines are all about the company’s top estates situated on hillsides, raised benchland and even mountain tops. The Alexander Valley AVA (1984) is home to this cabernet (and a little petit verdot) that is a mix of six vineyards. It has all the hallmarks of a rich red wine: blackberries, black currant, cassis and tannins. It's aged for 19 months in an 83/17 ratio of French to American oak with only 31 percent new barrels. This wine is amazingly approachable now especially with a juicy T-Bone steak, Portobello mushrooms, or a grilled lamb chop but you could easily cellar this through 2022.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate Hawkeye Mountain is one of the most expressive wines in the range. Dark red cherry, plum, gravel, smoke and savory herbs give the wine much of its distinctive flavor profile. Persistent and nuanced, the 2014 shows very well today.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate (Alexander Valley) is terrific. A host of mocha, black cherry, gravel, smoke, dark raspberry jam and dark spices meld together in the glass. The 2013 is dark, imposing and structured, with fabulous depth and intensity. Gravel, smoke and game reappear on the back end.

Dark and smooth with ripe plum, cassis and black cherry; supple and showing mocha and spice; lush texture and good length.

This is a well-made wine at a more-than-fair price. Labeled varietally, it also holds smaller additions of other Bordeaux red grapes, most notably 6% Cabernet Franc. Black pepper, leather and cassis surround smoky oak and firm, integrated tannin, making for a complex, full-bodied and balanced experience.

Thick, coating tannins surround a concentration of toasted oak and wild-berry fruit—the mountainous provenance of this wine further defined by its tenacious holdings of sage, cedar and graphite. With memorable intensity, it unwinds to show additional complexity and flavors of black licorice as it evolves in the glass.

A huge, strapping Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2013 Jackson Estate Trace Ridge hits the palate with huge black fruit, gravel, smoke, tobacco, licorice, bittersweet chocolate and cured meats. Veins of Knights Valley tannin extend the finish and give the wine much of its distinctive character. This is another Cabernet that should drink well for a number of years.

Dark and brooding to the core, the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate Alexander Valley is another wine with a strong, distinctive personality. Dark red and black plum, mocha, oak and mineral notes are quite expressive in a rich, fruit-driven Cabernet Sauvignon. Savory notes lurk in the background, but the style here emphasizes power and intensity.

A jump up in quality is noticeable with the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate Alexander Valley. This beauty, made from 91.6% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, reveals an opaque purple color. It sees about 20% new French oak and three-quarters of the barrels are French and the rest American. Lots of vanilla, baking spices, cedar wood and blackcurrants jump from the glass of this classic, full-bodied, velvety textured Cabernet Sauvignon with terrific fruit intensity and richness.

Dark and rich with blackberry, plum and cassis; smooth and deep with notes of vanilla new oak and a long, lush finish. 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot, 2% Malbec, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot.

This is a well-crafted wine that’s dense and delicious in juicy red fruit, black currant, licorice and nutmeg. With much of the fruit sourced from the Alexander Valley, this wine shows a managed level of ripeness and oak aging. Structured and lengthy on the finish, this is a nicely put-together package.

Charming, with a mix of rustic dusty berry and hot brick flavors, fine-grained tannins and subtle hints of gravelly tobacco. Gains depth and nuance on the finish.

Silky, polished tannins give the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate Hawkeye Mountain much of its considerable appeal. The flavors are bold, ripe and pungent with plenty of mountain character. Today, the French oak is a bit prominent, but otherwise, this is a very pretty wine with a lot to recommend.

The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Estate Napa Mountain emerges from the same property that informs the Lokoya wines. Huge and intense on the palate, the 2012 possesses tons of richness and depth. Black fruit, smoke and French oak are some of the signatures. The mountain tannins have largely been tamed, which does give the wine a bit more early accessibility at the expense of site-specific character.

Close in quality to Cabernets costing far more, this has elaborate blackberry, cherry and currant flavors. The all-important mouthfeel is dry and crisp, with fine tannins. It's not an ager, but shows plenty of class.

Serious Cabernet, rich and complex and full bodied, made from Knights Valley and Alexander Valley fruit, with a few grapes from Atlas Peak and Mount Veeder. Dense and tannic now, but high toned, with waves of black currants, black cherries and oak. A good price for a Cabernet of this quality.

The outstanding 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Jackson Hills from Jess Jackson's holdings in Knight's Valley is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 19 months in nearly all French oak (45% new). Its dense opaque purple color is followed by notes of spring flowers, blueberry and blackberry liqueur, graphite and ink. Full-bodied and rich with moderately high tannins as well as tremendous concentration and length, it needs 2-3 years of cellaring and should keep for 15-20. Kendall-Jackson enjoys a well-deserved reputation for over-delivering quality vis à vis price for its wines.

The vintage was a good one for all K-J's Cabernets, and this Grand Reserve offers lots of bang for your buck. It's full-bodied and dry, with rich blackberry jam, red currant, licorice and cedar flavors that finish long and spicy.

The serious Cabernets start with the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Trace Ridge, which demonstrates once more the high potential for Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, especially when grown on hillsides. This classic Cabernet possesses plenty of black currant, licorice, cedar and spice characteristics.

The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Highland Estates Trace Ridge is from a Knights Valley parcel called Kellogg Vineyard, which is dominated by volcanic soils, especially the white tufa. This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 21 months in 100% new French oak is a beauty, with layers of fruit much more supple than the Alexander Valley cuvee, with blueberry, black currant, graphite and spring flowers. It is full-bodied, rich and supple, and very much in keeping with the 2004 vintage in its lushness and heady, forward character. Drink it over the next decade.

Strapping black tannins hide this wine, needing a day of air before they begin to relent. Black fruit comes out from under their grip, sweet and ripe enough to balance the mineral savor. Hard edged for now, this should prove itself with eight or ten years of age, suited, eventually, to roast lamb.