The most expensive offering in this portfolio is the 2004 Stature Meritage, a 281-case blend of primarily Cabernet Sauvignon and small quantities of Petit Verdot, Malbec, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. Minty vanillin, black currant, sweet cherry, smoke, earth, and spice characteristics emerge from this backward, brooding effort. Give it 2-3 years of bottle age and consume it over the following two decades.

This Bordeaux blend is certainly an oaky wine. It's made in a fruit-forward style, and seems lusher, softer and more accessible than K-J's other new release, Highland Estates Cabernets from Sonoma County. Of course, it's also more than four years old now. It's a really good wine, with a flashy opulence that makes it appealing.

The Great Estates offerings are impressive...the exceptional 1999 Great Estates Cabernet Sauvignon Napa...This opaque purple-colored Cabernet...No shy wine at 14.5% alcohol, it exhibits aromas of vanilla, black currants, cedar, and loamy soil in addition to loads of concentrated fruit. Full-bodied and impeccably-balanced...

This lovely Cabernet is rich and polished, with firm tannins supporting a sleek core of sweet, juicy currant and blackberry fruit. Shows a touch of fresh leather, plum and lavender, hints of cedar and spice and a firm backbone. Excellent balance.

Saturated bright medium ruby. Vibrant aromas of blackberry, cassis, black cherry, violet, bitter chocolate and mint. Sweet, suave and superripe, with creamy flavors of plum, cassis and licorice. Neither green nor over the top. Very well balanced, generous cabernet, finishing with substantial chewy tannins and noteworthy length and class.

The 1999 Stature Cabernet Sauvignon Napa...It offers pure creme de cassis aromas fixed with vanilla in a multi-layered, young, unevolved style. Deep, powerful, and dense...

Darker than the Alexander Valley bottling, and richer in fruit, with powerful black-currants blasting from the glass. The structure is better, too, with beautiful Napa tannins that have the deceptive simplicity of the Bauhaus. A notable success for the vintage.

"...exhibits copious quantities of pure black currant fruit intermixed with cedar, smoke, and spice box. It is full-bodied, opulent, rich...

With abundant amounts of Asian spices, minerals, black cherries, and cassis as well as admirable structure, this fruit-dominated, full-bodied, large-scaled, opulent wine should drink well...

Big mountain fruit here throws powerful aromas of ripe plum, thyme and bacon, while full-scale oaking yields maple aromas, vanilla flavors, and coffee on the finish. The wood element is a little weighty at this point, but there's solid fruit to support it.

This beautifully crafted red has a fine depth of color and a ripe black currant aroma. The clean scent of fruit grows more sophisticated with an overlay of dark green herbs, leather and a glimmer of burnished oak. Youthfully tannic for now, it's already well suited to a steak, but should prove more complex and satisfying with several years of age.

Lots of upfront spicy and plummy flavors, turning elegant and refined. Finishes with a spicy richness and firm, supple tannins.

…is destined to last for two decades. The wine boasts an opaque purple color, and rich nose of minerals, black currants, and spicy oak. A dense, full-bodied powerhouse, with nicely integrated wood, acidity, and tannin, this firm Cabernet is loaded with extract and richness.

A complex, well structured, intensely flavored wine, with layer of currant, plum, black cherry and wild berry. Finishes with ripe, well-integrated tannins.

Generally speaking, when you see Alexander Valley on a bottle of cabernet, you think soft, fruity and easy to drink. Instead, this '95 has some real mountain fruit extract and flavor that demands aging. Ripe flavors of licorice and plum are framed by oak and very firm tannins. This Buckeye could use two to three years to soften into a lithe and supple wine, then pull out a bottle for a holiday dinner of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.

The new-look 1991 exhibits a deep ruby/purple color, and a moderately intense bouquet of toast, black-cherries, and cassis. Flamboyantly rich, full-bodied, with fabulously juicy, succulent fruit, this hedonistic Cabernet should drink well for at least another decade. The Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is more typically Californian in proportions as it is a bigger, more blockbuster-styled wine.

Delicious, rich cassis and black currant. Proportional oak and integrated tannins. Perfectly balanced.

Vanilla and earth notes mingle with ripe plum and currants. Full-bodied and straight forward with flavor to spare.

This is a thick, chewy and full-bodied red that will appeal to a wide range of palates and budgets. Bright underlying red fruit enlivens the firm tannic structure and integrated oak, finishing soft and smooth on the palate.

USA, California, Northern California: Napa & Some Sonoma New Releases The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Reserve is blended of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 3% Malbec, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc, aged 21 months in 27% new French and 1% new American oak. Deep garnet-purple colored, it opens with compelling cassis, black cherries and warm plums scents with hints of bay leaves, Marmite toast and black olives. Medium to full-bodied, the palate gives mouth-filling black currant and plums flavors with a firm, grainy frame and loads of herbal sparks on the finish.

The 2017s From Sonoma A selection of top lots from Knights Valley, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Reserve offers more dark fruits and cassis notes as well as hints of graphite and scorched earth. It’s a step up over the Vintner’s Reserve, is medium to full-bodied, has good concentration, and outstanding length. Drink it over the coming 5-7 years.

Exploring The Best New Releases from Sonoma and Beyond The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Vintner's Reserve is another terrific, entry-level wine from Kendall Jackson. Floral and lifted, the 2016 offers terrific Cabernet aromatics to match its mid-weight structure and overall feel. The 2016 is tasty, not to mention a superb value.

This is a large-production wine that spares no attention to detail or quality. Winemaker Randy Ullom created an expression of thick, rich, grippy power that’s available for an attractive price. Baked plum, clove, mountain sage and black cherry all figure into the mix, with a lasting touch of mocha on the lengthy finish.

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Vintner's Reserve is terrific. This is an especially pliant, fruity wine for Sonoma County, but the 2015 offers lovely fruit purity and plenty of near term appeal.