A REPRIEVE IS LONG OVERDUE

This past weekend, our stores put on a Kendall-Jackson tasting, and the reaction was pretty astonishing. At least it was to me, in that, after so many years of selling the wines of Kendall-Jackson, I realize that this is one brand I have seriously taken for granted.

Everyone knows KJ Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay - it's one of if not the best selling American Chardonnay on the market here in the U.S., and it is surprisingly good considering how mass produced it is (a million plus cases a year). Yet what I think I lot of us forget in this industry are the other wines that they make or have a hand in making/marketing.

One such example was the over-the-top amazing Highland Estates Syrah Alisos Hills Syrah 2003. The Grade: AMAZING (of course). The Mojo: This brilliantly produced Syrah from Santa Barbara County is remarkable, showing loads of dark black fruit and smoky oak in the nose, with (Parker's favorite word) copious amounts of black currant, dark plum, roasted meat, black truffles, tobacco and spice box all through to the thick and jammy finish. It's simply a gorgeous wine, and should really warrant new-found respect for all that they do.