Kendall Jackson

We sampled both the signature and estate tasting.

The rose of pinot Noir was light, with only a few hours contact with the skins. The syrah, grenache, and pinot Noir blend rose was a richer pink color. They tasted similar, with stronger fruit notes on the blend.

We tried 2 chardonnay, both from the Santa Maria Valley, near Santa Barbara. One was more heavily oaked, while the estate was more buttery.

Next was 2 pinot Noir, one from Anderson valley, and the estate from Petaluma. The Anderson pinot was more fruity, while the estate was fruity and earthy, with richer tannin.

Then was the merlot and syrah. The merlot had the characteristic pepperyness to it, which lead to cooked berry notes.

The syrah was my favorite. Inky, full tannins, and dark berry flavor.

Last were the cabernets. The knight valley cab was the darker of the two, really heavy mouthfeel, nice tannic bite without being overpowering. The Alexander Valley cab had softer tannins and was more fruit forward. We toured the grounds with these two wines, and it was amazing.

First we came to their learning Vineyard, where I tried almost 30 different grape variety. My favorite were the chenin Blanc for white and the nebiolo for red. The Zin tasted like a very fruity version of the wine, but gewurztraminer tasted most like it's liquid form. The viogner and riesling grapes were very tasty, and honorable mention goes to the muscay grape, which was better than the wine. We also saw some beekeeping and a flavor sensory garden.