Kathryn Kennedy, Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains

Great! Black fruits, some tar, little wood. Complex. Fruit still there. Acid still there. And, it still has balance -neither shriveled out or jammed. Impressive.

1994 vintage

As blue cool and young as any of these. A touch monolithic and wanting some more acid. Still quite tasty.

1996 vintage

I had this wine in 2015 and it was excellent. Now it's over the hill for me. It was musty and astringent. It still had some fruit and tannins. It was drinkable and a couple of my friends liked it. I bought it just to see how it had evolved.

1996 vintage

Drank at our wine club tasting that Kim & I hosted 7/19/22 in Hickory NC at restaurant BOCA in a flight with 3 other '94 CA cabernet dominant wines. Do not recommend - even though technically not off in any way this is now way past prime, fruit almost gone, dry and quite acidic. Cork was suspect - crumbly but came out largely intact using tongs.

1994 vintage

Good, clean cork with about 1cm of even stain at the bottom. The bottle had a moderate amount of fine sediment at the bottom, but with careful decanting only the last glass was affected. This 1992 was less ready to go than a lovely 1997 opened recently. Definitely developing with a bright ruby color, but still a bit bound up in its tannins. I will hold my other bottle for another 3-5 years.

1992 vintage

Last sip on the second night probably the best. Lovely crystal cassis purity. Dusty cool dark berries. THIS is Cab.

1992 vintage

Slow-O for 2 hours, served non-blind to friends. The guesses were new world, with old world sensibilities, but no one was even close to the vintage. I mean, how could they be, this is still so very young. Sensuous aromas a cassis, eucalyptus, soil/place, some red/purple flowers, red currant, etc. Full-bodied, sweet, plump and nicely ripe tannins, and plenty of fresh acidity. This is likely to drink at a high level for another 15+ years. 13,7% abv. highly recommended spongy-soft, …

1992 vintage

Can't add much to my note from last year. Carrying along just fine. Not the best vintage for this wine but it still slays tons of stuff much more expensive and younger. Cooler compared to a redder Napa expression.

1992 vintage

Still dense. Lots of cassis still here. Rich bodied. Classic expression. Cooler versus the warmer Napa shade. Maybe a touch soft and less complex than you might hope for. But it's so powerful and alive you hardly care. And it could certainly pick up some complexity with further aging. It's no where close to being done.

1992 vintage

Popped and poured. Aromas of cassis and red berry fruit, herbs, mint and rosemary stem. Fully integrated and balanced. Red fruit, saddle leather and herbs on the palate, taking on an almost grapey quality to the fruit as it opens in the glass. At peak if this bottle is representative.

1992 vintage

Poured alongside the 1991, and clearly inferior to it. Still plenty of sweet black cabernet fruit on the attack, but the stuffing in the midpalate has aged away and it's drying out on the back end. On this showing, seems well past its prime.

1994 vintage

Nose of blackberry jam, black currents, and briar, opened slowly and after 30 minutes sported a great nose, same on the palate, big body, very tasty at 22 years of age, wine to sip and savor and remember a great California Cabernet Sauvignon vintage, long, long finish.

1994 vintage

Wineberserkers cabernet offline (The Palace, Mission, SF) : Nice intensity nose, blackberry, mint; palate is full bodied, very high acid and fresh, black fruits, nice balance; medium finish. Very nice intensity on the nose and balance on the palate but could use just a bit more complexity of flavors. 89-90

1994 vintage

Pre-1997 Cabs from Santa Cruz Mtns - Berserkers Offline (The Palace Steakhouse, SF) : Medium ruby to a garnet rim. Slight development (bruised apple), slight pyrazine (extremely ripe stewed bell pepper). Blackcurrant and blackberry liqueur, pure and intense. Slight brett spice. Sweet cedar from new oak, sweet tobacco. Blackberry juice. Seductive nose - intensely perfumed and slightly spiced. Alive! Elevated acid, medium plus tannins - plush and grippy. Beautiful - around 9.

1994 vintage

Blinds at Nopa with Tim - Bonny Doon (Nopa SF) : A friend gave us a taste. What a wine! Dark, brooding, with ripe blackcurrant and blackberry. Roasted cocoa and savory oak integration (~20% new oak?). Intense with elevated acid and alcohol (13.5%?). Really really good. Persistent finish. Some evolution but can go a long way. Score: Around 9.

1994 vintage

Cellared since release, perfect fill and cork. Pop and pour. Dark red core, minimal lightening at rim. Cherry, blackberry, a hint of mint. Medium body, cherry, plum and blackberry, nice balance, resolved tannins, medium finish.

1996 vintage

Premier Cruz Grand Tasting (Toll House, Los Gatos) : amber red, orange, in the color. dried dark fruit, cherry, blackberry, plum, soil, spice, on the nose. high acid, medium tannins, on the finish.

1992 vintage

Cellared since release, perfect fill and cork. Pop and pour. Dark red core, minimal lightening at rim. Cherry, blackberry, umami, a bit of green vegetation that adds a nice complexity, some VA on the nose. Medium body, cherry, plum and blackberry, nice balance, resolved tannins, medium finish. Holds well for about 2 hours before the fruit starts to fade. Fully mature and likely to continue drinking well for another 5 years. Excellent unless you are put off by any degree …

1996 vintage

This was my first taste of a Kathryn Kennedy Cab, and I was very impressed. The color is ruby and medium plus in intensity, with little sign of ageing. The nose is clean and developing, with secondary aromas of cedar, tar and herbs. I am guessing that it needed more time to open up. The palate is dry, and the acidity and tannins are of medium plus intensity. The medium alcohol is fairly unbotrusive at 13.5%. The body, flavor intensity …

1994 vintage

Not rating it...either bottle was flawed or wine is well past its prime.

1994 vintage

2011 Bottle Shock Wine Party: Blind Tasteoff of Mature Bordeaux and Cali Cabs (Sandy & Michael's, Los Altos, California) : Bricking dark red violet color; mushroom, cedar, tart plum nose; mature, tart plum palate, lacking structure; medium finish

1994 vintage

I have been drinking this wine for about 10 years and this was my last bottle. I have always been a bit disappointed by this wine and this bottle was no exception. Mostly black cherry on the nose and palate with a hint of vanilla and spice. Good fruit, but rather light and thin on the palate with a short to medium finish. Not much structure or concentration. This bottle had less fruit than some prior bottles, so I assume …

1996 vintage

Starting to get past its prime

1996 vintage

Tasted blind in a mini Steak-Out format. Received no top three votes. Still youthful in color and structure. Fruit is slightly dried, but interesting olive, coffee, and baking chocolate notes.

1992 vintage

complex, intense fruit; long finish; more than I expected from this wine now

1996 vintage

Cellar temp: Full nose of berries. Palate of blackberries and cassis. The finish is weaker than the nose and palate.Lets see if warming to room temp helps the finish.

1994 vintage

don't have my notes, but the wine was a hit...complex, bright cherry, long finish

1994 vintage

silky smooth but very light and not cab like at all

1996 vintage

Drank with a Thanksgiving dinner but one of the turkeys was deep fried and and the other slow smoked. This wine was served among several first class wines and it was the clear winner. Amazingly it had no bricking and showed no aging in appearance. It had a flavor of dark berry, plum and currrent along with a very slight bit of mint or clove. It was balanced and delicious; everyone who tasted enjoyed it.

1992 vintage

Mrs. O's choice from the cellar for her birthday dinner. Kathryn Kennedy Estate Cab is one of our mutual favorite wines, especially the '95, '97, '99, and '01. The '92 had a youthful dark purple color with no bricking on the rims. Earthy, brambly bouquet. The fruit was somewhat hard to find in this one, but there was some black currant jelly buried amidst leafy rhubarb flavors. Some spicy cumin notes. Lacking the power and concentration of a great KK, …

1992 vintage

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Kathryn Kennedy, Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains

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