Kenwood, Cabernet Sauvignon Jack London, Sonoma Valley

Decanted and then placed back in the bottle. Wonderful mature nose. Flavors in the mouth are all over the place. Probably past peak.

2010 vintage

Caberent Based Lunch (Schur House - Riverwoods IL) : Small glass tasted blind. Mature black cherry and plum, this is easy but very fun still. Lots here, all well balanced. No upside.

1995 vintage

More of a nastalgia bottle for me. At 15 the wine is losing some fruit. I’d say drink up and celebrate a great vintage.

2007 vintage

Method: pop and pour and over about 2 hours; cork about 60% soaked through; started at 60 degrees; Grassl 1855 Look: deep garnet; medium- amount of medium speed legs Nose: black licorice, menthol, pine forest, black cherry, blackberry, black olive; extremely expressive and very complex; really outstanding nose Palate: black cherry, plum, crushed gravel, black licorice, bay leaf; long finish of light olive, bay leaf, oregano, cedar, menthol and graphite; dry; medium+ body; medium- to medium suede-like tannins; medium acidity …

1991 vintage

For me this wine checked all the boxes of a Cali Cab. Pencil shaving nose, wonderful fruit and integrated tannins. Perfect corona Virus Easter wine!

2010 vintage

Decanted for two hours. Everything is integrated perfectly. Wonderfully dark in it’s structure. Long smooth finish.

2007 vintage

Drinking well, though this bottle was a bit more muted and showed a little less vibrant than a bottle a year ago

2007 vintage

After 1 hour decant I was left a delicious CA Cab

2010 vintage

Green, white, and black pepper in that order.

2010 vintage

Lots of smoke.

2010 vintage

Must, lavender, flowers, strawberry, orange, sweet cake, strawberry shortcake, truffle, olives, alcohol, balsamic, cedar, and basil on the nose. Same taste. Silky. White pepper. Green pepper. Sweet. Delayed touch of tartness and dryness. Some acid. Citrus. More strawberry. Green strawberry. Boysenberry. Knott's berry syrup. Smoke. I think this would benefit from more aging. Decant to open up.

2010 vintage

This is drinking quite well. Expressive on the nose and palate from the first pour. Tannins present but in balance. It is starting to develop some cedar and aged characteristics. I should have bought more. 91ish

2007 vintage

Smoke. Earth. Mushroom. Pepper. Raspberry.

2010 vintage

Classic mature California cab. Dusty and earthy with just subtle fruit pulling through the mid palate. Very soft hint of tannins on the back end. Quite enjoyable but probably approaching the end of its life.

1991 vintage

Drink now. Slightly lighter than expected

2008 vintage

Grapefruit, bleach on the nose. Pepper on the finish. Green pepper. Doesn't need to be aged. Not vintage yr for Cali.

2010 vintage

Needs to decanter and open up. Notice green pepper with the fruit. Citrus taste. It's unique. High acid to the nose. Enjoyable with really fatty foods.

2010 vintage

Sweet. Pepper. Earth. Smoke. Raspberry.

2010 vintage

Very good.

2010 vintage

Had this wolf bottle the night after I had a 1991 Kenwood Artist for comparison. Did the same in 04. Consistent results. Much preferred the Jack London. This had thrown quite a crust and cork disintegrated when pulled, but had good seal prior. Took 20 minutes to open. When it did had a bright, clean spice nose over subtle earth and fruit. Much more fruit forward 10 years ago. The other notes from another reviewer mentioned plum, but I just …

1991 vintage

Drinking beautifully. Good color, fruit and acidity. Third bottle of the night, so tasting notes suffered.

2007 vintage

Better than I thought it would be given the hype on the bottle. Berries. A bit earthy. Let it breathe for 30 minutes. Might gain some smoothness in another year or two. At the right price, a good find.

2010 vintage

Nose of alcohol, saline, and raspberry jam. Boysenberry pie. Good wine.

2010 vintage

Smoke. Berries. Earth.

2010 vintage

Nose of flowers and berries. Strong taste of berries. Smoke. Earth. Some spice. Good wine.

2010 vintage

Smelled like Caymus and tasted like smoke. Very much reminded me of the smoke and earth filled Bordeaux style South African wines. Very good. Interesting contrast when next to Turley Zinfandel.

2010 vintage

Decant for about 30 minutes. Didn't taste the lavender as it was poured through an aerator last time. Tasted more round and full bodied. Probably because drinking this after a young 2011 KJ Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

2010 vintage

Enjoyable, but somewhat one dimensional. Better options out there for the price. 87

2010 vintage

6/11/2014 Blind Tasting: '06 Matanzas Sonoma cab, '10 Hess Allomi cab, '07 Kenwood Jack London cab, '09 Heitz Napa cab (judged by Wine Bible author, on YouTube, to be "immaculate, beautiful, structured, of sustained elegance"! Let's see. Notes: "Good bouquet, medium fruit, young". Guessed it was Matanzas.

2007 vintage

Wine poured directly from bottle to small wine glass. Blackberry, lavender nose and taste. Tasted acidity that enhanced the structure. Slightly over tannins. I should wait 2 more years before open another bottle.

2010 vintage

Smooth on opening; balanced dark cherry fruit flavor with good depth and moderate finish.

2007 vintage

Opened from the cellar- generous aromas of cedar and black cherry lifted beyond the glass. A structured and delicious CA cab- tart black cherry fruit is almost boisterous- framed by wonderful acidity and polished tannins. Concentrated and energetic ripe fruit is still young and mouth filling. No where near over the hill. Long lingering finish is a mix of tart cherry and very soft scouring tannin. This is hitting on all cylinders. Yum.

2007 vintage

Nose of berry pancake syrup and big alcohol. Flowers. Young. Acid. Lavender. Berry. Tart. Sweet. Soft tannins. Not very dry, but it got more dry with time. Maybe some mint. Vanilla finish. Nice finish. This is closer to what I am seeking for a sub $50 house California Cabernet Sauvignon. Good wine, good buy. Maybe track down the 2012. Still looking for more decadence.

2010 vintage

solid, still young, plum/cherry/boysenberry, brick, jammy--tighter structure...a little imbalanced and doesn't open quite up the first day....

2010 vintage

Drinkable and pleasant but way past its time.

2000 vintage

Drank at Kristen's sat 12/21. Similar response to others, lighter cab than typical but very good and decent finish. Decant definitely helped, would purchase again at price point.

2010 vintage

Tannic, tough, chewy, and herbal. Tasted at B21 Holiday Tasting.

2010 vintage

Nice, fully mature Cal Cab. Blackberry, cedar and tobacco notes--dry but not parchy. At peak, as tannins seemed to dissolve from one glass to the next.

2000 vintage

Inky purple. Intense nose of cassis and black cherries, cedar and cocoa, graphite and tar, touches of stewed fruit and herbs. The flavors echo the aromas but are leaner than the nose suggests. This is youthful, flaunting a touch of vegetality throughout, a graphite backnote, and a minerally, lip-smacking finish. Best decanted.

2008 vintage

A blend of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Merlot, this opaque crimson wine was splash-decanted and serially tasted over the ensuing two hours. The nose opens within the first hour to show aromas of black currants, vanilla, fig and licorice. Full-bodied and fresh on the palate, it delivers similar flavors as for the nose. The tannins are front and center (with mouth-puckering astringency), while the alcohol (listed as 14.5%) is fairly well-integrated. Solid in the middle, it concludes with a …

2010 vintage

Just acquired from the winery, this was upright for 2 days, decanted for just an hour, and served at about 60 degrees. With a garnet rim in the glass, this wine has red fruit, spice, and a touch of oak on the nose. On the palate, this has soft red fruit, plum, modest oak and, "herbs de Sonoma". Crazy good for its age and $20.

2000 vintage

Well it was much better than I expected!! Somehow I kind of lost this one and went well over it's drinking window. But, pleasantly surprised how well it held up. Yes, it is maybe a bit over the hill but still has some good fruit, structure and complexity. Drink it now

1995 vintage

Maybe the last was an off bottle. This is closer to the intial 86 pt from late 2011. Bought all 6 from same location so should not be any variation. Still gripping, dry tannis with some good fruit coming through but feels like the balance will never be there.

2008 vintage

Corked....damn it !

2007 vintage

Strong fruit, bold tannins, a wine worthy of Jack London's name.

2008 vintage

Assez typique des Cabs californiens. Bon mais on peut trouver meilleur pour moins cher dans le même style (Australie, Chili, Espagne)

2007 vintage

Decanted and started drinking 15-20 min. later. Deep ruby color. Rich mouthfeel. Puckery dry. Tart black cherry with lots of spice. Fairly long finish. Did not taste like most cabs, but I liked it. Will keep the other bottle for a couple of more years.

2007 vintage

- Brick color.

2008 vintage

Notes say very good wine.

1995 vintage

Bill's Monthly Lunch - September 2012 (Vancouver, BC) : Tasted blind. This was a really nice, well-aged and perfectly mature cabernet. Right from first sniff most people guessed Cali cab with notes of mature red fruits and hints of leather. Well balanced with good acidity and resolved tannins. Drinking very well right now. Very good.

1995 vintage

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Kenwood, Cabernet Sauvignon Jack London, Sonoma Valley

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