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Wine Recommendation
Highland Estates - Kendall Jackson Vineyard Estates
2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, Trace Ridge(Knights Valley)
The Trace Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon from KJ is one of three Cabernets in the upscale hillside series Highland Estates. This one is from Sonoma County immediately south of Alexander Valley and due north of Calistoga in the Napa Valley. (The other two Highland Estates Cabs are from Alexander Valley and Napa’s Mount Veeder).
The wine is very dark in color with deep aromas of blackberry. On the palate, there’s also a density. Everything’s in place here – the fruit, the acidity, and the tannins. It’s also very earthy, exhibiting the soils from this volcanic vineyard. The earth itself is yellow-blond in color at an elevation of 450 to 1,000 feet.
The wine was aged for 21 months in French barrels, 88 percent of which was new. Hold onto it for a couple of years to enable it to settle, and then drink it over the ensuing 15 years. There were only 400 cases produced (making it the smallest production of the trio of Cabs) and it is only available direct from the winery.
Reviewed May 23, 2007 by Alan Goldfarb.
Other reviewed wines from Highland Estates - Kendall Jackson Vineyard Estates
The Wine
Winery: Highland Estates - Kendall Jackson Vineyard Estates |
The Reviewer
Alan Goldfarb
Alan Goldfarb has been writing about and reviewing wine for 17 years. His reviews have been published in the St. Helena Star, San Jose Mercury, San Francisco Examiner, Decanter, and Wine Enthusiast, among others. Not once has he used a point system, star system, or an iconic symbol to quantify a wine. What counts in Mr. Goldfarb’s criteria when judging a wine is: how it tastes in the glass; is it well-constructed; its food compatibility; and presence of redeeming regional attributes. |