Kendall-Jackson Vintners Reserve Pinot Noir

Description

Kendall-Jackson Vintners Reserve Pinot Noir is a classic Californian coastal Pinot Noir made with grapes sourced from vineyards in Monterey and Santa Barbara counties. It is the sister wine to the Kendall-Jackson Vintners Reserve Chardonnay, a California Wine Icon.

Kendall-Jackson was where it all began for Jess Jackson. Jess had initially purchased 80 acres of orchards in Lake County north of Napa Valley in 1974. By 1982 he has set out to make an affordable, but premium Californian wine. The very first vintage of Kendall-Jackson Vinters Reserve Chardonnay won the first-ever Platinum Award for an American Chardonnay at The American Wine Competition in 1983. The rest is history!

Today, Kendall-Jackson is owned by Jackson Family Wines (JFW). The Chairman and Proprietor of Jackson Family Wines is Barbara Banke who took over from her husband Jess upon the death of Jess in 2011. JFW has a vision to create a global wine company known for its extraordinary premium and luxury wines from many of the greatest wine-growing regions of the world. Indeed, under Barbara’s stewardship, they have since become one of the world’s largest, and high quality, wine companies with interests in California (La Crema, Hartford Court, Camelot Highlands and many more), Chile, Italy, France and South Africa, with their new Capensis project. Each winery has its own winemaker, vineyards, varietal focus and unique style.

Kendall-Jackson’s vineyards are situated throughout California’s cool-climate, coastal winegrowing regions atop mountains, ridges, hillsides, and benchlands. Achieving “coastal” status is no simple feat. While most vineyards are deemed “inland,” only 15% of California’s vineyards earn the coveted coastal classification, and of those, a mere 5% are nestled on mountains, ridges, benchlands, and hillsides. Farming these elevated sites presents unique challenges for both vintners and vines, but the reward is undeniable—grapes grown in these rugged terrains develop the most concentrated flavours and bold character.

The grapes for the Kendall-Jackson Vintners Reserve Pinot Noir come from vineyards in the following winegrowing regions: 30% Monterey County, 29% Sonoma County, 23% Mendocino County and 18% Santa Barbara County. The Monterey County grapes develop the floral nuances and structure along with flavours of ripe strawberry, raspberry and blackberry. Santa Barbara County infuses the wine with dark cherry lushness. Sonoma County and Mendocino County grapes add flavours of dark fruits such as black cherry and berry while the small, dense grapes create a well-structured wine.

The wine is aged for 9 months in 90% French (12% new) oak barrels for hints of toast, vanilla and cedar aromas. The different lots are vinified separately until the final blend so that the winemakers have the utmost control over the finished wine.

Suitable for vegetarians.