More backward, elegant, and highbrow, so to speak, is the 2007 Highland Estates Merlot Taylor Peak. This 100% Merlot from the Bennett Valley should turn out to be an outstanding wine with another 1-2 years of bottle age. The wine displays plenty of dark berry fruit, along with some crushed rock, coffee, and blueberry notes. It is a pretty wine to drink between 2010 and 2020. The lowest level of the Kendall-Jackson empire, the Vintner’s Reserve series, goes from strength to strength. For consumers hoping to maximize their dollar value, these serious wines are consistent choices. Their Chardonnay has always been good, but dramatic increases in quality have taken place in the Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon programs.Tel. (800) 769-3649; kjwines@kj.com

The seductive 2006 Merlot Taylor Peak exhibits attractive coffee bean, berry fruit, and smoky characteristics. Made from 100% estate grown fruit and aged 17 months in 100% French oak, it is all that a Merlot should be. As I wrote last year, despite a production of two million bottles of the Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay, 110,000 bottles of the Vintner’s Reserve Merlot, and 170,000 bottles of the Vintner’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, these are all good as well as value-priced wines. The third level in the Kendall-Jackson hierarchy is the Highland Estates cuvees, all essentially single vineyard wines from some of Jess Jackson’s finest sites. The brilliance of the Chardonnays in this portfolio needs to be addressed. Kendall-Jackson’s Highland Estates is also showcasing some very fine Pinot Noirs, generally made from the newer Dijon clones planted in cool vineyard sites. The Bordeaux varietal blends are all well-made wines, but except for the 2006 Merlot Taylor Peak (1,500 cases), production ranges from a low of 340 cases for the 2006 Trace Ridge Proprietary Red, to 870 cases of the 2006 Trace Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon. Available through Vin Lux Fine Wines, tel.(866) 462-4641; Fax (866) 853-1707; www.vinluxfinewines.com

It’s all there with this rich Merlot. Fabulously lush in currants, mocha and cedar, it also displays great balance and charm. The tannins are superfine. Drink this beauty now through 2010.——S.H.(7/1/2009)—— 92

A brilliant example of 100% estate-grown Merlot, the 2005 Taylor Peak Merlot from the high-elevation (1,200-1,400 ft.) Bennett Valley vineyards of Jess Jackson’s Jackson Park Vineyard, exhibits a fabulous nose of red and blue fruits intermixed with crushed rocks, strawberry jam, and some subtle oak. The wine is full-bodied, opulent, rich, but also structured in the finish. This is a Merlot that is going to be a keeper. Give it another two or so years of bottle age and drink it over the following 15+. Despite the size of some of the cuvees produced at Kendall-Jackson (2.3 million bottles of the Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay and 300,000 bottles of Sauvignon Blanc), winemaker Randy Ullom is at the top of his game, and of course is given carte blanche authority by the two principals, Barbara Banke and her husband Jess Jackson. There are some terrific values in this portfolio. Tel. (800) 769-3649; Fax (800) 600-5985