Kendall Jackson

Jackson's chardonnays were a runaway success from the start, and continue to evolve as the company's current team of winemakers track the preferences of today's consumers. Once notoriously sweet and fruity (and swimming in toasted oak and vanilla flavours), KJ's chardonnays have a new persona thanks to the use of cooler, coastal fruit and better barrel management. Earlier this summer I met with chief winemaker Randy Ullom to taste a wide variety of KJ products including several from its growing international portfolio out of Chile and Argentina. (Ullom set up KJ's vineyards and wineries in both countries.) He reminded me of just how large are the resources KJ has to draw upon. The list begins with owning more than 12,000 acres in California of which 6,700 are planted. Four separate wineries now house what is probably the single largest barrel-fermentation project in the world. In South America, 2,000 of the 2,400 acres it holds in Chile have been planted, while in Argentina, where it's only beginning, the first 280 of a possible 2,500 acres is under vine. Given the company's long history of producing chardonnay, I asked Ullom to describe the KJ formula. Winemakers don't like the "formula" word, but he concedes there is a mantra of sorts. "First we get the grapes ripe by exposing them to the elements. We always try to reach the legal limit of alcohol [for richness]. All of our wines go through barrel fermentation using a mix of new to three-year-old barrels and we make the secondary or malolactic fermentation take place to enrich the wine's mouth feel. Finally, we like to stir the lees inside the barrels regularly [to add complexity]." The newly formed Kendall-Jackson International sells a wide variety of single-estate wines such as Camelot, Pepi, Edmeades and La Crema from California, plus Calina from Chile and Tapiz from Argentina. On August 16, La Crema winemaker Jeff Stewart will be in Vancouver along with Michael Quigley, the chef/owner of Sonoma's renowned Cafe Lolo. The pair will join Jean-Yves Benoit, restaurant chef at the Pan Pacific's Five Sails, to create a Sonoma-flavoured menu in which each of five courses will be paired with a new La Crema release. Benoit's cooking may be one of Vancouver's best-kept dining secrets, but at only $90 for the food and wine, expect tickets to this event to disappear quickly over the next week. For more information about the dinner, contact the Five Sails at 891-2892. Today's tasting features several wines from the KJ group, including two labels from Sonoma-based La Crema. The Tapiz Chardonnay was a delightful surprise. Look for a big, fresh fruit nose with aromas and flavours of melon, pear, mango and citrus, with a dollop of butter. This is a friendly wine with more mineral tones than Sonoma usually offers, and a slightly oaky/oily finish. Its Chilean counterpart, the Calina from the Itata Valley, is lighter and softer on the palate, perhaps reflecting the difficult nature of the 1998 vintage. Still, it has fine mineral/pear/green-apple aromas. The flavours are similar, with butter and melon showing through in the finish. The La Crema Chardonnay has an enticing, toasted-oak nose with smoky, creamy lees. Look for flavours that are more mineral and apple than honey and melon. The finish is dry and tastes of smoky, spicy lees. Benoit will serve it with fried nuggets of Laura Chenel goat cheese and carpaccio of local prawns. The Collage is a 76-24 blend of zinfandel and shiraz -- the California equivalent of Australia's classic cabernet-shiraz mix. Expect a spicy, peppery, licorice aroma with some berry jam and tar tones; the flavours are similar. It's a soft, round lightweight quaffing wine with a simple finish. The La Crema Pinot Noir has that New World nose, plus flavours of licorice, black cherry, spice and a touch of barnyard. The style is dry and lean. The special Five Sails menu pairs it with grilled lamb rib-eye, sweet corn pancake, artichoke and wild mushroom ragout, and crispy artichoke chips. The Vintner's Reserve Cabernet is from the sensational '97 vintage. The blend is 50 per cent Napa grapes mixed with Sonoma and Mendocino fruit; the flavours are delicious. It's both round and rich, with soft tannins and lots of blackberry, peppery, spicy, chocolate flavours. Fine quality and good value. WEEKEND WINE TASTING: KJ Wines Producer: Tapiz 1998 Chardonnay, Mendoza, Argentina Price: $16.95 * Stock No.: 538496 Score: 15.5/20 Comments: Citrus, butter and mango flavours. Producer: Calina 1998 Chardonnay, Valle de Itata, Chile Price: $18.95 ** Stock No.: 527879 Score: 14.5/20 Comments: Tasty, friendly chardonnay. Producer: La Crema 1998 Chardonnay Cold Coast Vineyards, Sonoma, California Price: $29.95 Stock No.: 366948 Score: 15/20 Comments: Apple, mineral, melon-flavoured white. Producer: Kendall-Jackson Collage 1998 Zinfandel-Shiraz, California Price: $19.95 Stock No.: 567628 Score: 14/20 Comments: Soft, cuddly barbecue red. Producer: La Crema 1998 Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, California Price: $32.95 Stock No.: 427153 Score: 14.5/20 Comments: Smoked black cherries. Producer: Kendall-Jackson 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Vintner's Reserve, California Price: $26.95 *** Stock No.: 427153 Score: 16.5/20 Comments: Excellent.