2006 Kendall-Jackson Highland Estates Napa Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

Kendall-Jackson was founded in 1974 when Jess Jackson, a San Francisco attorney, bought an 80-acre orchard in Lake County and replanted it into a vineyard. His first commercial release was the 1982 Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay which was immediately popular and critically acclaimed. Today the estate includes 10,545 acres and it produces numerous collections of wines. Though still known for its Chardonnay, it also produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and red and white blends. The long-time wine master at the estate is Randy Ullon. This estate is a major producer and Jackson, who died in 2011, went on to purchase other wineries in the region and around the world. Despite being part of a growing winemaking empire, Robert M. Parker Jr. wrote that the quality of the Kendall-Jackson estate wines is very high: “This is certainly an example of bigger being better.”

Mount Veeder AVA was established in 1993, though its origins as a wine producing district date to the 19th century. A German Presbyterian pastor named Peter Veeder was one of the first landowners in the area, and by 1864 one of his neighbors, a German sea captain named Stelham Wing, was producing wine commercially. The area continued to attract German agricultural entrepreneurs, some of whom established the estate that would later become the Christian Brothers Mont La Salle winery. Today the AVA includes about 1,000 acres of vineyards, most of them at relatively high altitudes. The Mayacamas vineyard, for instance, is at 2,400 feet. Cabernet Sauvignon is the most frequently planted grape, followed by Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

One of the most widely grown grape varieties, it can be found in nearly every wine growing region. A cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. It’s a hardy vine that produces a full-bodied wine with high tannins and great aging potential.