Pleasant aroma and restrained fruit with herbal notes. Perhaps just a bit long in the tooth, I usually enjoy Kenwood wines a bit more than I did this one.
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This seems to have regressed slightly - still good but clearly needing more time. I would leave 1-2 years to get real integration. But OK to drink now if you don’t mind the medium-coarse tannins and somewhat primary fruit.
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Full bodied, balanced, and savory, with black and blue fruit, oak, and walnut shell aromas. The palate continues the dark fruited theme, with red fruit pushing through with a bit of air, gaining fruit sweetness the longer it sits.
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Dark garnet colored and medium full bodied this presents bright tangy black cherry fruits accented by a predominant layer of smoke with hints of menthol, tar, pepper and cedar on a tangy tongue puckering straight tannin finish.
Bright cherry opening, with good plum notes. Tannin and peppery finish, slight jammy taste. Going nicely with blues mix on audio. Improving as open time nears 1 hour. Good QPR, many wines available in this range, but I would buy this again. Nothing negative, yet no overwhelming positive... Yet more likable..... As the music plays.
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Got this on sale for $17. Dark blue fruit in the glass. Compact and tight fruit aromas and flavors. This wine was surprisingly intense, high pitched, big on acid, maybe a bit too big on acid. A lot of lift. Took me three days to finish. I expected more of a soft and flabby style. Not what I expected. A couple years or less in the cellar would probably benefit.
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While the finish is short this wine is exquisitely balanced and has harmonious fruit and herbal, berry and mint essences floating above it. More layered fruit and a longer finish would have driven it up to 92-93. My price was a little less than $30 which is fair for this bottle, especially for a California wine... but then again Sonoma is always discriminated against, isn’t it?
Very nice wine. I do not agree with the other negative comments though. This is not a fruit bomb. Very sophisticated wine. Truly enjoyable. Had my first JL in about 1996 and never disappoints
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Found this on sale for $10. Kenwood has been making wine from this vineyard since 1976. I've only had this wine once before, the 1999 vintage back in 2003. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Not decanted. Rich black red color. This was a big and heavy wine. Dark berry notes with currant, tar and chocolate. 88 points.
The nose has significant, but attractive toasty oak, along with red fruit. The fruit is quite dark in mouth, and nicely balanced by other elements. Quite tasty, with sweetness well in check. Still plenty of tannic grip. Nice to revisit this in a few years. My impression is considerably different from previous comments describing this as a fruit bomb. I find balance and restraint, though clearly California in style. Quality seems good for price, especially for region.
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I used to like California wines more than I do now. I appreciate that Kenwood JL is not perhaps a benchmark brew on which to judge the state. That's a given.
But it IS indicative of the trend out there, and the trend is troubling (see my review of one of the Caymus second labels....)
One reviewer refers to these heavily marketed offerings from the big houses as "fruit bombs." I'm pretty close to being ready to sign onto that estimation.
Ask yourself how many glasses of this--or any of the big name Cal cabs-- you can stand to drink before you need to turn away, palate-numbed. Where's the nuance, the slow intriguing evolution? These wines hit hard from the get-go and don't mature within the sitting.
Is this bottle/vintage ok? Yes.
But it's over-priced, over-hyped and part of a mega-business scam that will harm the state's rep in the long run.
There are some beautiful, classy wines being made in the Golden State, especially by small houses. Seek those out and explore them. (Or, go back to the Old Country and drink the real stuff.) Forego the fruit bombs....
A good nose. It stands up well to a good breathing. Not as good as the 2012, which was excellent. This one was priced by label, not by quality; so I paid more than it was worth. A fairer $ would have been low to mid-20s.
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2/17/2023 - Wildgrant Likes this wine:
Pleasant aroma and restrained fruit with herbal notes. Perhaps just a bit long in the tooth, I usually enjoy Kenwood wines a bit more than I did this one.
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1/30/2021 - elsonyeung wrote: 86 Points
Need to drink with food, something rich and buttery. Slightly flat but medium profile, slightly fuller than medium body.
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5/30/2020 - Ravi Deshpande Likes this wine: 89 Points
This seems to have regressed slightly - still good but clearly needing more time. I would leave 1-2 years to get real integration. But OK to drink now if you don’t mind the medium-coarse tannins and somewhat primary fruit.
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12/25/2019 - Baron Slick wrote: 90 Points
Full bodied, balanced, and savory, with black and blue fruit, oak, and walnut shell aromas. The palate continues the dark fruited theme, with red fruit pushing through with a bit of air, gaining fruit sweetness the longer it sits.
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7/15/2019 - rmcnees wrote: 87 Points
Dark garnet colored and medium full bodied this presents bright tangy black cherry fruits accented by a predominant layer of smoke with hints of menthol, tar, pepper and cedar on a tangy tongue puckering straight tannin finish.
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/07/kenwood-jack-london-sonoma-cabernet-2014.html
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4/16/2019 - Djwpar3 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Bright cherry opening, with good plum notes. Tannin and peppery finish, slight jammy taste.
Going nicely with blues mix on audio. Improving as open time nears 1 hour. Good QPR, many wines available in this range, but I would buy this again. Nothing negative, yet no overwhelming positive... Yet more likable..... As the music plays.
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1/16/2019 - wineotim Likes this wine: 90 Points
Got this on sale for $17. Dark blue fruit in the glass. Compact and tight fruit aromas and flavors. This wine was surprisingly intense, high pitched, big on acid, maybe a bit too big on acid. A lot of lift. Took me three days to finish. I expected more of a soft and flabby style. Not what I expected. A couple years or less in the cellar would probably benefit.
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1/4/2019 - Ravi Deshpande Likes this wine: 91 Points
While the finish is short this wine is exquisitely balanced and has harmonious fruit and herbal, berry and mint essences floating above it. More layered fruit and a longer finish would have driven it up to 92-93. My price was a little less than $30 which is fair for this bottle, especially for a California wine... but then again Sonoma is always discriminated against, isn’t it?
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
12/14/2018 - schnurbie Likes this wine: 90 Points
Very nice wine. I do not agree with the other negative comments though. This is not a fruit bomb. Very sophisticated wine. Truly enjoyable. Had my first JL in about 1996 and never disappoints
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9/30/2018 - Vino Me wrote: 88 Points
Found this on sale for $10. Kenwood has been making wine from this vineyard since 1976. I've only had this wine once before, the 1999 vintage back in 2003. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Not decanted. Rich black red color. This was a big and heavy wine. Dark berry notes with currant, tar and chocolate. 88 points.
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5/20/2018 - Jzizzle Likes this wine: 91 Points
The nose has significant, but attractive toasty oak, along with red fruit. The fruit is quite dark in mouth, and nicely balanced by other elements. Quite tasty, with sweetness well in check. Still plenty of tannic grip. Nice to revisit this in a few years.
My impression is considerably different from previous comments describing this as a fruit bomb. I find balance and restraint, though clearly California in style. Quality seems good for price, especially for region.
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12/27/2017 - Jmf17 wrote: 84 Points
I used to like California wines more than I do now. I appreciate that Kenwood JL is not perhaps a benchmark brew on which to judge the state. That's a given.
But it IS indicative of the trend out there, and the trend is troubling (see my review of one of the Caymus second labels....)
One reviewer refers to these heavily marketed offerings from the big houses as "fruit bombs." I'm pretty close to being ready to sign onto that estimation.
Ask yourself how many glasses of this--or any of the big name Cal cabs-- you can stand to drink before you need to turn away, palate-numbed. Where's the nuance, the slow intriguing evolution? These wines hit hard from the get-go and don't mature within the sitting.
Is this bottle/vintage ok? Yes.
But it's over-priced, over-hyped and part of a mega-business scam that will harm the state's rep in the long run.
There are some beautiful, classy wines being made in the Golden State, especially by small houses. Seek those out and explore them. (Or, go back to the Old Country and drink the real stuff.) Forego the fruit bombs....
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
9/28/2017 - Jmf17 wrote: 87 Points
A good nose. It stands up well to a good breathing. Not as good as the 2012, which was excellent. This one was priced by label, not by quality; so I paid more than it was worth. A fairer $ would have been low to mid-20s.
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