Kathryn Kennedy Winery is not only one of the premium wineries in Santa Cruz Mountains, but also one of the oldest current generation wineries. Kathryn planted her first Cabernet Sauvignon grapes on her 8 acres in the mid-1970’s and established her brand and winery in 1979. The estate proved to be the perfect place for Cab with the right amount of marine influence and loving care to produce grapes that resulting in big full flavored wine with great aging potential. That loving care is reflected in their achievement of Certified Organic status by the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF).
On December 9th at UNWINED Wine Bar in San Jose, this writer had the privilege of pouring a selection of Kathryn Kennedy wines for the patrons. The wines selected were the 2006 “Lateral”, 2005 “Small Lot” Cabernet Sauvignon, and the 2001 “Estate” Cabernet Sauvignon. During this tasting the patrons were asked to provide their tasting notes on the wine and they are summarized below.
2006 “Lateral” Bordeaux Blend
This wine is inspired by the famous Right-Bank, St. Emilion wines in Bordeaux. The consistent quality is a result of a careful selection of grapes from a wide range of coastal valley vineyards in several appellations in the North and Central Coast regions of California. This year’s blend includes 54% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot and 6% Malbec. The use of the Malbec is new for this vintage. The use of the Malbec and more North Coast fruit has added more structure and weight to the wine. It is aged for 22 months in a mixture of French and American oak of which 40% is new. This is still a favorite by Kathryn Kennedy fans.
The tasting panel at UNWINED detected the aroma of a variety of fruit including blackberry, blueberry, red and black cherry and raspberry. There was also a hint of vanilla and spice with a bit of earthy quality. On the mouth, similar flavors shown through and the spices appeared to be black pepper, clove and cinnamon with additional layers of coffee and dried cherry. The long finish was a hit among the entire tasting panel with a smooth front end and slightly tannic finish. It was believed that this wine does need a bit of air after it is opened to help the flavors show through so use of an aerator or heavy swirling will help, or simply open the bottle an hour or two before serving. The price is $35.
2005 “Small Lot” Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
Kathryn Kennedy’s reputation in the Santa Cruz Mountains have given them access to grapes from several superior small vineyards, some even from residential homeowners whose grapes arrive for the crush in very small lots. Only 700 cases are produced and are intended to show what Cabernet Sauvignon can do on the east side of the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation. It is primarily Cabernet Sauvignon but does have a small amount of Merlot.
The UNWINED tasting panel loved this wine, detecting dark fruit, currant, cherry, plum fruit in the aroma, plus a touch of smoke, bakers’ chocolate, vanilla and tobacco. As they tasted this wine much of the same fruit came forward along with a dried cherry and dried fruit characteristics, oak, vanilla and spice. Again, the long finish was much appreciated as the tasters lingered over this wine and savored its bold smooth satisfying finish. This wine could also use a bit of air prior to tasting. The tasters believe that this wine can age well for 4-7 years. They wanted to try it with a good steak. The price is $54.
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2001 “Estate” Cabernet Sauvignon
This is the flagship of Kathryn Kennedy and the epitome of what a great Cab can be. Over 30 years of effort has been put in perfecting this Cabernet Sauvignon. It is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the estate vineyards. It is treated lovingly in the winery with daily punchdowns and vinified in small lots followed by gentle barrel aging in 90% French oak.
This was definitely a favorite of the UNWINED tasting panel. The common comment by all was that the flavors and aromas were so perfectly balanced and blended that, while delivering fantastic aroma and flavors, it was hard to distinguish among specific flavors. Aromas and flavors detected included dark fruit, chocolate, oak, cherry, brown sugar, black licorice, tobacco and leather. This was a wine that everyone savored for a long time, enjoying the smooth body, perfectly balanced finish and long lingering flavors. It was felt that this would be great with a grilled spicy rib eye. The price is $130.
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