Saturday Night – Cab Night – Part 3

Click here for Part 1

For the main course I did Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Blue Cheese (St. Agur) and Zippy Sauce with side of Green Beans and pan fry Potatoes with onions.

As glasses were getting low at this point we broke out the third Cab of the evening and uncorked a 2002 Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

The nose on the KJ was more what I expect from a California Cab; cassis, mushroom, green pepper and lavender with a mossy aroma lurking in the background. If the nose was typical California Cab then the taste was even more so, I swear on my first sip I heard the bass beats from “California Love” with Tupac and Dr. Dre come to life in my head; huge cassis and raspberry notes to this wine. It was very smooth, easy to drink, lots of fruit, good acidity and tannin and great lingering finish. It was a decent pairing with the main course but not as amazing as I thought it would be from my initial tasting

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 87, Mark - 89, Kathy – 85, Amy – 88, Overall – 87.25.

Here is LCBO information on the wine –

KENDALL-JACKSON GRAND RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2007


VINTAGES 678615
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 35.95
Wine, Red Wine
14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: California, USA
By: Jackson Wine Estates International
Release Date: Nov 27, 2010

Tasting Note - The 2007 Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is superb. Dense creme de cassis notes intermixed with fruitcake, coffee bean, and tobacco leaf are found in this fat, fleshy wine, which displays excellent purity, density, and richness. It should drink well for 15 or more years. Score - (90-93). (Robert Parker Jr., erobertparker.com, Feb. 2010)

Note – This is for the 2007 and not the 2002 reviewed here.

For dessert Kathy picked up a decadent Chocolate cake that was a good pairing with the KJ.

I had fun trying 3 uniquely different California Cabs and am enjoying these nights where we just stick to one grape. I still have more Merlot that is getting long in the tooth as well as some Pinot Noir and Shiraz so I see more of these one grape evenings in my future.

Cheers!

Mark