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Kendall-Jackson, Vintner's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
RedUnited States2016
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2019-11-13 · Published 2026-09-15 · Updated 2026-09-15
At a glance
In one line
4.0/5 — higher than Vivino's 3.8 average · world avg price US$36 · My note called the balance "Napa Valley-like" — but the label reads Sonoma County.
No critic score on file on Vivino
Market note: The Vintner's Reserve range is best known for Kendall-Jackson's flagship Chardonnay, but this Cabernet Sauvignon is the range's red flagship. Vintage averages between 2003 and 2023 run 3.5–4.0 — nearly as consistent as the Chardonnay.
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“Deep purple. Oak, vanilla, black berries, plum, cherry, strawberry, good acidity, good balanced, full body. 나파밸리다운 좋은 밸런스에 산도감이 너무 좋다. 각종 베리 향을 느낄 수 있으며 시간이 지남에 따라 견과류 바닐라 오크향이 좋은 밸런스를 나타낸다. 누구나 좋아하는 그 맛.”
Show original
“Deep purple. Oak, vanilla, black berries, plum, cherry, strawberry, good acidity, good balanced, full body. 나파밸리다운 좋은 밸런스에 산도감이 너무 좋다. 각종 배리 향을 느낄 수 있으며 시간이 지남에 따라 견과류 바날라 오크향이 좋은 밸런스를 나타낸다. 누구나 좋아하는 그 맛.”
What I learned today: some aromas open only for those who stay late.
Eleven-thirty. The door opened and in came Minjae, tie half undone. Overtime, on a Saturday. Something about preparing an event. Master Seo didn't ask; he just set a glass of red in front of him.
I got a glass from the same bottle. Deep purple. Blackberry, plum, cherry, then oak and vanilla. At first that was all. While Minjae grumbled I left my glass on the counter, and a good while later I brought it back to my nose. Something toasty had risen. Nuts.
That toastiness opened the drawer, like a guest arriving late. Late autumn when I was twenty-one, that evening of cold rain drumming on the window. After the first glass, the one with bubbles. Father stood a second cloth-wrapped bottle on the table, poured me half a glass of red, and said, "Wait." I couldn't wait and drank; Father left his glass a long time before he drank. I don't know what that bottle was.
The notebook says that "over time, nutty vanilla oak aromas" come into good balance. That night, too, Father was the one who waited.
Minjae emptied his glass and put his head down on the counter. What I learned today: some aromas open only for those who stay late.
What this wine is
Kendall-Jackson's real origin story belongs to its sibling label, the Chardonnay. In 1974, San Francisco lawyer Jess Jackson bought an 80-acre pear-and-walnut orchard in Lake County and converted it to vineyards, selling grapes rather than making wine at first. When a 1981 grape surplus threatened to force a fire sale, Jackson decided to make his own wine instead. A stuck 1982 fermentation left residual sugar in the resulting Chardonnay; his advisers told him to sell it in bulk or cut his losses, but he did the opposite — blending everything together into a slightly sweet, approachable white and pricing it under $5. "I saw a hole in the market you could drive a truck through," he said, and the 1982 vintage sold out within six months, making Vintner's Reserve America's top-selling Chardonnay. It won the first-ever Platinum Award at the American Wine Competition in 1983, and reaching the Reagan White House in 1984 earned it the nickname "Nancy's wine," after Nancy Reagan.
That success let Kendall-Jackson expand into red wine. This Cabernet Sauvignon — 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma County, California — is the red flagship of the same Vintner's Reserve range. Outside the winery, Jackson also bought a controlling stake in the champion racehorse Curlin in 2007, which won the Preakness Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic that year and the Dubai World Cup in 2008 — earning Jackson that year's Sportsman of the Year award and reportedly over $200 million in total racehorse investment. Parent company Jackson Family Wines still runs 39 brands producing 6.1 million cases a year.
What the world says
The Vivino community rated this 2016 vintage 3.8 on average from 3,300 ratings — matching the whole label's 25,931-rating average of 3.8. No critic score is on file on Vivino.
The flavor keywords are dominated by the oak group — oak, vanilla, chocolate, mocha (1,575 mentions) — followed by black fruit (blackberry, black cherry, plum, 1,265), red fruit led by cherry (385), and earth and leather (282). Structure: intensity 4.7/5, among the highest of any red this magazine has covered, with tannin 3.4 and acidity 3.1.
"Great value for this Cab. Very similar to a Franciscan Cab from Oakville. Nice price under $20." — Vivino review, June 2019, 4.0 stars
"A very, very good new world Sonoma-Napa Cab. Powerful tannins, plum, blackcurrant and cedar wood, with quite a bit of spicy and smokiness. Very good. Highly recommended." — Vivino review, Jan 2020, 4.0 stars
"Full body, oak and vanilla, red fruit and earthiness smell is great. I feel the flavour of black berries and mint. The feeling of acidity is good. And long finish." — Vivino review, Dec 2019, 4.0 stars
Interestingly, that January 2020 review calls it a "Sonoma-Napa Cab" — even though the wine's actual listed region is Sonoma County, the mix-up with Napa shows up among Vivino reviewers too.
How I drank it
"Deep purple. Oak, vanilla, black berries, plum, cherry, strawberry, good acidity, good balanced, full body. A good, Napa-Valley-like balance with excellent acidity. You can pick out various berry aromas, and over time the nutty vanilla oak notes settle into a good balance. The flavor everyone loves." 13 November 2019, 4.0 stars.
The note calls the balance "Napa Valley-like," but for the record, this wine's Vivino-listed region is Sonoma County, not Napa Valley. The two are both premier Cabernet regions in California and geographically close enough to blur together — and as the January 2020 review above shows, calling this wine a "Sonoma-Napa" Cab isn't unusual even among other Vivino reviewers.
I logged sixteen bottles that same day. Alongside this Cabernet I gave Almaviva a 4.5 and Mouton Cadet a 3.0.
The more interesting comparison is within the same brand. This site also covers Kendall-Jackson's flagship white, the Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay 2014, which I scored 3.0 ("Not bad"). So under the same 'Vintner's Reserve' name, the white got a 3.0 and this red got a 4.0 — a full point apart. Kendall-Jackson is known for blending both lines toward 'the same style every year,' so the gap likely says less about the vintage or production and more about where my own preference sits between the brand's red and white.
Vivino community data
2016 vintage rating distribution (3300 ratings, average 3.8)
| 5★ | 330 (10%) | |
| 4★ | 1602 (49%) | |
| 3★ | 1222 (37%) | |
| 2★ | 116 (4%) | |
| 1★ | 30 (1%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Oak | 1575 | oak 609 · vanilla 406 · chocolate 167 · mocha 121 · cedar 63 |
| Black fruit | 1265 | blackberry 503 · black cherry 207 · plum 145 · cassis 107 · dark fruit 79 |
| Red fruit | 385 | cherry 240 · red fruit 49 · raspberry 46 · cranberry 16 · strawberry 12 |
| Earth | 282 | leather 107 · earthy 52 · smoke 46 · cocoa 21 · mushroom 8 |
| Spice | 180 | pepper 89 · licorice 23 · mint 21 · cinnamon 17 · anise 5 |
| Dairy | 49 | cheese 29 · cream 11 · oil 4 · banana 2 · campfire 1 |
| Dried fruit | 39 | dried plum 15 · raisin 9 · fig 8 · black raisin 3 · dried fruit 3 |
Structure: Acidity 3.1/5 · Intensity 4.7/5 · Tannin 3.4/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 25931 ratings, average 3.8)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 4.0 | 170 |
| 2022 | 3.8 | 703 |
| 2021 | 3.8 | 690 |
| 2020 | 4.0 | 504 |
| 2019 | 3.9 | 1735 |
| 2018 | 3.9 | 3675 |
| 2017 | 3.8 | 2011 |
| 2016 | 3.8 | 3300 |
| 2015 | 3.7 | 873 |
| 2014 | 3.7 | 2427 |
| 2013 | 3.8 | 2019 |
| 2012 | 3.6 | 2305 |
| 2011 | 3.5 | 1644 |
| 2010 | 3.7 | 644 |
| 2009 | 3.7 | 478 |
| 2008 | 3.9 | 210 |
| 2007 | 3.7 | 187 |
| 2006 | 3.7 | 54 |
| 2005 | 3.5 | 68 |
| 2004 | 3.8 | 41 |
| 2003 | 4.0 | 30 |
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2016?
A 100% Cabernet Sauvignon red from Sonoma County, California. It's the red flagship of Kendall-Jackson's signature Vintner's Reserve range, with pronounced oak, vanilla and chocolate character. Vivino: 3.8 average from 3,300 ratings on this vintage.
How much does it cost?
World average price not yet confirmed for this piece (US$36 per 750ml ex-tax (Wine-Searcher, Aug 2026)). Kendall-Jackson's Vintner's Reserve range is generally known for accessible pricing.
What food pairs well with it?
Vivino users suggest beef, lamb and game (deer, venison). With intensity at 4.7/5, it's a bold red suited to grilled or fatty red meat.
The note calls it 'Napa Valley-like' — what region is it actually from?
This wine's Vivino-listed region is Sonoma County, not Napa Valley. My note read 'a good, Napa-Valley-like balance,' but the label is Sonoma. Both are top California Cabernet regions that sit close together geographically, and the mix-up isn't rare — another Vivino review of this same wine calls it a 'Sonoma-Napa Cab.'
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- VinePair — 10 Things You Should Know About Kendall-Jackson
- Wikipedia — Jess Stonestreet Jackson Jr. (including racehorse Curlin)
- Vivino — the story of the 1982 Chardonnay fermentation accident
- Vivino — wine page and community data
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Argentina · Mendoza★★★★½Same producerW. & J. Graham's 'Six Grapes' Reserve Port NV
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