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Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay 2014
WhiteUnited States2014
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2019-11-13 · Published 2026-09-07 · Updated 2026-09-07
At a glance
In one line
3.0/5 — lower than Vivino's 3.8 average · world avg price US$13 · America's best-selling Chardonnay for more than 30 years.
Critic listed on Vivino 89 (Feb 2016) · James Suckling 88 (Oct 2015) · Decanter World Wine Awards 2016 Commended, 85 points
Market note: America's No. 1 selling Chardonnay for more than 30 years since 1992. 66 vintages and 53,000 ratings on Vivino. With almost no vintage variation (3.8–4.0), 'tastes the same every year' is this wine's identity.
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“Not bad.”
What I learned today: even for the same glass, the temperature you smelled it at is part of that day's record.
Thursday, a hotteok cart stood at the mouth of the alley on the way to the bar. I bought two. One for Minjae. As I walked holding them in paper cups, the smell of melting brown sugar soaked into my coat. When I got to the bar Minjae was already there, and he bit off half the moment I handed it over.
Master Seo poured me a glass of white. Butter, vanilla, pineapple. In the mouth it was round, like honey. Busy with my hotteok, I left the glass near the stove for a long while. When I put my nose back in, the butter had puffed up. Like popcorn.
I already knew that puffed-up butter. A scent I've smelled once stays with its date. Late autumn when I was twenty-one, a Wednesday evening with cold rain drumming on the window. That night, too, the glasses kept changing. I set one glass of white beside the gas stove and forgot about it. When I came back the glass was lukewarm, and the butter smell had puffed up like popcorn. Without a word, Father picked up my glass and set it on the windowsill, beaded with rain. A while later I smelled it again, and the pineapple had come back. I don't know the bottle's name.
The note is one line. "Not bad." Three stars, the lowest of that night's three whites. The bottle was Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay. Master Seo said it has long been the best-selling chardonnay in America. I stuck a wine-name Post-it into the notebook. Maybe Father's "not bad" was half made of his daughter's glass that had gone lukewarm.
When I told the windowsill story, Minjae, still chewing his hotteok, suddenly turned serious. The hotteok cups sat cold at the end of the counter. What I learned today: even for the same glass, the temperature you smelled it at is part of that day's record.
What this wine is
In 1974 Jess Jackson, a San Francisco lawyer, bought a 32-hectare pear and walnut orchard in Lake County and converted it to vines. At first he only sold grapes, but in 1982, when the winery that was supposed to buy them broke the contract, he made the wine himself. That first bottle was the Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay. The story goes that the fermentation stalled partway, leaving a touch of sweetness, and that 'mistake' landed squarely on the American public's palate. It has been the best-selling Chardonnay in the United States for more than 30 years since 1992; Nancy Reagan drank it so often it was nicknamed 'Nancy's wine', and it was served at an Obama White House dinner.
The grapes come not from one vineyard but from the whole of coastal California. Chardonnay from cool coastal sites in Monterey, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, Mendocino and elsewhere is brought together, fermented in French oak, put through partial malolactic fermentation and then aged in oak for a few months. Randy Ullom has guarded the house style as head winemaker since 1997. The producer's note: "Tropical fruit such as mango and pineapple with peach, apple and pear, layers of richness, and a finish of lightly buttered toast." Alcohol is 13.5%.
The parent company, Jackson Family Wines, runs 39 brands and produces 6.1 million cases a year; La Crema, Cambria and Freemark Abbey belong to the same family.
What the world says
The 2014 vintage scored 89 from a critic listed on Vivino (Feb 2016), 88 from James Suckling (Oct 2015) and a Commended (85 points) at the 2016 Decanter World Wine Awards. Critics always place this wine somewhere between 88 and 90 — neither bad nor surprising.
The Vivino community of 3,394 averages 3.8, with 61% at 4 or above. The keywords tilt overwhelmingly one way: butter 2,507 mentions, oak 2,419, vanilla 1,275. Then pineapple, mango, pear, apple and peach, followed by honey (357) and cream (477). Structurally it scores 4.7/5 for intensity — among the very highest of any white Vivino measures — with sweetness 2.8 and acidity 3.1. In other words, 'butter, oak, tropical fruit and a little sweetness': the California Chardonnay archetype itself.
The vintage averages run from 3.7 in 2010 to 3.9 in 2024 — effectively a flat line across 15 years. At this scale, that kind of consistency is a skill.
"Amazingly consistent year after year. Oak, butter, exactly what you want from a dry white Chardonnay. Can't be beaten at this price." — Vivino review, Nov 2016, 4 stars
"If you want a Chardonnay with cream and pineapple on a thick backbone of honey, this is it. By the second or third glass you might need a spoon." — Vivino review, Jul 2019, 4 stars
"The Mike Tyson of Chardonnays. Big, bold, sweet and creamy. The fruit punches through the dense, syrupy texture and keeps it balanced." — Vivino review (2021 vintage), Jul 2024, 4 stars
How I drank it
I have logged this label twice. On November 13, 2019, the 2014 vintage got 3 stars with the note "Not bad." On February 6, 2023, the 2021 vintage got 4 stars with no note.
November 13, 2019 was the day I posted sixteen bottles at once. Three were white: Kung Fu Girl Riesling 4, 1865 Sauvignon Blanc 4, and this Chardonnay 3. The same day: Almaviva 4.5, Mouton Cadet 3, Juan Gil 3, Graham's Port 1. Kendall-Jackson also appears in between — the Vintner's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 got 4 on December 28, 2019.
The 3 I gave the 2014 is 0.8 below the community's 3.8; the 4 I gave the 2021 is above that label's average. Critic numbers for the 2014: 89 from a Wine Enthusiast-affiliated critic, 88 from James Suckling. The headline score on this page stays at the first entry, 3.
Where this wine shows up
First Lady Nancy Reagan's fondness for this Chardonnay became public in the Reagan years, a San Francisco Chronicle columnist dubbed it "Nancy's wine", and sales jumped. In 2008 Obama named it the house wine at his Chicago home in a magazine interview.
VinePair — 10 Things You Should Know About Kendall-Jackson · Decanter — Kendall-Jackson first to woo Obama
"Top 5 Wines at E-Mart" articles are everywhere, but few are written by someone who has actually drunk the bottle. This picks five wines that already have a note on this magazine and a documented sighting on a Korean hypermarket shelf, with my score set next to Vivino's.
Artwork and stills are not reproduced for copyright reasons; scenes are summarised.
Vivino community data
2014 vintage rating distribution (3394 ratings, average 3.8)
| 5★ | 414 (12%) | |
| 4★ | 1667 (49%) | |
| 3★ | 1106 (33%) | |
| 2★ | 151 (4%) | |
| 1★ | 56 (2%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Oak | 6545 | butter 2,507 · oak 2,419 · vanilla 1,275 · butterscotch 94 |
| Stone fruit & apple | 2199 | pear 593 · apple 488 · peach 441 · green apple 205 · melon 150 |
| Tropical fruit | 2046 | tropical 789 · pineapple 698 · mango 396 · papaya 93 |
| Citrus | 1418 | citrus 857 · lemon 300 · grapefruit 95 |
| Dairy | 766 | cream 477 · banana 95 · cheese 81 |
| Earth & honey | 739 | honey 357 · mineral 107 · stone 103 |
| Nuts & toast | 397 | toast 204 · almond 53 · brioche 29 |
Structure: Acidity 3.1/5 · Intensity 4.7/5 · Sweetness 2.8/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 53079 ratings, average 3.9)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 3.7 | 579 |
| 2011 | 3.8 | 635 |
| 2012 | 3.8 | 1936 |
| 2013 | 3.8 | 2523 |
| 2014 | 3.8 | 3394 |
| 2015 | 3.9 | 3332 |
| 2016 | 3.9 | 6308 |
| 2017 | 3.9 | 5312 |
| 2018 | 3.9 | 5464 |
| 2019 | 4.0 | 4281 |
| 2020 | 3.9 | 4650 |
| 2021 | 3.9 | 2222 |
| 2022 | 3.9 | 1619 |
| 2023 | 3.9 | 2300 |
| 2024 | 3.9 | 779 |
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StoryWines You Can Buy at Korean Hypermarkets — Only the Ones I've Actually Tasted
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay?
A full-bodied white made from coastal California Chardonnay, fermented and aged in French oak. First vintage 1982, and America's best-selling Chardonnay for more than 30 years since 1992. Pineapple, mango and peach topped with butter, vanilla and toast and a touch of residual sweetness — the textbook California oaked Chardonnay.
How much does it cost?
The US list price is US$17, around US$13 on discount, and the Wine-Searcher world average sits in the same band. As America's best-selling Chardonnay for over 30 years, it is easy to find almost anywhere.
What food goes with it?
Per Vivino: pork, vegetarian dishes, poultry and rich fish such as salmon and tuna. With its low acidity and strong buttery character it suits cream pasta, butter-roasted salmon, roast chicken and Korean fried chicken. It is too heavy for bright dishes like sashimi or oysters.
Does it vary by vintage?
Hardly at all. The Vivino vintage average has held at 3.7–4.0 from 2010 to 2024, and the producer blends for the same style every year. An older bottle like the 2014 is past its suggested window (2016–2024), so if you are buying new, pick a vintage from the last two or three years.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- VinePair — 10 things to know about Kendall-Jackson (founded 1982, No. 1 seller, Randy Ullom)
- Wine.com — 2014 vintage producer notes and price
Read next
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Tasted the same dayAntinori (Tenuta Montenisa), 'Marchese Antinori' Cuvée Royale Franciacorta NV
Italy · Lombardy★½☆☆☆Tasted the same dayKendall-Jackson, Vintner's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
United States · Sonoma★★★★☆Tasted the same day1865 Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Leyda Valley 2015
Chile★★★★☆Same producerW. & J. Graham's 'Six Grapes' Reserve Port NV
Portugal★☆☆☆☆Similar styleFar Niente Chardonnay 2019
United States · Napa★★★★☆Similar styleBeringer, Chardonnay (California, NV)
United States★★★☆☆Story