Kendall Jackson Chardonnay 2009

Vintner's Reserve
Santa Rosa, California
2009

My friend and I FINALLY walked our almost-5- mile power walk last night. It's been a really long time. It felt good and I was surprised that I handled it so well. I wasn't too breathless! Afterward we had a glass of vino. Hey! It was Saturday night after all and we haven't been together in awhile, and she's had some stuff happen to her recently, and my eldest was on a pseudo date up the road picking apples. We deserved a glass of wine that we'd worked off ahead of time! :)

She is a fan of "Big House". I don't believe I've ever reviewed it, and I won't tonight. She told me it was more sweet, with a Riesling-like flavor. She gave me a choice of the Big House White or her other standby: Crane Lake Merlot. She is a HUGE fan of the Sonoma-Cutrer that I love and, especially, Conundrum - we like this best. However, for an every day wine, she likes the Big House and Crane Lake. So, I chose the white due to being hot and desiring a cold glass verses a warm one. It was enjoyable but I kept thinking about what I was going to buy on the way home.

I decided to pick up one of my own old standbys to accompany dinner: Kendall Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay. However, it is the 2009 vintage. I decided to form dinner around it and made fettuccine alfredo with grilled chicken, fresh parsley and organic peas. It was a nice, pleasing match. After the Big House, the KJ was awesome. I personally enjoy oak flavor and it was oak-heavy with vanilla and wonderful minerality. I don't believe I have reviewed the 2009 before. I love the 2008. This was just as good, though there was a bit of an "after taste" upon drinking alone. However, the after taste went away with the fettuccine and it went away again tonight with tofu and curry and brown rice and sweet potatoes. It was in a different league than the Big House white, though I did enjoy the Big House following our walk. The Big House is only $8.99 and the KJ is $14.99. but they are very different.

I long to just write. And this isn't the forum I prefer. But I will continue to write here for now until I find my true dream writing niche. So I share my thoughts from the weekend:

My grandmother's husband's health is failing. He is in his 90's and it is to be expected. But they've only had about 4 full married years together. However, they have been great years, and they were very fortunate that they had those few perfect years together. They spent time in their "main" home in CT, their "winter" home in Barbados, and their "summer" home in Maine (Squirrel Island). Up until very recently, they were driving themselves to JFK and around NYC and to Maine. He is a wonderful man. He has made my grandmother very happy, and I have an affection for him that I can't explain - as though he was always meant to be there, but wasn't until recently.

I visited with them yesterday and things are not well for him - the doctors believe he has 6 to 7 weeks left here on earth. He is in my prayers every night. My grandmother is having a hard time. She is very devoted to him and will not leave his side even if it is at her own well being's expense. By that I mean that she is not so steady anymore on her feet and she is getting him up and showered and dressed every morning. I am humbled by their love. And I am sad that their life together may be coming to an end. They have been such an inspiration to my friends and colleagues as they met and fell in love and married in their late 80's. I am praying my grandmother can make it through the next few weeks and survive the loss of her second husband as she did her first. She is my last living grandparent and I am filled with emotions as I witness yet again another loss halfway through my life, and the second loss of love for her. They have been so happy together.

As they struggle with this impending change to their love and life together, my own eldest daughter is beginning her future. She likes someone. This made my grandmother so happy for a moment as she dreamed about being "Sweet 16" and liking someone for the first time. Life changes so fast. It goes through its cycles and we ebb and flow with each wave. I love my family and my memories and I miss the past and sometimes fear the future and then again I will embrace change when I feel brave and I think everything is going to be okay, but then I worry that maybe it won't and I am resigned to just take each day as it comes.

For now, I am happy for my daughter as I reflect on my own life's journey, while remembering that of my grandmother. One is coming to an end, one is just beginning, and the other remains in the middle. And, as I look at my beautiful girl, I still see that beautiful baby from just 16 years ago and can't believe how quickly time has flown.


I am a Duffy fan as much as I am Adele. They both take me back to the past in their current music styles. This is a song I love:


I'm scared to face another day
'Cause the fear in me just won't go away
In an instant you were gone and now I'm scared

DUFFY, I'm Scared


8.25 out of 10
13.5% alc. by vol.
$14.99 / 750 ml. bottle

Kendall Jackson Chardonnay 2006 AND Nebilo Sauvignon Blanc

2006?
Nebilo Sauvignon Blanc
Marlborough, New Zealand
$10?/750 ml bottle(or more)
7.50 out of 10

2006
Kendall Jackson Chardonnay
California
$15 / 750 bottle
8.0 out of 10

Yes, yes, yes I know that I have a pic here of Clos Du Bois 2006 Chardonnay with my Kendall Jackson and Nebilo reviews. I am not crazy . . .yet.

Friday night I went out with a couple of co-workers to catch "Sex and The City" (it ended up being a pretty good movie but at first I wondered what the heck was wrong with the actors - it was like they needed the first 45 minutes to warm up into acting again - they were over-acting initially and I was disappointed. Then it got interesting during the second half -not to mention racey). Anyway, we went to a local pub/restaurant first and I decided to order the Nebilo Sauvignon Blanc as I've not had it before. It's scent was extremely peach-y which I loved though I worried slightly it might be sweet. It wasn't sweet, it's taste however, was very much peachy-citrusy but a little weak in the finish. However, it really accompanied my Shrimp Casino very well. "Welp", my arm got "twisted" and I was treated to another glass of wine and I opted out of the Nebilo and went with what I knew would be better in consistency - Kendall Jackson Chardonnay. I usually order this when I go out for lunch though I'm not sure I've reviewed it here. It's consistently good and I can pretty much count on it being enjoyable with shrimp or chicken or salmon salad. It tasted awesome following the Nebilo. It had vanilla and oak and buttery notes with a hint of mineralness - which I don't pick up on normally in the KJ. Following the Nebilo and shrimp it tasted so much more awesome.

Well, here I am on a Sunday drinking an old standby that I've reviewed before, Clos Du Bois 2006 Chardonnay (purchased in New Hampshire yesterday, TAX-FREE!!!) - wonderful. This will be my summer staple this year - like the KJ, it's got vanilla and butter and an awesome hint of mineralness - all that I long for in my Chardonnays.

The wild and windy night
That the rain washed away
Has left a pool of tears
Crying for the day
Why leave me standing here
Let me know the way

Many times I've been alone
And many times I've cried
Any way you'll never know
The many ways I've tried

But still they lead me back
To the long, winding road
You left me standing here
A long long time ago
Don't leave me waiting here
Lead me to your door

The Beatles, The Long and Winding Road

AUSTRALIA

Kendall-Jackson 2005 Chardonnay Vintner's Reserve

Kendall-Jackson
Chardonnay
California 2005

I sit reflecting as the radio plays,
and the "Rascal Flats" hauntingly enter my thoughts through my daze:

"I've dealt with my ghosts and I faced all my demons,
Finally content with the past I regret.
I've found you find strength in your moments of weakness.
I've been burdened with blame, trapped in the past for too long . . .
I'm moving on.

I've lived in this place and I know all the faces,
each one is different but they're always the same.
They mean me no harm but it's time that I face it,
they'll never allow me to change.
But I never dreamed home would end up where I don't belong.
I'm moving on.

I'm moving on, last I could see,
Life has been patiently waiting for me.
And I know there's no guarantees, but I'm not alone.
There comes a time in everyone's life when all you can see are the years passing by.
And I have made up my mind that those days are gone.
I'm moving on . . .

. . . Maybe forgiveness will find me somewhere down this road,
I'm moving on."

The tears well up, and silently for strength I pray,
Then giving in, I gently sip my Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay.

I don't know what's happened to my taste buds. Chardonnay has always been my favorite summertime end-of-the-day delight. But these last couple of years, it hasn't tasted the same. They say your taste buds go through changes every seven years and things that you used to like might change. Chardonnay has become more acidic (almost carbonated) to me. It's not as smooth as it used to be. It used to effect me like a winter velvet red. About three or four years ago, my favorite Chardonnays were Clos du Bois, Chateau St. Michelle, Columbia Crest, and Kendall-Jackson. They all taste different to me now and it's beyond disappointing. Interestingly enough, three or four years ago I was paying approximately $17.99 per bottle for each. Now they are all $3 to $4 cheaper.

This weekend, however, I found a little of the old fondness in Kendall-Jackson's 2005 Vintner's Reserve and I remain happy this evening as I partake in it again. Saturday night I grilled some chicken marinated in my favorite sauce "Veri Veri Teriyaki" by Soy Vay www.soyvay.com, along with Shitake mushrooms, red, yellow and orange peppers, sweet onions and parmesean risotto. I poured myself a glass of KJ Chardonnay while waiting for dinner and enjoyed a little of the past. The flavor was all there, but there was just a hint of “carbonation” (for lack of a better term) bothering me. Later, the vanilla, oak, and pear I love so much was drowned out slightly by the strong dinner flavors. However, with tonight’s dinner it was superb. (And before dinner too with a piece of oat, flax pita bread dipped in kalamata olive-artichoke hummus). I made organic brown rice penne with sauteed shrimp in olive oil and garlic, organic grape tomatoes and MY OWN off-the-kitchen garden arugula, topped with freshly grated parmesean. I truly believe a couple of days in the fridge softened it a bit and it wasn’t as acidic for me. It was a great compliment to the meal.

7.5 out of 10
http://www.kj.com/
$13.99 / bottle
13.5% alc by vol