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Chateau St Jean Buy Online |
Rating: B-C
Jan 30th, 2005 |
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8555 Sonoma Highway, Kenwood, CA, 95452
Phone: (707) 833-4134 Hours: Open Daily 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Club/Discounts: Quarterly shipments, 20% all wines Tasting Fees: $5 Regular Tasting, $10 Reserve Tasting Chateau St Jean has become famous of late for it's Bordeaux Blend "Cinq Cepages", but some of their regular valley wines are good value. They have a wide range of wines (20+ on their list) and have had changes in their primary winemaker in the last 10 years, which would raise concerns about quality and consistency.
The regular tasting room was very friendly with generous pours for the wines available. The $5 tasting fee is refunded with wine purchase, but prices are cheaper in regular stores.
Their top wines are only available in the reserve tasting room, but I wouldn't bother visiting again. The server asked for money ($10) up front, could not describe the wines other than what magazine scores they got - not my definition of service (A-B).
May 2008: We visited the winery again and had a picnic in the beautiful grounds. The service was much better so we improved the rating to B-C. A fun place for a picnic. Note that you can print a 15% discount voucher off their website for wine purchases at the winery. |
Sort by : Vintage / Name / Rating
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| 1996 Cinq Cepages ($60) | Rating: C-D
Nov 25th, 2006 |
| The name is French for five varietals and the wine is a blend of the Bordeaux grapes of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec. Wine Spectator gave this the Wine Of The Year in 1999. It is a nice wine, but not WOTY material in my mind. It has lost some of its fruit and has an earthy mouth feel and a long smooth finish. |
| 1999 Cinq Cepages ($62) | Rating: C-D
Oct 8th, 2004 |
| Cinq Cepages is their famous bordeaux style blend, and this one does not disappoint, good aromas of berry fruit, excellent balanced flavours on the tongue and a robust finish |
| 2003 Reserve Sonoma County Merlot ($90) | Rating: C-D
May 11th, 2008 |
| Beautiful aroma, mouth filling fruit. An excellent merlot. Great structure and well balanced finish with smooth tannins. Very good. |
| 2001 Sonoma County Merlot ($17) | Rating: C
Sep 10th, 2005 |
 Best Value Wine - September, 2005
Lovely merlot and great value at this price. Tasted initially in the regular tasting room - it would have fared well against the reserve wines. Good fruit and |
| 2004 Cinq Cepages ($75) | Rating: C
May 11th, 2008 |
| The Cinq Cepages is again a fantastic wine. The 2004 has good fruit on the nose with very good structure and balance. It needs time and should improve. |
| 2001 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon ($20) | Rating: B-C
Jan 30th, 2005 |
| Tasted better than the Cinq Cepages blend at winery. Nice fruit flavours. Drinkable now and should hold for a few years. Cheaper at K&L than at winery with club discount. |
| 2005 Reserve Sonoma County Pinot Noir ($60) | Rating: B-C
May 11th, 2008 |
| Nice drinking Pinot. Light but good structure. Not sure about the price though. Seems expensive at $60 |
| 2006 Lyon Vineyard Fume Blanc ($20) | Rating: B-C
May 11th, 2008 |
| I actually got a smokey texture from this wine. Good balance with citrus flavors. A nice picnic wine. Good price. |
| 2006 Robert Young Vineyard Pinot Blanc ($22) | Rating: B-C
May 11th, 2008 |
| Crisp, fresh. Another good picnic wine on a sunny day. Nice |
| 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon ($25) | Rating: B
Dec 9th, 2008 |
| Punchy bright flavor, not particularly interesting but a reasonable Cab for a school night! |
| 2005 Reserve Sonoma County Chardonnay ($45) | Rating: B
May 11th, 2008 |
| "Tastes like syrup". "Sweet". I was not a fan of the reserve chardonnay and definitely not worth $45 |
| 2005 Sonoma Valley Merlot ($14) | Rating: B
Nov 24th, 2008 |
| Nicely balanced, with good fruit and easy to drink. not much structure, not sure how long this will last. |
| 2006 Sonoma Valley Pinot Noir ($20) | Rating: B
Jul 13th, 2008 |
| Red currant and plum on the nose, with a medium finish. Drinkable, but not a lot of length. |
Sort by : Vintage / Name / Rating
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