There are 1,500 cases of this cuvee. A brilliant 1,500-case Syrah, the 2007 Highland Estates Syrah Alisos Hills is from a hilltop vineyard with southwest facing slopes. It reveals an inky/purple color, sweet blackberry, graphite, and charcoal notes, dense, full-bodied flavors, and long, sweet tannins in the finish. Drink this beauty over the next decade. As I wrote last year, despite a production of two million bottles of the Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay, 110,000 bottles of the Vintner’s Reserve Merlot, and 170,000 bottles of the Vintner’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, these are all good as well as value-priced wines. The third level in the Kendall-Jackson hierarchy is the Highland Estates cuvees, all essentially single vineyard wines from some of Jess Jackson’s finest sites. The brilliance of the Chardonnays in this portfolio needs to be addressed. Kendall-Jackson’s Highland Estates is also showcasing some very fine Pinot Noirs, generally made from the newer Dijon clones planted in cool vineyard sites. The Bordeaux varietal blends are all well-made wines, but except for the 2006 Merlot Taylor Peak (1,500 cases), production ranges from a low of 340 cases for the 2006 Trace Ridge Proprietary Red, to 870 cases of the 2006 Trace Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon. Available through Vin Lux Fine Wines, tel.(866) 462-4641; Fax (866) 853-1707; www.vinluxfinewines.com

The 2006 Syrah Alisos Hills displays the smoky lard and bacon fat notes of this varietal. Dark ruby/purple-colored with some charcoal, pepper, and spice, the wine (all from Santa Barbara) should drink nicely for 5-7 years. Despite the size of some of the cuvees produced at Kendall-Jackson (2.3 million bottles of the Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay and 300,000 bottles of Sauvignon Blanc), winemaker Randy Ullom is at the top of his game, and of course is given carte blanche authority by the two principals, Barbara Banke and her husband Jess Jackson. There are some terrific values in this portfolio. Tel. (800) 769-3649; Fax (800) 600-5985

An extraordinarily rich, complex and satisfying Syrah. It’s massive in blackberry, pepper, cola, spice and smoky oak flavors. Yet for all the size, it never loses its sense of balance and elegance. This low production wine comes from the Los Alamos region of Santa Barbara, a likely future appellation in its own right.——S.H.(6/1/2008)—— 94

Dark and soft, this Syrah has an enormous depth of fruit. The cherry liqueur and pie filling, mocha, cola, plum and gingerbread flavors finish dry. Loses a few points due to a touch of raisiny, pruny overripeness, which makes the wine heavy.——S.H.(6/1/2007)—— 86

The potentially outstanding 2003 Highland Estates Syrah Alisos Hills (a Los Alamos vineyard) is a 100% Syrah aged 19 months in all French oak, of which 41% is new. The opaque blue/purple color is followed by smoky, camphor, blackberry, currant, and pepper notes. Good acidity, medium to full body, and a well-textured, long finish suggest it should be consumed over the next 5-6 years. Tel. (800) 769-3649; Fax (800) 600-5985