JAX Vineyards

JAX Vineyards, formerly known as Jackson Ridge has been producing wine since 1996. The name JAX is an abbreviated version of the family surname – shorter and a bit catchier. Our visit with this winery incidentally was a milestone for us, as it was the 400th Napa Valley based winery/producer we visited for the Napa Wine Project (IE, this website). Yes, we do keep track of these rare milestones that end in 00.

JAX owns 14-acres in the far northern reaches of Napa Valley at the base of Mt. St. Helena and is one of the most northerly vineyards along Highway 128); a pig farm is easily visible at the intersection of Highway 128 and the gravel road that leads to their vineyards. Nearby vineyard neighbor is Perliss Estate. Editor’s note: we are involved in an exciting small block of a variety called Marselan located on one of the immediate neighboring properties to JAX. For reference, Marselan is a red grape variety that is a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache.

The JAX property and its now 11-acres of vines was purchased by David and Jane Jackson in 1990 as place to retire and farm vineyards. Initially some of the grapes were sold to nearby Chateau Montelena for use in their own wine. Some of the original grapes on site were quite old – dating back to 1968 but have mostly since been replanted. The family also owns a small piece of land across the highway from their main property – and have plans to plant 1-2 acres of grapes here.

This vineyard is entirely dry farmed and the tonnage per acre for almost valley floor grapes is extremely low at around 1.9 tons. The flavors are more concentrated with the thicker skins as these vines have to survive without water through the long dry hot northern valley summers. Today this winery is run by a brother sister team, Kimberly & Trent Jackson with partner Dan Parrott. All are extremely energetic and passionate about the business. Once Kimberly returned from college, she began marketing their small production wines to area restaurants; today they still have strong distribution in restaurants.

And this immediate part of Napa Valley is where the Tubbs Fire started in 2017, burning all the way to the 101 freeway in Santa Rosa to the west in merely a couple of hours. This fire destroyed more than 5,000 residences and commercial buildings within Santa Rosa.

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The family produces wines under two labels; Y3 focuses on lighter more approachable wines made in a style that showcases the variety rather than wine making styles. Y3 is a dedication to Trent and Kimberly’s grandparents, Harold and Lois Jackson whose cattle brand was Yarrayne3 or more succinctly, Y3 from their Yarrayne cattle ranch south of Brisbane, Australia in Queensland. The property is still under Jackson family ownership although during our several trips to Brisbane the past few years, we have not yet been able to find its exact location. In addition, Y3 signifies three farming generations within the Jackson family. And the Y3 paper label is hip and appealing with what is certainly a challenging aspect for their printer, featuring dots cut out of the paper.

The JAX wines focuses on red wines from their estate including a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Cabernet Franc along with several other non-estate produced wines. Their vineyard is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. They currently make approximately 10,000 cases annually. JAX plays in a space where they far over deliver on quality for the price point.

For a number of years two winemakers produced their wines; currently Kirk Venge, who along with select other Napa winemakers could be known as the “King of Cab” (son of famed Napa winemaker, Nils Venge) runs their wine making program. Wines under the Y3 label are all sourced from regional vineyards and their JAX Cabernet Sauvignon is from their own small estate vineyard.

Y3 WINES
Y3 Sauvignon Blanc
The 2024 Y3 Sauvignon Blanc is from a vineyard in Pope Valley; the wine was fermented in a concrete tank, then transferred to neutral oak barrels for additional aging. It is medium straw in color; highly aromatic, this wine chirps a lively scented song in its youth. Its tangy profile smells like pineapple, passion fruit, golden kiwi, citrus blossom, jasmine, a sweetness of honeysuckle, Meyer lemon and white grapefruit. And some herbal, but not green influences including of lemon verbena and fresh lemongrass. Zippy across the palate but showcasing a balanced acidity, its flavors include green apple, not fully ripe pineapple, kiwi, lemon balm, lemon juice and a finishing note of fennel. This bottling is easy drinking and highly enjoyable. And it is the wine you want to quaff while seating in an Adirondack chair in the middle of spring, on a wooden porch watching someone else mow your lawn. Pair it with a plate of lightly seared scallops drizzled in olive oil, sea salt and a few drops of lemon juice. This is a great seafood pairing; we know from personal experience.

The 2019 Y3 Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley is medium yellow color. Totally tropical in the glass, the bouquet offers aromas of ripe honeysuckle, Golden Delicious apple, yellow pineapple, and honeycomb along with some engaging citrus influences including orange blossom and grapefruit. Also cut grass and fresh pine branch. Lingers with a brightness and lively acidity. Refreshing yet well-endowed with an intensity of flavor across the palate including mandarin orange, apricot. This is a highly expressive bottling, solidly overdelivering for the price point.

Y3 Chardonnay
The 2018 Y3 Napa Valley Chardonnay is medium to deep golden in color. The bouquet shows plenty of aromatics including orange marmalade and honeycomb; there is also a sweetness to the scents including brown sugar, vanilla, a hint of creme Brulé (this probably will be become more noticeable as the wine ages over the next few years) and as a wine breathes notes of banana. Supple across the palate with a gentle rounded texture, yet also with a juiciness, this wine sports a variety of dessert spice flavors complemented by ripe apple, pear and popcorn butter. Lingers with noticeable darker spices and decent acidity. This wine was fermented in concrete tanks.

Y3 Pinot Noir
The 2024 Y3 Rosé of Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast Sonoma County is pale salmon in color; highly aromatic, among other rose bottlings from Sonoma or Napa, this wine would stand out, solely based on it aromatics. These scents include raspberry, white fleshed peach, strawberry, watermelon jolly rancher, pineapple guava and strawberry guava. Minerally, balanced and equally as flavorful as foreshadowed by the bouquet. This wine tastes like strawberry, raspberry, Rainier cherry, ruby grapefruit and pineapple guava flowers. And perhaps a light note of finishing fennel. Its overall character is lifted high by its vibrant acidity. This wine finishes with a light tart and tangy character which continues to persist with a refreshing and pleasant cadence. Pair with fresh oysters and a tangy mignonette sauce. This wine was whole-cluster pressed and then fermented cold and slow in 100% stainless steel. Its listed ABV is only 12.6%.

The 2024 Y3 Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast Sonoma County is pale to medium ruby in color; highly fruity but smelling on the more red and blue fruited side of the spectrum. Aromatically this wine is about as far away from the ‘pinot sweat’ as possible and we are not sure we could identify this as the variety in a blind tasting. And perhaps that is a result of its lower brix upon harvest and its élevage. This is an interesting animal; its listed ABV is only a refreshing 13.3%, but the high-toned aromatics are here in spades while the palate is superbly balanced and fully ripe. This wine smells like red plum, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry and boysenberry with a hint of white pepper. And there is a minerally lightly ferrous quality accompanying. The acidity is perhaps a bit softer than anticipated based upon its lower ABV. Its flavors include blackberry, boysenberry and blueberry with a finishing but light layer of dried herbs. The tannins are especially gentle and linger with a supple and fully integrated textural profile. In fact, the fruit outlives their presence on the finish.

Y3 Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2022 Y3 Cabernet Sauvignon, North Coast is 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Merlot. This wine was was aged for 28 months in 35% new, tight grained, French oak barrels, sourced from a diversity of coopers. Its color is medium to deep ruby; open knitted with a union of both fruit, savory and spice filled, the bouquet smells like blackberry, red plums, boysenberry, dark raspberry, red licorice, pipe tobacco, menthol, Shishito pepper – a lovely aromatic that fills our car with its scents whenever we stop by a farmstand in the summer for these particular peppers, crushed rocks and old cedar box. Be patient, a layer of dark cocoa powder starts showing. Fresh, vibrant and balanced, the palate over delivers for the price point. Its red fruited profile includes flavors of cherry, plums, currant, raspberry and not fully ripe boysenberry. The brightly lit finish persists with a light tug of tartness and tannins that sport a gravelly and grainy character. Their dusty presence parallels lingering flavors of orange peel and dried bay leaf. Very food friendly; we would enjoy pairing this with something as simple as a garlic olive oil pasta with meatballs, spinach and dried herbs. The acidity in this wine would hold up well with this type of pasta.

Y3 Taureau Red Blend
The 2022 Y3 Taureau Napa Valley Proprietary Red Wine is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. This wine is deep ruby and nearly opaque; the bouquet smells both ripe and dark fruited with scents of confection candy, plum, black cherry, boysenberry, blackberry jam, Persian mulberry along with toast, chocolate, mocha, cedar box and dried herbs including sage. As the wine evolves, it opens to layers of sweet baking spices including cinnamon and nutmeg. As ripe on the palate as the bouquet, but not jammy, this wine tastes like blackberry, dark cherry, dark plum, boysenberry, dark raspberry and mulberry. This wine offers loads of ripe fruit while accompanied by a vein of vibrant acidity which keeps its overall cadence lively and refreshing. The finish lingers with well-integrated tannins sporting a lightly gravelly and dusty texture. A signature character of this wine is written as ‘crowd favorite’. In terms of a pairing, a lighter cut of steak on the BBQ would be a nice accompaniment, perhaps a filet mignon.

The 2017 Y3 Taureau Proprietary Red Blend, Napa Valley is a blend of 50% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Syrah; this wine is deep ruby in the glass with purplish tinges. Offers a ripe and showy bouquet including cherry, dark licorice with an espresso/cedar box union of aromatics. Also notes of ripe and spicy Santa Rosa plum, dark chocolate and a floral note as the wine opens further. A mouth filling and savory showing with flavors of plum and blackberry. Lingers with notes of dust, tobacco leaf, darker spices and a persistent juiciness. The tannins are well managed – nicely integrated with a fairly light grip.

The 2013 Y3 Taureau Proprietary Red Blend, Napa Valley (named after a prized family bull) is a very good value. This vintage is a proprietary blend of 45% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Syrah and 10% Zinfandel with grapes harvested from Oak Knoll to Calistoga. Each variety is treated separately with its own aging regiment until the final blend is made. The wine is dark purple in the glass with pinkish tinges on the rim. On the bouquet, there are notes of blueberry, blackberry and hints of mocha. The palate features a certain lush quality, but is simultaneously juicy due to its bright acidity. The tannins are well-integrated; this wine drinks quite smoothly in its youth.

JAX VINEYARDS
JAX Vineyards Chardonnay
The 2023 JAX Vineyards Chardonnay, Dutton Ranch Russian River Valley is deep gold in color; very honeyed, tropical and stone fruited, the aromatics are highly generous two years post vintage. These scents include honeycomb, butterscotch, creme Brule, ripe cantaloupe, baked pineapple, apricot, cling peaches in light syrup (without the sickly sweet smell of those in the cans), ripe papaya, yellow mango and vanilla. Aromatically, this wine punches its weight far above its price point. The palate tastes like ripe pineapple, apricot, dried yellow peaches, papaya, yellow nectarine, creme Brule, butterscotch and baked apples. There is a noticeable richness of fruit at play here but without any viscosity driven heaviness. Shows plenty of California sunshine on both the bouquet and the palate. Lingers bright with a balanced acidity, and full of life. This wine was aged in 30% new French oak barrels for 10 months prior to bottling. The oak influence is a complementary character rather than a dominating one.

JAX Vineyards Pinot Noir
The 2023 JAX Vineyards Pinot Noir, Calesa Vineyard is pale ruby in color; the bouquet is generous and layered with aromas of cherry cola, raspberry, strawberry, cranberry, a light toast, white pepper, dried bay leaf, thyme, dried moss, loam, a light touch of baking spices and some purple florals including African violets and lavender. Bright across the palate with a balanced acidity, this wine tastes like red cherry, currant, raspberry, strawberry, boysenberry and red plums. There is a savory edge that persists on the finish built around flavors of dried herbs (sage and bay leaf), white pepper and an earthy character. We enjoy Pinot Noir with some tannin texture; this wine has it, sporting a gravelly, broadly mouth coating and lightly grainy feel which persists beyond the fruit on the finish. This wine has loads of life ahead of it; for refence we needled and nosed it 2 years post vintage. The grapes for this wine were cold soaked for 5-7 days, followed by fermentation and then aging for 18 months in 40% new and 60% year old French oak barrels. We would be highly confident presenting this wine as the quintessential California Pinot Noir to European producers of this variety.

JAX Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2022 JAX Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley is deep ruby in color and completely opaque; as soon as we smelled the bouquet, we said, “yep, 14.8 or 14.9” referring to its ABV. Nailed that one. The bouquet smells ripe but not jammy or over ripe; its scents include blackberry pie, boysenberry jam – an aroma that immediatley brings us back to enjoying breakfast spreading boysenberry jam on our toast while dining at the Apple Farm Restaurant in San Luis Obispo during college when the parents visited, Satsuma plums at the peak of ripeness, toast, lavender and layers of dark chocolate and a plethora of sweet baking spices including cinnamon. The bouquet is clearly focused on the purity of the fruit at this ripeness, with the oak supporting. This wine is easy drinking in terms of both flavor, a balanced acidity and texture. You might call this an everyday red that over delivers for the price point. It tastes like dark plum, dark cherry, blackberry, boysenberry and Persian mulberry. The tannins are well-tumbled, are felt more on the front of the palate than the back and linger with a grainy, gravelly and dusty texture in tandem with the fruit on the extended finish. This wine was aged for 22 months in 70% new French oak.

The 2017 JAX Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon (100% varietal) is deep purple in color; it is meaty and savory on the bouquet with aromas of bacon fat along with darker fruits including blackberry and a variety of dessert spices including a mocha/vanilla influence, mostly noticeable as the wine evolves in the glass. Blackberry, dried herbs and earthy tannins show on the palate; chewy; they are firm and still very lively in their youth. They persist along with hints of dried tobacco leaf on the long finish. This is also a very good price to quality ratio bottling.

JAX Vineyards Cabernet Franc
The 2017 JAX Vineyards Cabernet Franc is dark purple in the glass with aromas of brown chocolate, espresso and old cedar. Let this wine open further to showcase the fruit aromatics and when it does, it reveals a simultaneous darkness and elegance of fruit including ripe blackberry and ripe black cherry. Dessert. Pretty. This is a riper and bolder showing of this variety; it is big but balanced, with tighter finer grained tannins anchoring the finish along with plenty of oak influence. Less than 100 cases of this wine were made.

San Francisco Tasting Room
If you cannot make it to Napa Valley, consider a stop at their tasting room in the South of Market neighborhood (SOMA), San Francisco at 326 Brannan Street. The Jackson Family has been associated with this neighborhood since 1950. Trent and Kimberly’s grandfather ran a print shop in the building next to the tasting room for many years (they still own this building and rent it out) and now own this tasting room which was formerly the home of John H. Tway & Son, a blacksmith and welding shop. Those who remember how the building looked during their occupancy would have a hard time recognizing the current space after it was significantly remodeled. The earliest record of 326 Brannan Street listed in old newspapers was in an 1893 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle. However the current building dates from 1959.

Many of their clients to this tasting room are employees from the numerous (mostly high tech) businesses located nearby. They are also only several blocks from AT&T Park; a visit here makes a nice pre or post-game stop (depending on the game time).

JAX has imported a Napa Valley feel to the space with a real olive tree, two appropriately 50 years old grapevines from their Calistoga estate and a fire-pit for those invariably cold San Francisco evenings. Current releases from their rosé through to the heavier Cabernet Sauvignon are paired with local artisan cheeses. They are open from Tuesday through Friday from 4 to 8pm and by prior appointment. Local businesses very often reserve the tasting room for small events. And the space is pet friendly.

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Over the years JAX has received some excellent publicity courtesy of Hollywood; their wine appeared in a Will Ferrell produced movie called The Goods as well as in the popular HBO show, Entourage which ran from 2004 through 2011. Top restaurants in select markets also feature their wine. For more information, or to join one of their wine club memberships, visit: www.jaxvineyards.com