Keenan Mernet Reserve 2013
-
Parker
Robert -
Spirits
Wine &
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Blend: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Merlot
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Proprietary Red Blend Mernet Reserve is equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine has a saturated ruby/purple color, mostly sweet, rich blackberry and blackcurrant fruit with wild mountain flowers in the background. It’s pure and brilliantly hides any new oak. The wine is lush, medium to full bodied, long and well balanced. This is a beauty that should drink well for 15 or more years and is certainly one of the most interesting wines in the Keenan lineup.
-
Wine & Spirits
This is a rich, sleek 50-50 blend of merlot and cabernet sauvignon, most of it from Michael Keenan’s vineyards high up Spring Mountain (this year, half of the merlot is purchased from Carneros). It’s red-fruited in 2013, clean and plummy, with enough fat in its tannins to complement seared duck breast. There’s a slightly reductive note, complicit with its savory character, suggesting this needs bottle age to show its best.
Other Vintages
2018-
Wong
Wilfred
-
Spirits
Wine &
-
Parker
Robert
-
Wong
Wilfred -
Parker
Robert -
Spirits
Wine & -
Suckling
James
-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert -
Wong
Wilfred -
Spirits
Wine & -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert
-
Spirits
Wine & -
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine
While the beauty and history of the land are appealing, it is the richness of the soils that makes the hillside perfect for an estate winery. These soils are, in great measure, responsible for the dramatic intensity of the fruit associated with the ultra-premium wines produced at Robert Keenan Winery.
Keenan completed a solar power system on their property that went on-line in 2007. The system supplies all of the estate’s energy needs, including the winery, administrative offices, visitor hospitality area, and the homes located on the property. The Napa Valley Vintners have recognized Keenan as a “green” winery, which they proudly announce on the back labels: Solar Powered and Sustainably Farmed.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Above the town of St. Helena on the eastern slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains sits the Spring Mountain District.
A dynamic region, its vineyards, cut by numerous springs and streams, vary in elevation, slope and aspect. Soils differ throughout with over 20 distinct types inside of the 8,600 acres that define the appellation. Within that area, only about 1,000 are planted to vineyards. Predominantly farmed by small, independent producers, the region currently has just over 30 wineries.
During the growing season, late afternoon Pacific Ocean breezes reach the Spring Mountain vineyards, which sit at between 400 and 1,200 feet. Daytime temperatures during mid summer and early fall remain slightly cooler than those of the valley floor.
Spring Mountain soils—volcanic matter and sedimentary rock—create intense but balanced reds with lush and delicate tannins. The area excels with Bordeaux varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot and in some cooler spots, Chardonnay.