Keenan Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
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Robert
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve from their Spring Mountain estate has a more saturated purple color, beautiful texture, loads of blueberry and blackcurrant fruit and a touch of spring flowers. This is clearly mountain, cool-climate Cabernet with full body, sweet tannin and impressive purity. This beautiful wine from Robert Keenan can be drunk now or cellared for 20 or more years.
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Wine & Spirits
Like many growers in Napa Valley, Michael Keenan considers the maturity of the vines one key to the success of his 2013s. With 16 years in the ground, Keenan's replanted vineyards grew a formidable Cabernet in the vintage, a mountain wine that feels formal in its power, without any excesses in extract or alcohol. Keenan describes it as 'professional' power, like the powerful swings of a pro golfer that look breathtakingly easy. The tannins are in alignment from the moment it's first poured, their firm coffee and cocoa notes hiding some of the fruit expression. A day later, the darker tones of mushrooms and tree bark have opened and lightened to scents of sage and madrone, a fragrance that embeds the Spring Mountain forest in the saturation of the fruit. Bold and supple, this is structured for long aging, but its beauty is accessible now with enough time in a decanter.
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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.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
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.