2012 Robert Keenan Winery Mernet Reserve Spring Mountain District 750 ml

Robert Parker: A “sensational blend that should age beautifully for 15-20 years”

On March 7, 2011, we published our first story about Michael Keenan’s magnificent property high above the fog line, near the top of Spring Mountain Road. That missive struck a chord with our membership. In 24 hours, we were told, WineAccess sold more bottles than Keenan’s New York distributor would sell in a year. Go figure.

Over the following four years, our partnership continued to strengthen. Upon release, Keenan set aside two dozen cases of his highly allocated Mailbox Vineyard Merlot (arguably the best example of the variety in Napa Valley) and Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. But when it came to Keenan’s most sought-after wine, a classic Left Blank blend called “Mernet Reserve,” Michael politely drew a line in the sand. With only several hundred 6-bottle cases produced each vintage, with the exception of a few high-end restaurants, every bottle of the Mernet Reserve was earmarked for the winery mailing list.

On Wednesday, for the eighth time in the last five years, we headed west out of St. Helena, then took that familiar left turn, winding our way up of the mountain. Fifteen minutes later, we pulled into 3660 Spring Mountain Road for what is always one of our most anticipated Napa Valley tastings of the year. To say the least, we wouldn’t be disappointed.

The Spring Mountain AVA is the coolest and wettest of Napa Valley. In most years, summer afternoons are cool, tempered by waterfalls of fog that billow over the western ridge and down through the canyons. In the evening, as cool air settles over the valley floor, warm air is pushed up into the mountains. The combined effect of cooler days and warmer nights allows Bordeaux varieties to ripen more slowly than elsewhere, often pushing back the call to harvest into mid- or even late October.

As Spring Mountain tends to get 10 to 15 inches more rain than St. Helena down below, in our experience, it’s in the dry, mild years that Keenan shines brightest. After spending two hours in the family’s sumptuous new tasting room smelling, swirling, and sipping what many believe to be the richest and most age-worthy wines on the mountain, it was clear that 2012 is a one-of-a-kind vintage for Keenan — and the 2012 Mernet Reserve is the winemaker’s “wine of the year.”

The 2012 Mernet Reserve is a wine of massive scale and proportion. Comprised of 50% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 6% Cabernet Franc drawn from the top rows on the property. Inky purple to the edge. Explosive aromas of blackcurrant, violets, licorice, and cedar, with hints of tobacco and classic Left Bank graphite. Ultra-concentrated yet still juicy and fresh, filled with black fruit preserves, dark chocolate, and mountain blueberry, finishing with round if sturdy tannins. Parker suggests a drinking window of 2015-2035; the critic may well be understating the longevity of this wine.

The 2012 vintage was extraordinary not only for quality on Spring Mountain, but also for quantity. With yields up over 20 percent, Keenan produced 500 cases of Mernet Reserve. As a result, before we said our goodbyes, Michael offered a gift to WineAccess — 240 bottles of the 2012 Mernet Reserve. We took them ALL!

94+ points from Robert Parker. $105 on release. $84/bottle today. Shipping included on 3.