2013 Robert Keenan Winery Mernet Reserve Spring Mountain District 750 ml

Ahead of the 95pt 2013 Mernet: BLTs and a Barrel Sample  

Last Wednesday, around lunchtime, we pulled into 3660 Spring Mountain Road high above the fogline, and once again Michael Keenan was there to greet us. “You’ll need to eat something before we get into what I have in store for you,” he said, further stoking our anticipation, then led us out on the balcony which overlooks the Mailbox Merlot Vineyard. A platter of BLTs had been prepared, and though it wasn’t quite tomato season, Michael said, “It’s all about the bacon,” grinning ear to ear.

As we basked in the bright California sun and cool mountain breezes, licking our fingers clean, Michael brought out a shiner, and poured a deep, brooding red into our glasses. “Guess the grape,” he challenged us. After one sniff — “Merlot,” we shot back. “Correct! Now tell me the vintage.” We tasted. We swirled. It was powerful and concentrated, but a little rough around the edges. We looked at the shiner, and lobbed a guess: “Barrel sample 2015?” Keenan was impressed. “Right on the money!”

It doesn’t always go like that, but this was our NINTH time tasting with Michael, and we keep coming back for good reason. Of course, we’re not the only ones noticing. Robert Parker writes: “Keenan has been on a real high-quality roll for a number of years, and they are among my favorite wines in Napa Valley, combining power and complexity.”

When Keenan releases his 2015 Estate Merlot, don’t blink. Buy as much of it as you can. In the meantime, we have the 2013 “Mernet.” Tasted after our victorious blind guess at the Merlot, the 2013 “Mernet” was so mesmerizing in its own right we found it hard not to break with tasting-room etiquette. Still, we kept our focus, and grudgingly obliged the obligatory dump. Here’s why we didn’t want to let go of our glasses.

The 2013 growing season marked the second consecutive drought year in California, ushering in a warm blanket of sunshine atop Spring Mountain from bud break to flowering, as temperatures climbed into the 90s. With such a healthy and perfectly even fruit-set, and pristine conditions through to harvest, it was no wonder Robert Parker called 2013 the “greatest vintage I’ve tasted in 37 years.”

For Michael Keenan, this translated to a stunning interpretation of Parker’s “game-changer” vintage, marking the 15th consecutive bottling of his most decadent “Mernet Reserve” yet. Keenan’s rugged mountain vines produced some of the finest Cabernet and Merlot grapes he’d seen in decades — so much so that he chose to eschew the use of Cabernet Franc in the 2013 “Mernet,” a departure from past blends. “There’s enough tannin and dark-fruit purity from the Cabernet alone that it would have been in excess to include it,” Keenan told us. “The grapes were purple, and right before harvest, they turned from purple to black.” He couldn’t recall another vintage in which a second veraison had occurred.

Just 300 cases of the Left Bank-inspired 2013 Mernet Reserve were produced. A blend of 50% Estate Merlot grapes from Mailbox Vineyard along with 50% Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, this is wine of masterful creation. Deep ruby with purple hues, explosive aromas of black cherries and crushed blue fruits mingle with dried rose petal, crème de cassis, and sweet tobacco spice. Ultra-concentrated and juicy, filled with sweet black fruits and mountain blueberry, raspberry fruit leather, chalky tannins, and a lengthy dark-chocolate finish, with hints of savory spice and garrigue. Textured tannins are kept in check by firm acid structure. In the December 2015 issue of The Wine Advocate, Parker suggested a drinking window of “15 or more years.” That still leaves almost 14 years of peak drinking window for what Parker calls “one of the most interesting wines in the Keenan lineup.”

95 points from Parker. $105 on release. $85/bottle today. Shipping included on 3.