2014 Robert Keenan Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

The Keenan Cure to Vintage Hangover

The syndrome we call “vintage hangover”—that feeling of panic you get when your supply of a spectacular vintage starts running low—is real, and can be paralyzing. Luckily, a fantastic streak of vintages has granted Napa Cabernet fans a reprieve, and no wine makes that clearer than the 2014 Robert Keenan Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. Keenan Cabernet, made by Michael Keenan and pioneering 100-point consultant Nils Venge, is a favorite of Wine Access clients, many of whom jumped on the 2013 vintage and will be thrilled to replenish their dwindling supply with the stellar ‘14s. Sourced mainly from estate fruit grown high on Spring Mountain, broad and mouth-filling on the palate, with plush tannins, dark-berry flavors, cedar, tobacco and mint chocolate. Robert Parker calls the 2014 Keenan “the definition of elegance, restraint and finesse.” Here’s hoping that, after the loyalists have claimed their 2014s, there are a few cases left for the first-timers. $54 from the winery. $49.99 on Wine Access, shipping included on 3.

These days, the progression is predictable: A Napa winemaker finally earns a 100-point score, then starts to consult for wineries eager to avail themselves of his expertise—not to mention his cachet. But in 1994, when Keenan Winery first hired Nils Venge as a consultant, those waters were mostly uncharted. This was in large part because, until Venge notched a 100-point score with a growing publication called the Wine Advocate, Napa Valley had never known a 100-point winemaker.

We don’t have to tell you where it went from there: Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate is now the most influential publication in the wine world, Napa Valley is a hotbed of high-scoring wines, and Keenan Winery—wise to grab Nils Venge while they could—is still putting out stellar Cabernet Sauvignon under his watchful eye. In the words of Parker, “This winery on Spring Mountain has been doing an impeccable job of winemaking for a number of years now, and they continue to show a Midas touch across all varieties they work with.”

It was no surprise, then, that 2014 showed the same excellence. It has been said that the only sin of the 2014 vintage was that it followed the 2013 vintage—we prefer to see it as another stellar year in a once-in-a-lifetime streak that saw every vintage score well into the 90s.

A significant portion of the 2014 Robert Keenan Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is grown at the Keenan Estate up on Spring Mountain, which lends impeccable mountain fruit and tannin. Cabernet from the eastern Pope Valley lends aromatic complexity, a balanced mid-palate, and a basso-profundo black-fruited purity. This is an elegant example of Napa Valley know-how that competes with Cabernets at twice the price. For those who know Keenan well, the 2014 is a way to re-up with another dream vintage. For those who are new to Keenan, 2014 is a great place to start.