2014 Robert Keenan Winery Mernet Reserve Spring Mountain Napa Valley 750 ml

High up above the fog line, emerging from a deeply wooded stretch of Spring Mountain, Robert Keenan Winery is the kind of warm, homey place you have to tear yourself away from—complete with marvelous views of stunning estate vines. 

As for the vines, it’s not such a forgiving environment, but the result is the 2014 Mernet Reserve (pronounced Mare-nay): a 96-point red blend overflowing with dense black fruit and peppery spice, which harmonize perfectly with accents of cedar, cracked pepper, sage, and cocoa. Vinous called it “a total knock-out.” We had to agree. 

A master of mountain winemaking, Michael Keenan focuses on letting the natural qualities of the grapes emerge through his wines. In doing so, he successfully threads the needle of combining Napa ripeness with Bordeaux refinement, texture, and succulence.

Keenan’s Mernet super-cuvée is a 50/50 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, made entirely from Spring Mountain estate fruit from their Upper Bowl vineyard, right above the winery, and the Big K vineyard, which rises uphill on the left after the turn down the driveway. Each site delivers the best of two worlds: Cabernet’s mountainous dark-fruit purity and power, meets elegant, wildly aromatic Merlot, yielding an incredibly rich, complex, and refined offering. 

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. The combined effect of cooler days and warmer nights allows Bordeaux varieties to ripen more slowly than elsewhere, resulting in greater flavor complexity, like the Mernet’s accents of cracked pepper and sage. Because of increased rainfall, it’s in the dry, mild years that Keenan often shines brightest, and 2014 was just such a vintage. Meticulously managed vines yielded intensely concentrated berries with deep flavor and color. Michael’s translation in the glass was spectacular. 

It’s no wonder Robert Parker wrote that Keenan “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.”