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Keenan 2012 Reserve Mernet Napa Valley
2012 is our 14th consecutive vintage of "Mernet" (mare-nay) our proprietary marriage of Merlot and Cabernet. Each blend has been half Merlot and half Cabernet but no two wines have had the same vineyard combinations. This year the blend is 50% Merlot all coming from the “Mailbox” vineyard. The Cabernet half this year is 44% Cabernet Sauvignon Clone 15 from the “Big K” vineyard and 6% Cabernet Franc from the “Upper Bowl” vineyard. The resulting wine is a seamless blend of the three varietals with an emphasis on high-toned sweet delicious rich fruit with an almost hidden depth and structure. Enjoy now or decades from now.
Wine Advocate - 94+ Points
"The 2012 Proprietary Red Blend Mernet Reserve, which is a blend of 50% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Cabernet Franc, may well be Michael Keenan’s favorite wine. Only 500 cases were produced. Chocolaty cassis, graphite, spice box and plum are all present in this sensational blend that should age beautifully for 15-20 years, although most people will have consumed it by year ten. It is remarkable that 2012 is the fourteenth vintage that this proprietary blend has been produced, and it seems like its just yesterday I first tasted it. The color is a handsome, opaque purple. The wine is extremely impressive and still very youthful. Another one or two years of age will round it into more complex shape."
Wine and Spirits Magazine - 93 Points
“Michael Keenan grows merlot at his Mailbox Vineyard, a sloping block planted on rocky clay loam at 1,700 feet, blending it with cabernet sauvignon and a little franc for Mernet. It’s a tightly structured Spring Mountain wine, tasting like a redwood grove—umami notes of black mushrooms and moist tree bark—dark, a little dank and earthy, with spice to sun it up. While the oak is a little prominent for now, that espresso scent will fade into the fresher, herbal character of the fruit as the wine ages.”
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| Type | Red | | Varietal | 50% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc
| | Vintage | 2012 | | Bottle size | 750mL | | Alcohol content | 14.5% | | Appellation | California – Napa Valley | | Wine Advocate | 94 | | Wine Enthusiast | --
| | Wine Spectator | --
| | Other | 93 |
Nils Venge, consulting winemaker
As a proven winemaker for over 20 years, Nils Venge is widely recognized for his attention to detail and personal supervision of the winemaking process from vine cultivation to bottling. He is reputed as being one of the best Cabernet Sauvignon makers in the Valley, producing big, opulent wines which have tremendous cellaring potential. He was the first American winemaker to ever receive a score of "100" from Robert Parker, Jr. of The Wine Advocate for one of his 1985 Cabernet Sauvignon.
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750mL
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