Keenan Mernet Reserve (1.5 Liter Magnum) 2012

Professional Ratings

• 94 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  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. Rating: 94+.
• 93 Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
  The 2012 Keenan Mernet—traditionally a blend of half Cabernet Sauvignon and half Merlot, though the winery included a small amount of Cabernet Franc in this vintage—is a rather magical blend of Bordeaux Varieties. 2012 marks the winery's 14th consecutive vintage of this proprietary red and is one the winery's best to date. The wine's elegant ripe red fruits flavors accented with just a touch of oak appears seamless and smooth making it a delightful choice with roast pork. Drinks nicely now. (Tasted: August 22, 2016, San Francisco, CA)
• 93 Wine & Spirits
  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. (500 cases)
• 90 Wine Enthusiast
  The producer's combination of 50% Merlot (the Mer) with 44% Cabernet Sauvignon (the net) and a remaining 6% Cabernet Franc, (which doesn't make it into the name) is a classically styled mountain expression of chewy tannin around toasted oak and black currant and berry. Ripe, full-bodied concentration is the star.