Winemaker Notes
Deep aromatics, piercing and precise, a full rich saturated mouth feel, and a long lasting multi-layered finish define this exemplary blend.
Blend: 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Blackcurrant, iodine, bark and resin,. Stone and tobacco, too. Aromatic. Full-bodied with juicy fruit and undertones of walnuts, some cedar and pine box. Savory finish. Tight at the end. Cabernet sauvignon with 5% cabernet franc. Beautiful now, but be patient. Better after 2027.
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Vinous
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is a fabulous Spring Mountain wine. Plum, lavender, spice, dried herbs, leather and licorice lend striking aromatic nuance to play off a core of inky fruit. This mid-weight, classically built Cabernet delivers the goods, big time. It's a superb effort from Keenan.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Keenan's impressive 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve includes 5% Cabernet Franc, with all of the grapes coming from their estate vineyards on Spring Mountain. Sage and bay leaf herbals bring savory complexity to the cassis and black cherries in this full-bodied, velvety-textured effort. Concentrated and rich, there's plenty of material here to support 15 years or more of aging. Rating: 94+
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Wine & Spirits
The scent of tobacco and herbs brings out the subtle cabernet varietal character of this wine. Carrie Lyn Strong, of Strong Wine Consulting, compared the scent to “smelling a fresh cigar and rolling it around in your fingers.” Fresh plum flavors saturate the spicy green-peppercorn tannins, then the wine lasts with subtle smokiness. An estate-grown blend of cabernet sauvignon with a little cabernet franc, this wine’s texture is supple, but there’s space between the tannins, so you can breathe in their smokiness and exhale the soil character.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Above the town of St. Helena on the eastern slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains sits the Spring Mountain District.
A dynamic region, its vineyards, cut by numerous springs and streams, vary in elevation, slope and aspect. Soils differ throughout with over 20 distinct types inside of the 8,600 acres that define the appellation. Within that area, only about 1,000 are planted to vineyards. Predominantly farmed by small, independent producers, the region currently has just over 30 wineries.
During the growing season, late afternoon Pacific Ocean breezes reach the Spring Mountain vineyards, which sit at between 400 and 1,200 feet. Daytime temperatures during mid summer and early fall remain slightly cooler than those of the valley floor.
Spring Mountain soils—volcanic matter and sedimentary rock—create intense but balanced reds with lush and delicate tannins. The area excels with Bordeaux varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot and in some cooler spots, Chardonnay.