Keenan - Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2019

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.

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+

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.