Keenan - Mernet Reserve 2019

A solid and structured red with bark and blackberry, as well as sap and pine-cone undertones. Medium-bodied and tannic, yet polished and deep. The tannins melt into the wine. A blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Drink after 2025.

A strong effort, the 2019 Mernet Reserve—a 50-50 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, aged in one-third new oak, delivers plenty of almost grapey fruit, cassis and black cherries, underscored by hints of vanilla and cedar. It's medium to full-bodied, richly tannic and velvety, with a long, mouthwatering finish.

Keenan’s Mailbox Vineyard consistently provides the merlot-half of Mernet, then the team looks for cabernet sauvignon to bring out what Michael Keenan calls “merlot’s high-toned sweet spot.” In 2019, their choice was clone 337 cabernet sauvignon grown at the Big K Estate Vineyard high up Spring Mountain. The combination takes on a foresty mountain freshness. There’s lovely depth to the ripe fruit, the tannins delicately rich and yielding. For now, the new oak is overt, bringing scents of freshly ground coffee, but the wine has a tensile strength that will sustain it as the oak and fruit marry.