FALL-WINTER 2016-17NUMBER 36

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QUANTITY PRICE

WINE CLUB MEMBERSHIP-4 bottles shipped twice a year FREEAn average of $120 per shipment billed only when shipped.

RESERVE CLUB MEMBERSHIP-6 btls of Keenan Reserve Wines FREEshipped once a year. $412.80 plus shipping charges and tax for California.2013 Cabernet Franc, Spring Mountaine ($68/bottle)2014 Chardonnay Spring Mountain District ($34/bottle)2013 Merlot Napa Valley ($40/bottle)2013 Merlot Reserve Mailbox Vineyard Spring Mtn. District ($70/bottle)2012 Mernet Reserve, Spring Mtn. Dist. ($96/bottle)2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa, Valley ($52/btl)2013 Merlot, Napa Carneros ($34/bottle)2013 Zinfandel, Napa Valley ($38/bottle)2013 Syrah, Napa Valley ($38/bottle)

Discounts:      6-11 bottles = 5%  12 or more bottles = 10%  Club Member = 20%  Shipping Info:Choose one and add the amount in the price column.

❒ UPS 3RD DAY AIR    ❒ UPS GROUND$25 1-3 bottles $12  1-3 bottles$35  4-6 bottles $20  4-6 bottles$60  7-12 bottles $30  7-12 bottles

Sales Tax: 8% California residents only. There is no sales tax for other states.

www.keenanwinery.com T O T A L

2014 ChardonnaySpring Mountain District

$34/bottle

Keenan’s 2014Chardonnay was handharvested, de-stemmed,then gently pressed. Thejuice was fermented and

aged in primarily used oak barrels.The wine was left on the lees and thebarrels were stirred weekly. No sec-ondary, or malolactic fermentationwas carried out, leading to the crisp,

citrus character of this wine. Thewine was bottled after approximatelyseven months of aging in the cellar.

The finished wine shows citrus,ripe pear and green apple in thenose. Hints of lush white peach arenoticed as the wine opens up. Thesur-lie aging has added richness andcomplexity, and a touch of toasty oakreturns on the finish. Like all ofKeenan’s wines, this Chardonnay is afood worthy wine whose crisp acidityand medium body will accompany awide variety of cuisine.

2012 CabernetSauvignonNapa Valley$52/bottle

The 2012 CabernetSauvignon is com-posed primarily of grapesgrown on Keenan’s SpringMountain District Estate;the remainder of the fruit

was harvested from Pope Valley, agrape growing region located in theeastern portion of Napa.

The blend was assembled justbefore bottling. The Estate grownCabernet imparts amazing concen-tration and remarkable structure,while the portion of Cabernet harvested from Pope Valley addscomplex aromas and a balancedmid-palate.

2013 SyrahNapa Valley$38/bottle

The 2013 Keenan Syrahgrapes were grown inthe Coombsville and AtlasPeak regions of southeastern Napa. The grapeswere picked late in theseason, and then whole

berry fermented in small half tonboxes. After fermentation the winewas aged in French and Americanoak barrels for seventeen months.

The nosed of the wine offers aro-mas of black cherry and blackberry

along with underlying floral nuances.

The texture is soft, yet the wine main-

tains wonderful structure. This is a

versatile wine that will accompany a

wide array of dishes.

2013 MerlotNapa Valley$40/bottle

The 2013 KeenanMerlot is com-posed of seventy twopercent Keenan EstateMerlot. Twenty eightpercent of the wine isMerlot fruit harvested

from the Napa Carneros region.After hand harvesting, the grapeswere de-stemmed, then inoculated

with Montrachet yeast.Fermentation ranged from ten tofourteen days.

The ‘13 Merlot has been aged inthirty-three percent new Frenchand American oak barrels foreighteen months. The resultingwine shows intense aromas ofblack cherry, blackberry, and cassis.Complex nuances of cocoa andcoffee bean emerge as the wineopens up. This is a “big” Merlotthat will age for many years to come.

FALL-WINTER 2016-17NUMBER 36

Let’s make Christmas Great Again!

or, what I really want from Santa this year

Let’s make Christmas Great Again!

or, what I really want from Santa this year

R o b e r t K e e n a n W i n e r y • Vi s i t u s a t 3660 Spr ing Mounta in Road o r on the web a t : www.keenanwinery.com

F R O M T H E P R E S I D E N T ’ S D E S K

Increased winter rainfall along with optimal springand summer weather conditions were much appreci-ated this year. The vines soaked up rain, and favorablespringtime temperatures supported healthy floweringand set. Merlot and Zinfandel yields were significantlyabove average, while Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc andCabernet Sauvignon yields were only slightly aboveaverage. The 2016 harvest was a fast one though; overthe course of 21 days we picked the entire Keenanestate. Our estate harvest usually lasts four to six weeks.

Keenan’s harvest began with Clone 4 Chardonnay onSeptember 6th and Dijon Clone Chardonnay onSeptember 7th. The Chardonnay flavors developed earlythis, yet the juice samples revealed relatively low sugarcontent. Now aging in barrel, the ’16 Chardonnayexhibits great acidity and wonderful rich flavors and texture.

The Merlot from the Lower Bowl and MailboxVineyard ripened right on the heels of the Chardonnayand supplied above average yields. The Merlot ferment-ing in tanks revealed bright, juicy flavors, while tanninswere mild and aromatics intense. We finished pickingthe Lower Merlot on September 12th. Within one weekwe had harvested over forty percent of the 2016 estatetonnage!

Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon were our nextfocus. The old half-acre Zinfandel block took us bysurprise and ripened much earlier than usual.Cabernet Sauvignon form the Point and Upper Bowlvineyards were next in line. The Cabernet Sauvignonis showing amazing concentration with lush powderytannins.

By September 21st our last blocks of Merlot andmost of the Cabernet Franc had been harvested, andall of our fermentation tanks were full .Only a fewblocks on the estate remained, and by September26th our harvest on Spring Mountain was finished.

It’s enlightening to see these hillside vineyards ageso gracefully. The majority of vines on the Keenanestate no longer require irrigation, yet the vineyardsare maintaining yields and producing the some offinest fruit to date. Cheers to the 2016 vintage!

Matt Gardner

Now I know no politi-cian either national orlocal has ever reallyrun on reducing the regulato-ry burden on small businessso I am going to have to takethis appeal directly to Santa.Santa, if you are listening,what I want for Christmas isless burdensome paper workfrom county, state and

federal agencies.

This is something I have been quietly complainingto myself about for the past year or so. It seemed tome that every month or so some new regulation wouldpop up from the county, state or one of the many fed-eral agencies that love to get in on the action. The tip-ping point came for me last week when Matt, our tire-less General Manager, told me that we got a letter fromthe TTB (federal agency that governs what we put onour labels and other fun things) informing us that ourlabels were not in compliance. And here is the bizarrepart; they have not been compliant for our entire 40-year history. Imagine my reaction. And if anyone canguess what is amiss with our labels I’ll be VERYimpressed. Hint: it’s really stupid!!

This conversation prompted me to ask Matt (whoreally does work too hard) how much time do youspend dealing with our regulatory burden. Hisresponse stunned me, 40%. For a small company withonly 4 full time employees to have to allocate 40% ofthe GM’S time to compliance with the myriad agenciesthat look over us seems a little out of whack to me.And keep in mind we no longer handle compliancewith all the states outside of California that we shipwine to; we hired a compliance company earlier thisyear to handle that ever-increasing nightmare.

So Santa, if you have time to make a small business-man really happy this Christmas, give me a call. I havesome great ideas!

Cheers to the future!Michael Keenan

2016 GROWING SEASON AND HARVEST2016 GROWING SEASON AND HARVEST

https://vimeo.com/195062836https://vimeo.com/195062836

2014 CHARDONNAY, SPRING MOUNTAIN DISTRICTWine & Spirits Magazine, February 201693 Points: “Totally savory, this wine smells like seashells and tastes likegreen lime pith. It’s a big wine, fat in the middle, held taut by the mineral acidity that keeps it fresh and refreshing. It ends as clean as apremier cru Chablis might, here with the firm, grippy spice of a SpringMountain white.”

2013 MERLOT, NAPA VALLEYAntonio Galloni, Vinous, October 201590 Points: “Keenan's 2013 Merlot is powerful, intense and structured, espe-cially for an entry-level offering. Leather, smoke, tobacco and anise are allpushed forward in a savory, complex Merlot that offers plenty of nuance aswell as personality. Hints of menthol and sage add further notes of complexi-ty. A serious Merlot, the 2013 has enough depth to drink well for a goodhandful of years”

2013 MERLOT RESERVE, MAILBOX VINEYARD,SPRING MOUNTAIN DISTRICTRobert M. Parker Jr., The Wine Advocate, Issue #222, 12/201594 Points: “As for the 2013 Merlot Reserve Mailbox Vineyard, this is95% estate Merlot and 5% estate Cabernet Franc. This shows beauti-ful fruit, medium to full body, more layers of concentration andinterest than the basic Merlot. The wine has excellent purity, loads ofblack cherry and mocha notes, along with darker berry fruit. It’s full-bodied, ripe and pure and at the same time never loses its sense ofelegance or equilibrium. Drink it over the next 10-15 years.”

2012 MERNET, RESERVE, SPRING MOUNTAIN DISTRICT Robert M. Parker Jr., The Wine Advocate, Issue #209, 10/201394 Points: “The 2012 Proprietary Red Blend Mernet Reserve, which is ablend of 50% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Cabernet Franc,may well be Michael Keenan’s favorite wine. Only 500 cases were pro-duced. Chocolaty cassis, graphite, spice box and plum are all present inthis sensational blend that should age beautifully for 15-20 years,although most people will have consumed it by year ten. It is remarkablethat 2012 is the fourteenth vintage that this proprietary blend has beenproduced, and it seems like its just yesterday I first tasted it. The color isa handsome, opaque purple. The wine is extremely impressive and stillvery youthful. Another one or two years of age will round it into morecomplex shape.”

2012 CABERNET SAUVIGNON, NAPA VALLEY Robert M. Parker Jr., The Wine Advocate, Issue #215, 10/2014 90 Points: “The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa has more cassis, tar, cam-phor and an attractive, fleshy, full-bodied mouthfeel, impressive ripenessand body. This is a solid Cabernet to drink now and over the next 10-15years.”

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S U M -M E R

S U M M E R O P E N H O U S ESATURDAY, JUNE 17 • 11 AM – 3 PM

• Wine Tasting and Appetizers• Current release wines, library wines and secret wines!• Taste barrel samples and purchase wine futures• Tour our historic cellar and meet the winery staff• Enjoy the views from our moutainside winery

DON’T MISS ROBERT KEENAN WINERY’S 2017 SummerOpen House, beginning at 11 am on Saturday, June 18. Taste current releases as well as library wines, and even sample some of ouryoung wines still aging in oak barrels. Appetizers will be served tocom pliment our award-winning wines.

This event is by invitation only, and is free to Wine Club members,however $40 per adult will be charged for non-Wine Club members.Please RSVP with the number of guests in your party by Monday, June 12th.

Please note: we will be capping attendance this year at 350 guests.• Phone: 707-963-9177 • Email: info@keenanwinery.com

• Faxing : 707-963-8209

R S V PYes, we will attend the Summer Open House.

Number in party ______________

Y O U R N A M E

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See the Order Form on the front page to join the Wine Club.Or visit our website: www.keenanwinery.com

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info@keenanwinery.com

Robert M. Parker Jr., The Wine Advocate, Issue #222 December 201594 Points “One of Napa Valley’s most successful Cabernet Francs, Keenan’s2013 Cabernet Franc, is 100% estate Cabernet Franc from their holdings on

Spring Mountain. Beautiful blueberry and raspberry fruit interwoven with

spring flowers jumps from the glass of this wonderfully balanced and elegant,

yet authoritative wine. It is rich, medium to full-bodied, but at the same time

ethereal and finesse-oriented. This is a great example of Cabernet Franc at its

best, intense, but elegant. This should last for at least another decade.”

2013 CabernetFranc, Spring Mtn. Dist.$68 bottle

This wine was pro-duced exclusivelyfrom grapes grown onthe Keenan Estate locat-ed in Napa Valley’sSpring MountainDistrict. Our two blocksof Cabernet Franc were

harvested on October 2nd andOctober 4th, 2013. The fruit washand-picked then, after de-stemming,

the must was inoculated withMontrachet yeast and fermented instainless steel tanks. The wine aged inFrench and American oak barrels fortwenty months.

“Freakishly good” is how we havecome to describe this single vineyardCabernet Franc from our highest ele-vation vineyard (approx. 2000') aptlynamed the “Upper Bowl”. CabernetFranc is simply not supposed to bethis delicious. The 2013 vintage hassome of the most pinpoint laser-likeflavors we have ever seen due to ahigher than normal natural acid level at harvest. Enjoy now or decadesfrom now.

mailto:info@keenanwinery.com