Keenan, Merlot, Napa Valley CA, 2015

This wine comes from the nine acres planted right around the Keenan winery up on Spring Mountain—also found in the Mayacamas range. It’s the perfect location to grow serious Merlot, and if you haven’t yet tasted a wine from Keenan, this is a phenomenal introduction. Intense dark cassis fruit is balanced by distinctive menthol and cigar notes. The wine perfectly marries a rich, velvety texture to bright, focused acidity and ripe but firm tannins.