2020 Keenan Capstone Wine & 2020 Glass Fire

2020 Keenan Capstone Wine

The infamous vintage of 2020. A vintage that, for myriad events both within the world of wine and beyond it, nobody will forget. A year punctuated by global pandemic, statewide lockdowns, and a cataclysmic fire that raged through the entirety of the Spring Mountain District, this vintage tested the very limits of our ability to adapt and overcome the daunting challenges that nature threw at us. The Capstone estate blend represents the culmination of our efforts to save this vintage from certain ruin and stands as a rare one-off expression of a blend that exists solely as a result of the Glass Fire carnage. This fruit was carried to term and harvested mere days before the start of the Glass Fire and was safely working itself through fermentation when the flames finally surrounded our vineyards and winery. As a result of the fire, we lost access to some of the fruit we normally use in order to construct our standard Napa Merlot and Napa Cabernet. The result is the 2020 Capstone. A two thirds blend of Cabernet and one third Merlot, sourced entirely from the estate, this wine stands in for both our normal house expressions of Cabernet and Merlot. A testament to the ingenuity of our winemaking team, the Capstone represents a rare example of a vintage almost entirely lost to smoke and fire across the valley. Already showing at a young age the trademark fine grained tannin of our Spring Mountain fruit, this wine will reward those curious and impatient enough to take a peak at a very unique vintage. On the nose this wine shows an inviting initial attack of lifted and fresh red fruits with hints of a darker fruit profile peaking beneath. Suggestions of the usual sweet pencil shavings and violet graphite that in all likelihood will continue to take seats in the aromatic front row as this wine exits its stage of youthful exuberance. Texturally this wine brings pure joy with its bright lift and mouthwatering acid. Finding a mountain wine showing more sublime balance at this young age would surely be a tough task. I know I speak for the whole team when I say that this wine, of the nearly 50 years we’ve been in business, is among the ones that make of most proud. Cheers!

– Reilly Keenan

Learn about Keenan Winery, awarded by Wine & Spirits as one of the TOP 100 WINERIES IN THE WORLD. Renowned for exquisite Napa Valley wines and down-to-earth service: keenanwinery.com