Shhh — our stories about
Secret Wine, Secret Club, Secret Handshake
You found it. Okay, there’s no secret handshake — but there is a Keenan Winery Secret Club and a handful of secret Keenan wines. If you’re reading this, you’re one of the select few invited to learn about these extremely rare Keenan creations. Each wine has its own story, as does the club itself. Below, Keenan Winery President Michael Keenan tells you about the Secret Wines and the Secret Club.
The club ships members four bottles from the secret portfolio every year, just before Valentine’s Day. There’s no cost to join — you’re simply billed for the four bottles just before they’re sent.
“Who else does this? Nobody. It’s bad-ass. There’s no other word for it.”
— Michael Keenan
The wines & their stories
The Original — Single-Vineyard Merlot, Spring Mountain District
This single-vineyard Merlot comes from the bottom of the Big K vineyard, where the original (we thought, at the time, one and only) 1997 Mailbox Merlot came from. This block abuts the mouth of the driveway where the “real” mailboxes are. That Merlot — and the entire 20-acre block — was pulled after the ’97 harvest due to phylloxera and replanted to five new clones of Cabernet Sauvignon. After ten years of feedback from the new Cabernet clones, we decided to graft the See clone, planted where the original Mailbox Merlot had grown, back to Merlot in the spring of 2011. This grafted block shows the same deliciousness that caught my attention in ’97 — so we made 50 cases of it, called it “The Original,” and kept it a secret. Each vintage we make is truly an original, spectacular in its own right.
Nod to History — Reserve Zinfandel Blend, Spring Mountain District
“Nod to History” is a reference to the Conradi family, who built our winery in 1904 and primarily grew Zinfandel. The blend literally came to Michael in a dream — a bridge from our past to our present and future. This is our second bottling of a reserve Zinfandel, comprised of Zinfandel, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc with a splash of Carignane and Alicante Bouschet. The result is a Zinfandel with a super structure, added weight on the palate, more layered aromatics, and a very long finish — while clearly retaining its identity as Zinfandel. Enjoy now, or decades from now.
How the secret began — in Michael’s words
“In August of 2006 I came up with a new wine (I literally dreamed it up) for the Premiere Auction, which takes place in Napa every February. A month later I thought I had a brilliant, outside-the-box idea to promote it. Every October I’d meet with a very famous wine critic who would review the vintage we had just bottled, plus two barrel samples still in barrel. His review would come out at Christmas, in time to generate buzz for the February auction. Well, for the first time, this wonderfully talented assessor of wines’ true virtues didn’t rate our barrel sample — great plan, shot down. Nonetheless, at the auction that year the wine, on its own merits, generated a great buzz throughout the room, and we ended up getting a record price and making some great new friends from Arkansas.
Coming home after the auction, I had the idea to make this a ‘secret’ wine: a wine that would sit at the top of our Bordeaux portfolio but would never be rated by any critic and never be shown in public. If a restaurant bought it, they couldn’t print it on their list; if a retailer bought it, they couldn’t put it on their shelves or advertise it anywhere. A total back-room ‘secret’ wine. I remember the first time I told Reilly, our son, about it — he thought I had lost my mind. He’s slowly coming around. Now there are several wines in the ‘secret’ portfolio, and it’s time to start the ‘secret’ club. These are all small-production wines, ranging from 100 cases down to as few as 50. Some are from the ’06 and ’07 vintages, so we’re able to age them even longer than our current releases. Some of these wines are one of a kind — meaning I will never make them again.” — Michael Keenan
More from the secret cellar
The rest of the secret portfolio — small-lot Spring Mountain District reds, never listed on a shelf, a wine list, or a website. Buy secret wine →
About the Holy Trinity. It started as an attempt to make a special wine for a country club in Los Angeles. The food-and-beverage director and five members of the wine committee came up to the winery to ‘blend’ their wine — often a recipe for disaster, but this time we managed a vineyard tour, a blending trial, and lunch, all in three hours. We couldn’t agree on a price (they wanted something they could sell to members for $90; I thought it was worth far more), so we parted ways — but I was enamored with the blend we’d created. A few tweaks later I had equal parts Cabernet Franc (the Father, and genetically the parent of both Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot), Cabernet Sauvignon (the Son), and Merlot (the Holy Ghost). The Cabernet Franc lifts the nose with complex, herb-and-spice fruit; the Cabernet Sauvignon lends power and structure; the Merlot laces an almost magical richness through it all. I used the Holy Trinity for our Premiere Napa Valley auction wine in 2020, and it sold for over $250 a bottle — wholesale.
Join the Secret Club
The club ships four bottles from the secret portfolio every year, just before Valentine’s Day. There’s no cost to join — you’re billed for the four bottles just before they ship.
Members receive
- 4 bottles total — 2 each of two unique Secret Wines — shipped every February (all red)
- Exclusive access to our Secret Wines for purchase
- 20% off all wines and merchandise
- 4 free passes to the pick-up parties
- Complimentary tastings for up to 4 guests
- A private barrel tasting for up to 6 guests when you join two or more clubs
- A barrel tasting and pick-up party passes for 6 when you join three or more clubs
Keep it under your hat. These wines aren’t listed, advertised, or shown in public — that’s the whole point.