2016 - 2018 Vertical, Cabernet Sauvignon, Boxed Set

2016 Cabernet Sauvignon:  100% Cabernet Sauvignon, originally released in March 2020.  617 cases produced, 18 cases held in library.

Classic estates seem to create classic wines reliably, but in exceptional vintages the wine quality elevates just that much more, to the realm of the ethereal.  The 2016 Keever Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon shows its signature aromas of bright cherry and raspberry mixed with dark chocolate and sweet earthy tones, but this vintage shows, additionally, a lovely dark note of huckleberry pie and just a hint of sassafras.  At entry, the structure of the wine lends an impression of weight and concentration yet the tannins show restraint and resolution, giving at one moment both the sense of age-worthiness as well as delicious qualities in the near term.  As the flavors fade, the lingering presence of the wine shows a lovely combination of bright fruit and subtle savory qualities

Growing season 2016 blessed Napa Valley with plentiful rainstorms in Winter and Spring, and better weather during bloom than we had seen in several years.  With good soil moisture and plenty of sunshine in the early months, the vines offered a just-right number of grape clusters attached to a just-right number of canes.  Summer brought us a very typical pattern of weeks alternating between warm and very warm, enough heat to give us uniform maturity of the fruit but not too hot to stress the vines.

Harvested by hand between September 16 and October 4, 2016, the grapes for the Keever 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon were sorted by hand and then optically sorted.  The fruit was then fermented on skins for an average of four weeks before the wine was transferred to French oak barrels.  Each batch of fruit was kept separate for the first 12 months, then blended and allowed to marry in the barrels for an additional eight months prior to bottling in late May 2018.  - Celia Welch, Winemaker

2017 Cabernet Sauvignon:  100% Cabernet Sauvignon, originally released in May 2021.  717 cases produced, 12 cases held in library.  93+ WA

Much has already been written about the 2017 vintage in Napa Valley, but nothing equals actually tasting the wines from this very memorable vintage.  Characterized by a record-breaking rainfall in late winter/early Spring, then cooler temperatures for much of Summer until August turned alternatingly warm/hot, the year certainly saw a bit of every type of weather.  Fortunately, these events were sequenced perfectly; the vines grew well in Spring because of the abundant rain, creating healthy canopies which protected the fruit well throughout summer and even into the warm days of August.  These abundant canopies also helped to create a fully-ripe crop a few weeks earlier than we might otherwise expect, and hence the grapes for the Keever 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon were harvested between September 12 and 18, 2017, which gave them just a touch more time in barrels before being bottled in May 2019.

Ultimately, of course, the story of the vintage becomes a story of a wine.  The 2017 Keever Cabernet Sauvignon shows abundant aromatic intensity (in part due to a cooler June and July) with perhaps just a touch more concentrated ripe red cherry fruit due to the warm August.  The aromas of course also show the touch of sweet anise, tobacco, and spiced plum so typical to the Yountville region.  At entry, the palate is broad, then gains power as the fruit flavors lift.  With a well-experienced nod to our house preferences, the tannins are silky/velvety now, and will further resolve if given the opportunity to age for an additional decade or more.  - Celia Welch

2018 Cabernet Sauvignon:  100% Cabernet Sauvignon, originally released in September 2022.  640 cases produced, 15 cases held in library.

The purity of dark red and blue fruits provides an immediate sense of the complexity of this fully ripe Cabernet Sauvignon.  Notes of raspberry jam and blackberry briars round out the initial impression.  On the palate the wine is full, plush and round at entry, with the focused fruit aromas dominating the mid-palate.

As the palate impression continues, the fully ripe, velvety fruit tannins provide a lovely foundation for the dark fruit flavors, leaving a lingering sensation of fresh raspberries. – Celia Welch