2001 Behrens Family Kenefick Ranch Cuvée Reserve
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
Bright, full ruby. Crushed blueberry, blackcurrant, violet and licorice on the nose. Rich, lush and dense but dry, with strong, wound-up flavors of blackberry liqueur, licorice and tobacco. Finishes with big, youthfully clenched tannins that call for a couple years of patience. A somewhat rustic, muscular wine with a solid structure for evolution in bottle.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The classic 2001 Kenefick Ranch is a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 6% Merlot, and 6% Petit Verdot. This 419-case offering will undoubtedly disappear as quickly as it is released. However, patience will be required as it needs 4-5 years of cellaring. High in tannin and dense, with oodles of sweet black currant fruit intermixed with tobacco leaf, licorice, and spice box, it is an outrageous Bordeaux on steroids that should drink well between 2008-2020. I admire what Les Behrens, Bob Hitchcock, their wives, friends, and lunatic dog are doing at their winery and cellars on the top of Spring Mountain. They are obsessed fanatics who make wine with no compromises ... obviously my kind of people. Tel. 707-963-1774; Fax 707-963-8206
Moderately saturated ruby-red. Slightly medicinal aromas of raw currant, crushed blackberry, licorice and mint. Juicy, minty and tightly wound, with notes of bitter chocolate and licorice. This sample needs an aeration. Concentrated, structured wine, finishing with tarry oak. The young 2000 was similarly quite backward in barrel, but turned out very well.