2023 Caduceus "Anubis" Cochise County, Willcox AVA, Arizona

Arizona is not supposed to make world-class wine. That’s the conventional wisdom — and Maynard James Keenan has spent over two decades proving it wrong. Best known as the frontman of Grammy Award-winning rock band Tool, Keenan is equally serious about his role as a hands-on vigneron: farming 110 acres of Arizona estate vineyards across the Verde Valley and Willcox AVA, spearheading the federal registration of the Verde Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA) in 2021, and building Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards into two of the most respected and boundary-defying wine estates in the American Southwest. His wife and co-producer Jennifer Keenan co-runs the estate alongside him, managing the intricate laboratory analysis and quality control work essential to the wines and serving as a named producer across both the Caduceus and Merkin labels. The entire winemaking venture was also philosophically inspired by Maynard’s late mother, Judith Marie Keenan — whose memory lives permanently in the name of the estate’s flagship home vineyard block.

“Anubis” is Caduceus’ most commanding expression: a bold, muscular Bordeaux-style red blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 20% Aglianico grown in the Buhl Memorial Vineyard at high elevation in Arizona’s Cochise County, Willcox AVA. Eighteen months in French casks and puncheons. Deep, dense, and velvety — dark cherry, sweet Medjool dates, dried rose petals, sweet tobacco, and a remarkably integrated finish that defies every assumption about what desert-grown wine can be. Named for the Egyptian god of the afterlife and the protector of souls. An apt name for a wine that guards its secrets slowly, revealing layer after layer the longer it breathes.

Wine Details & Tasting Notes

Tasting Notes: Rich and bold on entry with a remarkably velvety texture. Complex layers of dark cherry and sweet Medjool dates interwoven with elegant undertones of dried rose petals and a savory hint of sweet tobacco. Dense, muscular, and deeply integrated after 18 months in French casks and puncheons. The ultimate meat eater’s wine — structured, long, and built for the table.

• Origin – Buhl Memorial Vineyard, Cochise County, Willcox AVA, Arizona, USA (high-elevation desert terroir)
• Producer – Caduceus Cellars; founded and operated by Maynard James Keenan (frontman, Tool; Grammy Award-winning; 20+ years farming 110 Arizona estate acres; spearheaded Verde Valley AVA federal registration, 2021) and Jennifer Keenan (co-owner and named producer; laboratory analysis and quality control); Four Eight Wineworks co-operative; Verde River Exchange sustainability initiative
• Blend – 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc, 20% Aglianico
• Aging – 18 months, French casks and puncheons
• Style – Dry red wine (bold; structured; Bordeaux-style; age-worthy; prestige)
• ABV – 13.7%

Food Pairing

The dark cherry, Medjool dates, dried rose petals, sweet tobacco, and muscular tannic structure of this Arizona Bordeaux-style blend make it a natural and powerful companion for the boldest, most richly flavored dishes you can put on the table. Pairs beautifully with dry-aged ribeye, braised short ribs, and slow-roasted lamb shoulder — this is exactly the meat eater’s wine the winery describes it as. The Aglianico adds an earthy, volcanic depth that makes it a wonderful match for wild game, venison, and Italian-style ragù with wide pasta. Also exceptional alongside aged hard cheeses, truffle preparations, and any dish where intensity is the point. Decant 45–60 minutes to open the full complexity. Serve at 64–68°F.

Occasion

This is your go-to Arizona prestige red — the bottle for Premier Club selections, milestone celebrations, serious wine gifting, and sharing with the collector who wants to understand why Arizona’s high-elevation desert terroir is rewriting the map of American wine. A $64 Bordeaux-style blend from a 110-acre estate farmed by one of the most committed and unconventional vignerons in the country. Decant it. Give it time. It rewards patience.

Wine Producer / Historical Notes

Caduceus Cellars was founded by Maynard James Keenan — widely recognized as the frontman of Grammy Award-winning rock band Tool — in Arizona’s Verde Valley, where he has spent over two decades personally farming 110 acres of estate vineyards across both the Verde Valley and Willcox AVA. A hands-on vigneron in every sense, Keenan spearheaded the effort to secure the federal registration of the Verde Valley American Viticultural Area in 2021, fundamentally shifting the global perception of the Southwest from an agricultural anomaly into a respected winemaking frontier. His wife Jennifer Keenan co-owns and co-produces across both the Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards labels, overseeing laboratory analysis and quality control that are essential to the wines’ precision and consistency. Beyond their own estates, Keenan’s Four Eight Wineworks co-operative provides production space for independent local winemakers, and his participation in the Verde River Exchange demonstrates how low-yield, sustainable desert farming can actively protect delicate water systems. The entire winemaking vision was emotionally and philosophically inspired by Maynard’s late mother, Judith Marie Keenan — the estate’s flagship home vineyard block is permanently named in her honor.

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