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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.2 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 158 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Jamul Wino on 5/12/2023 & rated 92 points: Color - Dark Garnet
Nose - Fruit forward, Dark Cherries, Dark Berries
Palate - Initial smooth followed quickly by light to medium tannins long into finish. Fairly bold for a Merlot with fruit being covered up by tannins and astringency. Upon breathing tannins softened allowing fruit forwardness to come out with Dark Cherries and a hint of plum. Held up real well for its age. (424 views) | | | Tasted by seattlecook on 9/21/2020 & rated 93 points: Well rounded and balanced drinking well! (1987 views) | | | Tasted by Lord Marc on 2/8/2019 & rated 90 points: Excellent!!! Wish there was another bottle to drink (2869 views) | | | Tasted by tomoem on 9/9/2018 & rated 89 points: This is a dark wine with rich velvety mouth feel. There are aromas of berry with a palette of complex flavors. I get cocoa, blueberry, and vanilla wrapped around a core of smooth and velvety juice. The finish is a little bit more leather than fruit and ends with a light and thin mouthfeel. (3143 views) | | | Tasted by Lord Marc on 3/6/2018 & rated 90 points: Excellent Merlot, perfectly balanced, tannins were mellow and was more full bodied then expected. Great addition to any cellar. (3615 views) | | | Tasted by scott davis on 3/3/2018 & rated 93 points: Tasting Room: Luxury Red Wine Sampler: From 50ml. Dark purple in color, with pleasant dark fruits and molasses on the nose. The palate shows blackberry, blueberry, coffee, and vanilla notes, which are integrated and drinking well. Long finish. (3460 views) | | | Tasted by Vinophiliac559 on 12/4/2017 & rated 90 points: 89-90 Still drinking fairly young, but not sure if this is built to age further. A little thinner than I had expected, still with dark fruit, vanilla/oak, and ok finish. Enjoyable merlot showing well at almost 10 years out and from a tough vintage. (2883 views) | | | Tasted by cos65 on 11/1/2017: From 375
Fairly dense sediment/crust on the bottle
Ruby purple
Easy light blackberry plummy flavors.
Finishes a bit on the downturn.
No reason to hold at least in small format (2058 views) | | | Tasted by Brent25 on 3/19/2017 & rated 90 points: Dark ruby core with watery rim; nose of red licorice, stewed fig and vanilla; palate follows nose with hint of leather and a thinner mouthfeel; finish is still strong with lovely cocoa; past its prime, but still enjoyable; when first opened was very acidic and thin, but this disappeared as it opened up (2644 views) | | | Tasted by Brent25 on 1/13/2017 & rated 90 points: Lovely dark fruit with hints of vanilla, cocoa, and cinnamon; a little heat on the palate with decent finish; still drinking well (2326 views) | | | Tasted by williamswhine on 10/16/2016 & rated 92 points: Dark fruit, full bodied. Nose of cherry, black fruit, vanilla, nicely structured and balanced. Silky. Nice drinking around fire pits. Easy to drink without food. (2672 views) | | | Tasted by SeaWine on 9/7/2016 & rated 90 points: Nice California Merlot... but then again I can't remember the last time I had a California Merlot. A tasteful amount of light cocoa on the palate to round out the black fruit. (2378 views) | | | Tasted by rbfoote on 1/17/2016 & rated 90 points: Very nice merlot. Deep red colour and very smooth (tannins were not strong). Flavours of blackberry, plum and black pepper. Hints of coffee too. Nice finish. (3389 views) | | | Tasted by travelme on 12/5/2015 & rated 90 points: A nice dark ruby color with a smooth finish. A really nice Merlot and the last Duckhorn in my cellar. I don't think I will likely buy anymore. A little overpriced and overhyped based on what you get from the bottle. Just a better than average Merlot. (2892 views) | | | Tasted by MurphyCellar on 9/13/2015 & rated 89 points: Definitely needs a few hours to open up, but then is quite nice for merlot. (3077 views) | | | Tasted by jcosindc on 7/5/2015 & rated 90 points: Paired with Italian meal, the wine was quite hot. However, the bottle was re-corked (1/2 left) and sat for 3-4 days before drinking. The wine definitely smoothed out and was enjoyable. (2990 views) | | | Tasted by JoeTom on 2/20/2015 & rated 87 points: Opaque ruby hue which lightens at the edges. Nose of stewed dark fruits with notes of ceder, cassis, lavender, and graphite. Medium light weight with medium tannins, and bright acidity. Alcohol a bit overpowering. Medium finish with dark fruits and pith. (3802 views) | | | Tasted by Nico P. on 1/4/2015: 14.5%. From a 375ml. Still very young, very tannic. Cedar box, pine resin. With air, intense nose of blue and black berries. Recommend decanting. (2577 views) | | | Tasted by Robacchus on 11/8/2014 & rated 91 points: with lamb, lovely (2912 views) | | | Tasted by merryberry on 4/12/2014 & rated 90 points: 100ml bottle. Dark rich ruby. Cherry cola and spice nose. Medium to full bodied, cranberries, black cherries, firm tannins, tobacco, and a dry medium to long finish. A manly merlot for sure. (3468 views) | | | Tasted by Tarrant on 1/25/2014 & rated 94 points: Loved this, powerful yet quite elegant, we had this alongside a similar vintaged Shafer and surprisingly this beat the more touted Shafer example as it had the intensity, but at this stage was much more integrated (The Shafer came in at 15.3% alc. and was not quite as balanced with a touch of heat) - Dark, full bodied with a nose of plum, cherry, black fruit, cedar, cigar box and vanilla, nicely structured and balanced, it was silky smooth on the palate with terrific length, outstanding! (94 Points). (3984 views) | | | Tasted by Djfermentation on 12/27/2013 & rated 93 points: Pretty darn delicious and a pretty good year for this wine. Tasty notes escape me as I was enjoying on Christmas with a lot of other wines and people, but this one was rather noteworthy. I would like to pick up a few bottles for the cellar (3295 views) | | | Tasted by PDD on 12/22/2013 & rated 93 points: Drinking beautifully right now. Chocolate, cherries, and an overall nice balance. (3311 views) | | | Tasted by Baron Slick on 10/19/2013 & rated 92 points: Deep purple/garnet appearance. This has impressive depth, density, and dimension, with ever changing aromas and flavors of ripe, red currants, cherries, black raspberries, plums, pencil shavings, and bay leaf. The palate is seductive, velvety, balanced, and expansive, flaunting tremendous energy, juicy acidity, and an orange citrus back note that shifts to crushed rocks and spicy cinnamon on the deceptively long finish. It's well integrated now but has the structure to age. Rack it. (3366 views) | | | Tasted by JayPKay on 2/2/2013 & rated 90 points: Always reliable. Saddle soap, cloves, cedar, spiced cranberry. While not inexpensive, it is nevertheless a good value in comparison with similarly priced alternatives. Glug! (3638 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By David Lawrason
WineAlign (5/25/2011)
(Duckhorn Merlot, Napa Valley red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Szabo, MS
WineAlign (5/18/2011)
(Duckhorn Merlot, Napa Valley red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (2/24/2012)
(Duckhorn Vineyards Merlot Napa Valley) Medium dark ruby color; vanilla, berry, black cherry nose; tasty, a little tight, blackberry, berry, black fruit palate; needs 2 years; medium-plus finish 92+ points (86% Merlot, 9.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3.5% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc; 16 mos. in 100% French oak, 20% new, 80% second vintage; 14.5% alcohol) 92 points | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (7/31/2011)
(Duckhorn Vineyards Merlot Napa Valley) Medium dark ruby color; big, ripe plum, berry nose; ripe plum, berry, black fruit palate; medium-plus finish 90+ points 90 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of WineAlign and RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Duckhorn Vineyards Producer website
Decoy Wines websiteMerlotMerlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to be a diminutive of merle, the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color of the grape. Its softness and "fleshiness", combined with its earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which tends to be higher in tannin.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Napa ValleySt. Helena |
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