2001 Duckhorn Vineyards Merlot Napa Valley
Community Tasting Note
oldwines Likes this wine:
Saturday, December 21, 2019 - Found in my cellar and somehow not previously in my inventory but it must have been there since the early 2000’s...had to check it out...WOW was it interesting. One bottle left that I will keep for a perfect food pairing in the near future, probably a mushroom and duck dish or mushroom risotto. Medium dark saturated garnet color. Absolutely captivating nose of porcini mushrooms (so much so that we pulled out some dried porcini from the cupboard to smell, exactamundo!), blackberries, chocolate and some vanilla. Silky smooth mouth feel with more of the mushrooms on the palate with milk chocolate, black cherry and boysenberry but with good acidity and not at all jammy. So rich, balanced and complex with layers of flavor and a nice long finish. Perfect with grilled steaks and sautéed mushrooms. Big surprise for the entry level Merlot from Duckhorn at 18 years old! Probably not getting better but showing no sign of over-aging. Probably paid around $25 for this 15+ years ago.
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Comment posted by MemorialWineFan:
12/21/2019 7:14:00 PM - I was at a wine members event and someone pulled out an old Duckhorn Howell Mountain merlot from the 90s that was stunning. I can imagine the bottle you had was similarly good.
Comment posted by oldwines:
12/21/2019 7:30:00 PM - Yes, so much fun when you happen upon a situation like this. My friend whose house I brought this to is a seriously good foodie and a “super-taster” and he was blown away as this one equaled the quality of a 2004 Lancaster Estate Cab he shared...I expected to leave this for my wine vinegar that I make but no...it was beautiful. All the more interesting that I told a group of people I was doing a tasting with just yesterday that often the low end wines will age better that the big name expensive bottles...this one proves the point.
Cheers!
“oldwines” aka Dave
www.dtpwineadvisors.com