1985 Duckhorn Vineyards Merlot Napa Valley

Community Tasting Notes (11) Median Score: 91 points

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  10/6/2022 - Vinnut Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Dark ruby in color with some minor bricking & clearing at the edges. Full, fragrant & attractive nose of mature, ripe fruit aromas of cherries, plums & dried figs with classic cigar box overtones of tobacco & cedar notes, earthy/dusty, some floral notes, leather, anise, mint, spices & a slight hint of oak/vanilla in the background. Medium-full bodied with a good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, mature, ripe fruit flavors of cherries, blueberries & plums, spices, minerals & a hint of oak/vanilla. Long lingering smooth finish. Drinks quite well at present but at 37 years of age it appears to be at its peak of development, so please drink up! Fill was at lower portion of neck; cork was stained on lower third but otherwise intact upon opening.

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  5/6/2018 - Ed in Inverness wrote:

  Still alive! Very mature and probably much better 7-10 years ago but drinkable and enjoyable. I was expecting a completely OTH wine especially how "abused" it had been during storage...It survived the SF earthquake, being kept in a car garage next to the central heating, a Cotati storage unit and a failing wine Eurocave to name a few challenges. Plum, pomegranate, leather and hint of green pepper on the nose. Baked plum, resolved tannins, low acid and slight astringency on the finish.

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  2/18/2017 - doctornoah Likes this wine: 91 Points

  My 40th Birthday Weekend; 2/17/2017-2/20/2017: Great stuff. With a bit of pyrazine, at this point in its life you would never guess this for a merlot. Drinks like an old St. Julien.

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  3/11/2016 - tmhouse wrote: 92 Points

  Drinking well but probably past the best it was. Fruit is faded but still very smooth and a good mature wine. Enjoy it now!

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  9/5/2015 - tmhouse Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Mature, left bank style. Fragrant and smooth. Fruit is fading but still well balanced. If you have any of this left, it is still drinking well but won't get any better and will probably fade soon.

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View all 11 Community Tasting Notes

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