1985 Duckhorn Vineyards Merlot Three Palms Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (6) Median Score: 89 points

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  9/28/2022 - Vinnut Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Dark garnet in color with some clearing at the edges but no bricking. Full, forward & fragrant, mature nose of cherries, blackberries & plums with overtones of earthy/dusty notes, some floral notes of violets, cocoa, mint, spices, some herbal notes, leather, tea, minerals & a hint of oak/vanilla in the background. Full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, mature, ripe fruit flavors of cherries, blueberries & cassis with spices, herbs, minerals & a hint of oak/vanilla. Long lingering smooth finish. Drinks quite well at present & at 37 years of age, it is at its peak of development, so please drink up! Cork was stained on lower third but intact; fill was at top of shoulder.
  
  I concur with mcarp711's note that, "there are no great wines, just great bottles of wine."

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  9/16/2022 - malbrecht wrote: 92 Points

  This was great. No real bricking, wonderful nose, plenty of tertiary development with notes of leather and chocolate, but the fruit was still present. And it still had decent tannic grip. Shocked that this was as lively as it was. Although it is characteristically New World Merlot in style, if tasted blind, I would have guessed maybe 10-15 years old, not 37.

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  8/4/2021 - mcarp711 Likes this wine: 93 Points

  This wine should not have been as good as it was. Great vintage, great fruit source, but at age 36, I wouldn't be placing many bets. This was opened to assess a collection that I purchased. Along with a handful of other bottles, they show the storage was quite good. Very relaxed with beautiful dark fruits, light tobacco and fresh earth balancing it quite well. Tannins were non-existent. A real pleasure to drink.
  
  I believe and respect the two previous notes on this wine. I think we're simply back to storage and/or "there are no great wines, just great bottles of wine". If you happen to have one, pull the cork sooner than later and see what you got! In this case, I raise my glass to Duckhorn!

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  2/5/2010 - bulldurham wrote: 79 Points

  Thought the wine had lost much of its lustre, I beleive it held up very well for a California "Merlot" 24 years in the bottle.

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  8/8/2006 - dcny wrote: 82 Points

  not very good. well past it's prime. bummer was probably a good bottle 5-7 years ago.

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