Napa Valley Merlot

It is time for some Merlot on this #MerlotThursday. Let's bring Merlot back!

Deep purple in color with a short reddish rim.

Fruity nose of black currants, black plums, light cedar, black tea, tobacco leaf, spices and light chocolate notes.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with black plums, cooked cherries, currants, oak, light licorice, spices, dark chocolates, bitter herbs and peppercorn.

Tangy finish with round tannins and tangy raspberries.

This Merlot from Napa Valley is still very young, but already enjoyable, even by itself. Rich and fruit forward. Nicely balanced and tangy. Showing nice complexity already, tangy and interesting.

Will continue to age nicely in the next 7 to 10 years, and has good potential to become a 93+ point wine.

Wine Spectator 92 points.

Good by itself as a sipping wine or with food.

A blend of 78% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Malbec and 1% Cabernet Franc. Aged for 15 months in (40% new) French Oak barrels.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$45.

Truchard vineyard, not regular merlot.
All things considered fairly solid. Definitely on the backside of its life and didn’t really hold up super long but for the first maybe 45 minutes of being opened was fairly nice. Better on the pallet than aromatics 

Blend of 76% Merlot, 22% Cab Sauv and 2% Cab Franc, deep Ruby with aromas of rich berry fruit and earthy spice tones. On the palate flavors of rich blackberry and ripe cherry with sweet spice, licorice and cedar notes. Fine tannins, long finish ending with oak, fruit and mineral character. Good to drink now, will age some.

Blend of 85% Merlot, 13% Cab Sauv and 2% Cab Franc, deep Ruby with aromas of rich berry fruit and earthy spice tones. On the palate flavors of rich blackberry and black cherry with sweet spice, licorice and cedar notes. Fine tannins, long finish ending with oak, fruit and mineral character. Good to drink now, will age some.

Duckhorn is always solid. But this ‘20 vintage struggled a bit out of the bottle. Overly tannic, unusual for this wine. I may have run into an off bottle. But with enough air the uniqueness of this great Merlot still came around. To be revisited.

Blend of 80% Merlot, 17% Cab Sauv, 2% Cab Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, deep Ruby with aromas of rich berry fruit and earthy spice tones. On the palate flavors of rich blackberry and black cherry with sweet spice, licorice and cacao notes. Fine tannins, long finish ending with oak and mineral character. Good to drink now, will age some.

Wow. Still so alive.

Always good and I’m a big fan of Duckhorn Merlot. But this one tasted a little more mass produced. Could need some time to blossom.

Duckhorn! 🦆 Of course the new vintage is just as good as all the previous ones. Even the run of the mill version from the greatest Merlot maker in California sets a standard. Wonderful. Happy Labor Day weekend!

Blend of 77% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon; 1% other. deep Ruby with aromas of rich berry fruits and earthy spice tones. On the palate flavors of juicy blackberry and black cherry with sweet spice, licorice and cacao notes. Fine tannins, long finish ending with espresso, oak and mineral tang. Drink now.