Think Napa Valley for a weekend wine, and the Decoy Sonoma for a weekday wine! Either way, Duckhorn has got you covered!

October is International Merlot Month! Merlot Month unites passionate wine lovers in a worldwide movement to celebrate the world’s second-most planted grape.

This year makes the 6th anniversary of  our Wine Pairing Weekend group’s collaboration with  MerlotMe wineries! We’ll be posting and sharing our love for Merlot and food pairings throughout the month of October. Today, I’m sharing two exciting Merlot from the Duckhorn Portfolio.

Duckhorn Vineyards is synonymous with premium Merlot. While everyone else headed down the Cabernet Sauvignon road, Dan and Margaret Duckhorn decided to take the road less traveled and focus on Merlot. Their love of Merlot as a standalone variety was inspired by prominent Pomerols they tasted in Bordeaux in the early 70s.

In 1976 the couple founded Duckhorn Vineyards.  Since its inaugural vintage in 1978, Duckhorn Vineyards has crafted a vineyard-designate bottling from its flagship Three Palms vineyard. It was one of California’s first single-vineyard Merlots. It is a full-bodied wine that reflects Three Palms’ unique terroir and has been a consistent benchmark for New World Merlot. The 2014 vintage was Wine Spectator #1 Wine of the Year!

Fun Fact: Duckhorn and Apple were incorporated on the same day!

In addition to the iconic Three Palms bottling, Duckhorn crafts several examples of Merlot in most vintages.  I had a chance to sample two of their other bottlings:

• 2017 Duckhorn Napa Valley Merlot
• 2018 Decoy Sonoma Merlot

Disclosure: I received these wines as a media samples. I received no compensation for this post, and all opinions presented are my own.

2017 Duckhorn Napa Valley Merlot

A blend of 80% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.5% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot, 0.5% Malbec from several individual vineyard lots across from 9 Napa Valley sub-AVAs that incorporates fruit from both Duckhorn’s estate vineyards and top independent growers . Raised in 100% French oak (40% new, 60% neutral) for 15 months.

It pours a dark ruby color with inviting black cherry, blueberry, tobacco vanilla cassis cacao, and a hint of mint aromas. On the palate, it’s medium bodied with fine grained tannins(I recommendation least 30 minute decant), a supple texture and med acidity with flavors that follow with aromas, plus hints of vanilla, and dried herb. It’s certainly approachable now, but will improve with 5-10 years further aging. 14.5% abv|SRP – $56|90pts

2018 Decoy Sonoma Merlot

A blend of 98% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Petit Verdot (which I recently learned has a “Ying and Yang” relationship with Merlot) from independent growers across 4 sub-AVAs  in Sonoma.  Raised in 100% French oak (40% new, 60% neutral) for 15 months.

It’s a medium-ruby color with ripe blackberry, blueberry, plum, sandalwood, dried herb, and medium-roast coffee bean aromas. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied with vibrant acidity and dusty tannins with blackberry, blueberry, plum flavors with a hint of black cherry and dried herbs with a medium+ finish. 13.9% abv|SRP – $25|89pts

It was fantastic paired with Mediterranean Lamb Stew!

Both of these joyful wines wines are delicious, food friendly wines I heartily recommend. The Napa Valley is more exuberant, full-bodied, polished, and age-worthy, while the Decoy Sonoma bottling is ready to drink now, and I think the more a tad more food friendly of the two. It offers fabulous value for the price. Think Napa Valley for a weekend wine, and the Decoy Sonoma for a weekday wine! Either way, Duckhorn has got you covered!

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