2016 Duckhorn Vineyards Napa Valley Merlot
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Our Napa Valley Merlot is a complex blend of several individual vineyard lots, incorporating fruit from our estate vineyards and from top independent growers throughout the Napa Valley. The final wine is a rich and cohesive expression of the entire Napa Valley, reflecting the varied microclimates and soils of this unique appellation.
Reviews
Wine Enthusiast
91
Wine & Spirits
90
Wine Profile
Production Notes
Varietal Content: 77% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, .5% Malbec, .5 % Petit Verdot; Cooperage: 100% French Oak; Age of Barrels: 40% New, 60% Neutral
Winemaker Notes
The 2016 growing season yielded a beautifully complex expression of Napa Valley Merlot, with inviting aromas of fresh black raspberry, vanilla, tea leaves, pie crust and licorice. On the palate, luxurious red-fruit flavors of strawberry, plum, Bing cherry and loganberry are supported by silky tannins and a bright, mouthwatering acidity that carries the wine to a lingering finish, with hints of maple, cedar and sweet spice.
Production
2016 offered another near-perfect vintage in Napa Valley! While much-needed rain during the winter months helped to replenish our reservoirs, a dry spring and summer, with moderate temperatures and plenty of sunshine, led to another early harvest. Our first white grapes came into the winery on August 3rd, with the remainder of our whites following at an even, steady pace. A few weeks of ideally timed cool weather in early September provided additional hangtime, yielding bright acids and beautifully articulated flavors in our early ripening reds. Warm, dry weather for the remainder of the season allowed the rest of our grapes to develop rich, concentrated flavors, with polished tannins and wonderful complexity.
Wine Specs
Wine Specs
Vintage
2016
Varietal
Merlot
Appellation
Napa Valley
Harvest Date
August 31 - October 19, 2016
Sugar
26.4° Brix at Harvest
Acid
0.55 g/100 ml titratable acidity
pH
3.27
Aging
15 Months in Barrel
Fermentation
10-12 days fermentation at 82°F
Alcohol %
14.5
Wine Enthusiast
91
Wine & Spirits
90
Product Reviews
Add a ReviewProduct Reviews
Kirk G
(May 3, 2019 at 9:12 PM)
Thoroughly enjoyable! Try it, it will not disappoint... if you share with guests their taste buds will be spoiled.
James Jarzynski
(Nov 28, 2019 at 7:41 PM)
We had the 2015 with our Thanksgiving turkey. Just wonderful.
Greg Siefert
(Aug 16, 2020 at 6:48 PM)
This wine has been blended to perfection with the addition of 22% Cabernet to 77% Merlot. When I first tried it I wondered how they could make such a deep, rich, complex merlot. Now I know. This particular vintage really shines...A+