2020 Duckhorn Vineyards Merlot Napa Valley

Community Tasting Notes (13) Avg Score: 89.9 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Ben Christiansen's profile
  • Report Issue

  2/27/2024 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

  Rich and powerful. Little bit omre structured and coating character.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View El_Dougo's profile
  • Report Issue

  1/15/2024 - El_Dougo Does not like this wine: 88 Points

  I was underwhelmed by this restaurant purchase at pricey steakhouse. Perhaps it was prior right bank tastings or just wishful thinking that I might find a back door to value at an expensive restaurant I was hoping for far more than we got.
  
  After 30 min decanting the nose was med intensity at best with a simplistic, plum driven tone. Some oak but again very monotone. Didn’t change or open further throughout the night.
  Palate was dry, med acidity, smooth tannins but high alcohol resulting in a lack of balance. Curiously, the body was a lot more medium than full (almost light, but totally lacking energy). Not very complex at all. Medium length.
  
  Interesting to note that my device of Duckhorn Napa Cab similarly described it as one-dimensional. I’ll keep any eye out for more complex Duckhorns if they exist.

  1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View MaVino13's profile
  • Report Issue

  11/27/2023 - MaVino13 Likes this wine: 88 Points

  Wine Rating Methodology
  96-100: One of the most enjoyable wines I have ever tasted. I would not hesitate to open this wine for any Master of Wine.
  91-95: Extremely enjoyable wine that I would drink and buy again. Fantastic to open up for those who appreciate wine.
  85-90: Decent to good wine. Weekday bottle you don’t feel guilty about not finishing.
  Below 85: would not drink or buy again.
  ***Price of wine vs. enjoyment (value) is taken into consideration
  ***I do not provide tasting notes as everyone’s palate is different and will have a different experience.

  2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Gjagai's profile
  • Report Issue

  11/25/2023 - Gjagai Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Color hue clarity: deep red garnet, opaque, almost purple
  
  Aroma bouquet: jam, perfumed, berry, sweet
  
  Taste texture finish balance: juicy, smooth tannins, plums, berries, jam, fruit forward, quick smooth finish, light/medium body,
  
  Overall: 4/5, excellent on it's own, better with cheese and lamb. Lacks some complexity and body.

  1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View kostaslonis's profile
  • Report Issue

  11/13/2023 - kostaslonis wrote:

  Duckhorn Tasting, Oenocosmos (Drakoulis meat, Kolonaki): Drought, 40% new oak, 15 moths in French oak
  -/-
  The wine shows very ripe profile, highly alcoholic profile, the oak is very much upfront, black fruit ripeness, coffee notes, liqueur notes, chocolate notes
  Palate that shows high extraction, very ripe, high alcohol, med to full body, strong oak profile, there is an underlying sweetness here in an otherwise very harsh profile, long finish

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

View all 13 Community Tasting Notes

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.