Napa Valley is home to several very fine Merlot producers. Among them, Duckhorn has been one of the most consistent flag-bearers. Dan Duckhorn fell for Merlot while on a mid-1970s trip through the Right Bank of Bordeaux with Rick Forman, then winemaker for Sterling Vineyards. He returned to Napa Valley intent on making fine Merlot there and, in 1976, established Duckhorn Vineyards with his wife, Margaret.

The Duckhorn Vineyard House, Napa Valley

Planting Merlot in Napa Valley would hardly seem daring today, except, perhaps, due to the lower price per ton the grape earns relative to Cabernet Sauvignon. However, in that time, Merlot was neither widely planted nor highly sought after. In 1976, the Merlot crush in Napa was just 585 tons, less than Green Hungarian and only slightly more than half the volume of Carignane.

Duckhorn’s timing was good. Merlot’s popularity soon jumped. The Napa crush was 2,538 tons in 1980, 6,142 tons in 1990, and 27,737 tons in 2000. That enthusiasm for Merlot brought huge growth to Duckhorn. But then, Duckhorn has had more than a little to do with Merlot’s success as well.

Duckhorn’s first vintage, 1978, went to market at $12.50, about three times the going rate for Merlot. Duckhorn was also among the United States’ first wineries to offer a single-vineyard Merlot. And in 2017, the 2014 Duckhorn Three Palms Vineyard Merlot was named Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator magazine. [Paloma, in 2003, is the only other North American Merlot to receive that honor.]

Few Napa Valley wineries offer more than two or three different Merlot. Duckhorn produces six, with fruit sourced from nine of Napa Valley’s nested AVAs and as many as 60 different grower lots. That provides flexibility for blending and can lead to more complex wines. Duckhorn’s offerings include a Napa Valley blend, AVA designates from Atlas Peak and Carneros, plus single-vineyard wines from Stout (Howell Mountain), Three Palms (Calistoga), and Rector Creek (Yountville).

Duckhorn Vineyard-Designate Merlot Sites

Three Palms Vineyard is the best-known of Duckhorn’s Merlot properties. They’ve offered a Three Palms vineyard-designate from their very first vintage in 1978. It’s a flat, 73.66 acre plot on the valley floor in Calistoga with vines replanted in the late 1990s. 

The Silverado Trail defines the vineyard’s eastern boundary and there’s just one vineyard between it and Larkmead Lane to the south. Soils are various loams with volcanic rock scattered on top. In addition to Merlot, it has Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petite Verdot. It’s a warm, dry site which P. J. Alviso, Duckhorn VP of Winegrowing, says delivers a masculine Merlot that is even more structured than the Cabernet Sauvignon.

Stout Vineyard is off of White Cottage Road on Howell Mountain. It lies at 2,080 feet, within a ring formed by Beringer’s Steinhauer Ranch and Dunn’s four vineyards. The vines are approaching 30 years of age.

Rector Vineyard is in the extreme northeast corner of the Yountville AVA. Its eastern boundary is Silverado Trail. To the north is Rector Creek and the Oakville AVA. The soils are a combination of rock eroded from the volcanic Vaca Range and fluvial deposits from both Rector Creek and the Napa River.

Reviews of Duckhorn Merlot

2015 Decoy Merlot Sonoma County 88 13.9% 750ml $25

Medium-bodied with aromas and flavors of bing cherries, spice, wood and a touch of dry herb. Tannins are moderate and fine-grained, providing structure without diminishing the flavors. This Decoy is very drinkable on its own, but will be better with food. Drink through 2020.

2016 Decoy Merlot Sonoma County 88+ 13.9% 750ml $25

Weightier, with more generous fruit, than the 2015, this Merlot also brings bing cherry, spice and oak, but adds an attractive cocoa note. An appetizing dinner wine with persistent acidity. Drink through 2021.

2014 Duckhorn Merlot Napa Valley 90+ 14.5% 750ml $56

The nose is alive with ripe red cherry, oak and spice. Body is medium-plus on the palate, with very fine, soft tannins which frame the long flavors of red cherry, black cherry, spice and aged wood, but don’t necessitate food. Drink through 2021.

2015 Duckhorn Merlot Napa Valley 91 14.5% 750ml $56

The 2015 matches plush tannins with gently tart red cherries, yummy dark chocolate, spice and wood. Body is medium-plus and the finish quite long. Best through 2023.

2014 Duckhorn Merlot Three Palms Vineyard, Napa Valley 93+ 14.5% 750ml $98

Dark ruby in the glass with generous aromas of spice, oak, black cherry and sweet herb. It’s nearly full-bodied on the palate with plenty of fine tannins and very long flavors of caramel, espresso, dark red cherry, black plum, and oak. This is an excellent Merlot which kept getting better as I came back to it over three days. Enjoy now through 2025+. Consider decanting if drinking it soon.

2015 Duckhorn Merlot Three Palms Vineyard, Napa Valley 94 14.7% 750ml $98

A more than worthy successor to to the celebrated 2014, this Merlot offers even more intensity and complexity. The color is opaque ruby-purple and the aromas replete with dark plum, blackberry, sweet black cherry, oak, spice and dark flowers. Concentrated flavors of mocha, black cherry, dark flowers and tangy herb are accompanied by luxurious tannins and balancing acidity on the extremely long, full-bodied palate. Now through 2027+

About Duckhorn Wine Company

In 2007, a portion of Duckhorn’s ownership was taken on by GI Partners, a Menlo Park-based private equity firm.  Dan and Margaret Duckhorn had 80 small investors for a long time and many were needing to cash out. GI sold their stake to another investment company, San Francisco-based TSG Consumer Partners, in late 2016. All employees were retained. Dan and Margaret remain involved.

Duckhorn Wine Co. includes not just the original, Duckhorn winery, but also Paraduxx (Yountville), Goldeneye (Anderson Valley), Decoy and Migration (Sonoma County), and Canvasback (Red Mountain AVA in Washington State). In late 2017, Duckhorn Wine Co. bought Calera (Mt. Harlan AVA) from Josh Jensen who had founded it in 1975. In July 2018, Duckhorn Wine Co. purchased the Sebastopol-based Kosta-Browne winery, along with its highly respected estate vineyards: Gaps Crown (Petaluma Gap AVA), Keefer Ranch (Russian River Valley AVA), and Cerise (Anderson Valley AVA).

Copyright Fred Swan 2018. Photos courtesy of Duckhorn Vineyards. All rights reserved.