Winemaker Notes
This vintage of our Decoy Napa Valley Red Wine offers enticing aromatics, sweet red fruit, supple tannins and firm, integrated oak. Beginning with aromas of raspberry, cherry pie, spice and cedar, the blend showcases an array of elements, from flavorful layers of cranberry, red currant and cassis to more nuanced hints of orange peel, amaretto and coffee. The medley of fruit continues throughout a long, enjoyable finish.
The 2007 growing season began early and was unusually dry, with rainfall totals that were 50 percent below average. Cool spring weather continued into the summer with temperatures down by approximately 5 degrees from August through October. The cool, steady weather produced a long harvest spread out over 80 days. This relaxed pace allowed us to pick in multiple passes, ensuring ideal ripening and flavor development in the fruit.
The wine's label features a decoy carved by Richard "Fresh-Air Dick" Janson (1872-1951) during the 1930s. Janson was a premier carver whose decoys are the most recognizable of all Pacific Coast carvings. Artist Michael Allard of Zimbabwe created a painting of this Pintail duck from the original carving. Both works reside in the Duckhorn Vineyards Estate House.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Mainly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, this is a dry, full-odied wine that shows considerable sophistication and elegance. Fruit aficionados will find a wealth of blackberries, cherries and cocoa, while structuralists will like the firm tannins and acids. Quite good now and for a few years.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.