Winemaker Notes
#15 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2020
Once again, the famed Three Palms Vineyard has yielded a fascinating and full-bodied Merlot. Luxurious aromas of black cherry, plum, raspberry, cedar, and wet slate rise from the glass where they mingle with hints of chocolate and sweet baking spices. On the palate, dusty tannins add nuance and sophistication to a round, fleshy texture, with flavors of black and red fruit, fig and iron-rich earthy notes drawing the wine to a long, resonant finish.
Blend: 91% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Malbec, 1% Cabernet Franc,1% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Powerful, rich and complex, with a refined mix of currant, dark cherry and plum tart flavors backed by suave, medium-grained tannins. Well-defined slate and loamy notes stretch out nicely on the finish, with black olive hints. Drink now through 2027.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Taking its accustomed place among the very best Merlots of the vintage, Duckhorn’s iconic Three Palms bottling is, once again, a near-succulent effort that is generously appointed with beautifully focused, optimally ripened, black cherries, but deep fruit is only one part of its appeal, and its layered, sweet oak and loamy soil complexities along with its impeccable structure and balance impart a degree of seriousness that separates it from the pack. While so rich as to tempt early drinking, this is a cellar-worthy Merlot that is destined to evolve famously for years, and there is simply no questioning its ability to become ever more involving as the next decade unfolds.
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine from a famous vineyard delivers brightly layered red fruit, crushed rock and dried herb. Powerful intensity marks the palate, with dense, grippy tannin's and well integrated oak providing breadth and weight. Enjoy from 2027–2032. Cellar Selection
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The multifaceted 2017 Duckhorn Vineyards Three Palms Merlot is a standout wine. TASTING NOTES: This wine deftly combines black fruits and graphite in its aromas and flavors. Enjoy its firm and expansive palate with a juicy, grilled ribeye topped with minced shallots and many grinds of whole black peppercorns. (Tasted: July 22, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine & Spirits
The three palms at this vineyard line the valley floor at a seam of rocks between St. Helena and Calistoga. That rocky soil has proven to be a great medium for the roots of merlot vines, allowing them to ripen cool fruit in the midst of a hot place. This 2017 is luscious, layering high tones of strawberries with darker depths of black cherries and herbs. Its richness would be delicious with rare filet mignon.
With generous fruit and supple tannins, Merlot is made in a range of styles from everyday-drinking to world-renowned and age-worthy. Merlot is the dominant variety in the wines from Bordeaux’s Right Bank regions of St. Emilion and Pomerol, where it is often blended with Cabernet Franc to spectacular result. Merlot also frequently shines on its own, particularly in California’s Napa Valley. Somm Secret—As much as Miles derided the variety in the 2004 film, Sideways, his prized 1961 Château Cheval Blanc is actually a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
One of Napa Valley’s oldest wine growing subregions but last to gain appellation status, Calistoga occupies the northernmost section of the valley. Beginning at the foot of Mount St. Helena, its vineyards stretch over steep canyons and roll out onto the valley floor. The soils in Calistoga are volcanic, which means they are heavy in minerals, low in organic matter and allow good drainage for vine roots, creating less green growth and more concentration of flavor within the grape berries.
Summer days are very hot but most nights cool down with moist ocean breezes sneaking in over the Mayacamas Mountains or from Knights Valley to its northwest.
Cabernet Sauvignon is the area’s star variety with Zinfandel coming in a strong second, though the latter commands far less price per tonnage so continues to be outshined by Cabernet in vineyard acreage, save for some important exceptions.