Mission Codename Next duck in a row
All Three Palms are GONZO. There wasn’t a 4th palm. (Bad joke, sorry, could not help it!)
However…
Duckhorn day continues!
You already know Duckhorn’s legacy, spanning decades. Their list of hits reads like a never-ending CVS receipt. They sit in a pantheon of producers like Silver Oak, Mondavi, and other early pioneers in the Napa Valley.
We’re back with a classic Napa Cabernet Sauvignon from the esteemed producer. This brings numerous raving reviews and ratings in the 93-94 range to back it up. If you like their Merlot, you like their Cab. It’s a simple corollary. Both deliver the goods and will make a statement on the table at any dinner today or 15 years in the future when who knows what this will cost. Normally around $75, but we have the digits reversed, it’s just $57 today, and long sold out at the winery.
This has first-growth Bordeaux vibes with subtle red and black fruits tossed up with herbs and minerals. An old-school throwback Napa Valley style, none of the overblown and uber-extracted flair some others need to get attention. Sure, it has loads of ripe fruit too, but it also delivers graphite, tilled earth, violets, and tobacco with penetrating precision, and sexy, toasty oak. It’s a benchmark Cab, a beacon of quality, integrity, and consistency.
As Decanter points out “In 1976 no one could have foreseen how internationally recognizable the lithograph label of a mallard duck would become.” Therefore, we invite you to get your ducks in a row and grab what you can while you can, but be quack, err… we mean quick!
94 Points – Wine Review Online
“Duckhorn’s Napa Valley Cabernet is unusually approachable in its youth with this vintage, with forward ripe fig, blackberry and currants ruling the roost on the nose and in the mouth. Don’t worry though, it’s got plenty of stuffing for either rich meat dishes now, or extended cellar time.”
93 Points – Decanter
“Leading with 83% Cabernet Sauvignon and 16% Merlot, sourced from Rutherford, Oak Knoll, Napa Valley, Calistoga, and Oakville, then aged 16 months in 50% new French oak, this is a classic, quintessential Napa Cabernet. Flashy, brambly blackberry, black olive, plums, and cassis aromas continue on the chewy palate, along with pencil shavings, tobacco, chocolate and vanilla. Supple mouthfeel with a dusty tannin backbone and excellent balance between sweet and savoury flavours. A lovely vintage of this wine to enjoy now and over the next decade. Drinking window 2021-2031.”
93 Points – Wine Spectator
“This is streamlined in feel despite the obvious power here, thanks to a bright mineral and sanguine spine that courses underneath the mix of plum, cassis, and cherry reduction flavors. Roasted applewood note through the finish adds energy. Rock solid. Drink now through 2031.”
What the Winery Says
2018 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
- Winemaker
- Renée Ary
- Varietals
- 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 0.8% Cabernet Franc, 0.2% Petit Verdot
- Vintage
- 2018
- Alcohol
- 14.5%
- Appellation
- Napa Valley
- VTotal acidity
- 0.60 g/100 ml
- pH
- 3.63
- Aging
- 16 months
- Barrels
- 100% French oak: 50% New, 50% Neutral