2014 Duckhorn Merlot Napa Valley (1.5 L) Magnum

Exceptional Price—Duckhorn Magnums

Collector’s alert! The #1 Napa Valley Merlot in Magnum!

Since the early 1980s, Duckhorn’s Merlots have ranked among Napa Valley’s most iconic reds, standing shoulder to shoulder with Silver Oak and Opus One. In Napa’s 2014 “dream vintage,” Duckhorn produced possibly its most powerful Merlot ever, with the Three Palms cuvée winning Wine Spectator’s #1 wine of the year. The runner-up? winemaker Renée Ary’s thrilling 2014 Duckhorn Merlot Napa Valley release which earned 92 points from Wine Spectator, calling it “plush and rich-tasting.”

Infused with luscious aromas of crushed black fruits, graphite, and tobacco, laced with new-wood cedar, it would age gracefully for another 5-7 years out of 750ml bottles. And out of MAGNUMS, like today’s offer? Tack on a decade! This release is already sold out at the winery so consider this your last shot at this stunning collectible from a Napa legend. Released at $108, only $89.99 per magnum on 6 or more. Highly recommended.

Last month, I attended a private tasting in the cellar of one of Sonoma’s legendary “Don’s” of the wine business. The tasting was blind and featured about 15 old Merlots from California. Some of the greatest winemakers of our generation were there to present bottles from their own cellars, including Ed Sbragia (Beringer), Mike Cox (Schug), Kim Nicholls (Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Markum), Keith Casale (Rombauer), and Tom Rinaldi, the founding winemaking of Duckhorn.

Of all the incredible wines tasted, the highlights were a 2000 Beringer Private Reserve from Bancroft Vineyard on Howell Mountain, a 2000 Freemark Abbey from Rutherford, and the star of the show: a 2000 Duckhorn Merlot Napa Valley—OUT OF MAGNUM. It was a mesmerizing wine, which in the blind tasting, had everyone fooled of its origins—assumed to be a French Right Bank Grand Cru Classé just to throw us all off. Ya know, a blind tasting parlor trick.

No, in fact, it was the Duckhorn, and at 18 years old, was rocking: it showed stunning earthy notes, pipe tobacco, powerful ripe tannins, black cherry and black plum fruit, sweet spices, and drew a bevy of compliments from the stingy crowd of Napa celebrity winemakers.       

It should be no surprise when you consider the now-famous story. In the mid-70s, Dan Duckhorn and the brilliant winemaker Ric Forman set themselves a difficult and ambitious goal: to coax Bordeaux-like elegance from the warm, rolling hills of Napa Valley. The duo made their way to France and spent the better part of a year in deep study of the most prestigious estates of the Right and Left Bank. Whey they returned to Napa, they began scoping out vineyards they believed could offer First Growth potential on the West Coast—they found it in Three Palms. Rinaldi was hired and stuck around for 20 years, lifting Duckhorn into the pantheon of Napa wineries.

Today, Ary is following suit, and every blue-chip steakhouse in America stands in line for its annual allocation of Duckhorn's fabulous Merlots. In the phenomenal Napa vintages (like 2012, 2013, and 2014), Duckhorn’s Merlots took on a far more Cabernet-like complexion, marrying sleek lines and tremendous concentration, driving Napa red lovers absolutely crazy. Out of 750ml bottles, they showed excellent aging promise. Out of the limited-release magnums, the wines promised to knit into mouth-filling richness and extraordinary depth over a decade or more.

Wine Spectator called 2014 “a dream vintage” for Napa; James Suckling declared it one of the best years in the last two decades, giving birth to perfectly ripe grapes, with immense concentration and complexity, thanks to the fourth consecutive year of drought. At Duckhorn, an early bud break brought on by a warm spring led into ideal conditions that furnished this Merlot with its seamless focus and firm tannins. This 2014 will show as beautifully as that 2000 with proper cellaring. So, lock into a few bottles to enjoy now, and well on down the road.

Restaurant allocations and collectors have already sold this wine out at the winery. This is your last shot to take home one of the starring Merlots of a historic vintage.