Duckhorn Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

89 pts on a Barrel Tasting from Wine Spectator! - Intense and firmly structured, with vivid ripe plum and blackberry fruit that's well-centered, with a dusty, savory, earthy edge that provides a nice baseline. This has a nice measure of restraint and refinement. Best from 2009 through 2015. 11,782 cases made. JL - Aug 06 Issue of the Wine Spectator - Winemaker's notes: A classic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, this elegantly balanced wine combines generous fruit-forward structure with age-worthy tannins and a long, satisfying finish. From its layered aromatics to its lush palate read more...of flavors, this wine brings together an array of red and black fruit elements, including red currant, baked plum, blackberry and sweet black cherry. Adding further depth to this core of ripe fruit are notes of vanilla, molasses, allspice, fresh herbs and black olive. -    (hide)

February 2009

Underperforms for a $50 bottle. There's nothing here that you can't get from any decent $20 Napa Valley Cab, or from Duckhorn's entry-level wine, Decoy.
Not bad, just disappointingly typical.

October 2009

Raspberry jam on the nose -- black fruit palate. It's quite tight and could use a few more years to mature fully. Leathery finish.

May 2008

Blend: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot
A classic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, this elegantly balanced wine combines generous fruit-forward structure with age-worthy tannins and a long, satisfying finish.

From its layered aromatics to its lush palate of flavors, this wine brings together an array of red and black fruit elements, including red currant, baked plum, blackberry and sweet black cherry. Adding further depth to this core of ripe fruit are notes of vanilla, molasses, allspice, fresh herbs and black olive.
"Dense purple hue. Complex scents of read more...black cherry, cassis and sweet tobacco. Big, rich flavors of raspberry, Bing cherry and cocoa with secondary nuances of tea and mocha. Creamy acidity and velvety tannins in the black cherry-driven close."
-The Wine News

   (hide)

November 2008

Tasted blinded at Snooth panel tasting and was very disappointed. My notes had notes like: unbalanced, short finish, peppermint tic-tacs, lacking in acid. Was very surprised this came from Duckhorn.

• Tags:
• short finish
• eucalyptus
• pepemint tic-tacs

January 2009

Napa Valley Estate Program, which is comprised of seven properties totaling 175 planted vine acres and featuring a diversity of soil types, elevations and microclimates. These mountain and valley floor vineyards are meticulously farmed by our experienced in-house vineyard team to ensure excellence throughout the viticultural process. The team harvests the grapes at optimal maturity, going through vineyard sites several times, picking only the ripe fruit with each pass. In any given harvest we have 30 or more separate lots of Estate wine. The final blend for this wine is approachable in read more...its youth, with a soft texture and notable finesse, while still possessing the structure to age for a decade or longer.
A classic Cabernet Sauvignon that is blended with Merlot to add complexity and round out the mid-palate, this is a layered, mouth-filling wine with ripe, integrated tannins and a fine-grained finish. Dark aromas of toffee, hickory, bacon, cedar and smoke are contrasted by vibrant elements of red currant and spearmint. On the palate, black currant and blueberry flavors dominate, underscored by notes of earth and oak.    (hide)

February 2009

Blend: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot A classic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, this elegantly balanced wine combines generous fruit-forward structure with age-worthy tannins and a long, satisfying finish. From its layered aromatics to its lush palate of flavors, this wine brings together an array of red and black fruit elements, including red currant, baked plum, blackberry and sweet black cherry. Adding further depth to this core of ripe fruit are notes of vanilla, molasses, allspice, fresh herbs and black olive. Dense purple hue. Complex scents of black cherry, cassis and sweet read more...tobacco. Big, rich flavors of raspberry, Bing cherry and cocoa with secondary nuances of tea and mocha. Creamy acidity and velvety tannins in the black cherry-driven close. -The Wine News    (hide)

Not bad, but a disappointment for the price. It lost out (in a blind tasting of 8 people) to wines that were $50.

Having said that, its a good wine. Fruity, rich, powerful. Very jammy, just with a chemical edge. There's some nice mint and eucalyptus which helps balance the richness,

Tasted at the Snooth PTP California Cab blind tasting:
http://www.snooth.com/talk/topic/snooth-ptp-california-cabernet

• Tags:
• Mint
• Chemical
• Jammy

December 2008

Blend: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot A classic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, this elegantly balanced wine combines generous fruit-forward structure with age-worthy tannins and a long, satisfying finish. From its layered aromatics to its lush palate of flavors, this wine brings together an array of red and black fruit elements, including red currant, baked plum, blackberry and sweet black cherry. Adding further depth to this core of ripe fruit are notes of vanilla, molasses, allspice, fresh herbs and black olive.

The Wine News rating: 94

No written review

April 2008

No written review

October 2008

No written review

July 2008

No written review

December 2008

No written review

August 2009

Nose: lots of fruit. hints of marshmallows and chocolate, sort of like 'smores.

Flavor Profile: Good acid and lots of fruit. a little bit of clarified butter. Finishes with skittles, strong tannins, and undertones of leather and cooked meat.

September 2007