Duckhorn Vineyards Decoy Napa Valley Red Blend 2006

Is it bad to love a second label more than the first? When the wines are young, I tend to pick Decoy over the same vintage Duckhorn. The 2006 Decoy is no exception. One year after my first review of this wine, good balance, a little hot, smokiness, spice, and leather. Earthy, nice tannins and dark fruit. Worked well with a rib-eye.

September 2009

Wine Tasting NotesThis well-structured Napa Valley Red Wine offers rich, mouth-filling fruit flavors, elegant balance and supple yet defined tannins. The bouquet displays enticing lavender, violet and rose petal floral notes, intertwined with menthol, black cherry, smoke and spice. On the palate, layers of red currant, plum, tobacco, black pepper and pencil lead surround a juicy core of brambly black fruit highlighted by blackberry and black cherry.

January 2009

Wow ... in the tradition of first growth French wines, this is Duckhorn's second label. Maybe it's because I'm on my second glass but I really, really like this wine. Not overly complex but great balance and it hits the spot for a Tuesday night.

May 2008

Easy drinking wine

June 2009

Duckhorn 2006 Decoy
The first time I had this wine was on a quick trip with my husband to Sedona, Arizona. We were at a fabulous restaurant with a wine list to match and thought this was the most reasonably priced Duckhorn wine wed ever seen. The price was enough for us to order a bottle and when we took our first sip, it was big, bold and full of flavor, just the style we love. Kudos to Duckhorn for making a terrific wine we dont need a special occassion to enjoy!
Like the wines of Duckhorn Vineyards, Decoy is produced from classic Bordeaux varietals. With a new composition every vintage, this read more...unique red is blended from a changing combination of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot to create an engaging Napa Valley red wine. Crafted to drink upon release, Decoy benefits from the rigorous standards established for producing Duckhorn Vineyards estate wine program. Vineyard lots used in making Decoy are harvested, vinified and barrel-aged separately so that winemaker Bill Nancarrow has a full palette of flavors to choose from for the final blend. In addition, the Decoy varies by vintage. The harvest and the quality of available fruit determine the quantity of Decoy made in a given year. As a result, this well-structured red wine offers classic Bordeaux varietal flavors such as black cherry and plum, backed by notes of cedar, leather, tobacco and pepper. The wines 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.    (hide)

November 2009

Duckhorn 2006 Decoy The first time I had this wine was on a quick trip with my husband to Sedona, Arizona. We were at a fabulous restaurant with a wine list to match and thought this was the most reasonably priced Duckhorn wine we'd ever seen. The price was enough for us to order a bottle and when we took our first sip, it was big, bold and full of flavor, just the style we love. Kudos to Duckhorn for making a terrific wine we don't need a special occassion to enjoy! Like the wines of Duckhorn Vineyards, Decoy is produced from classic Bordeaux varietals. With a new composition every vintage, read more...this unique red is blended from a changing combination of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot to create an engaging Napa Valley red wine. Crafted to drink upon release, Decoy benefits from the rigorous standards established for producing Duckhorn Vineyards' estate wine program. Vineyard lots used in making Decoy are harvested, vinified and barrel-aged separately so that winemaker Bill Nancarrow has a full palette of flavors to choose from for the final blend. In addition, the Decoy varies by vintage. The harvest and the quality of available fruit determine the quantity of Decoy made in a given year. As a result, this well-structured red wine offers classic Bordeaux varietal flavors such as black cherry and plum, backed by notes of cedar, leather, tobacco and pepper. 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.    (hide)