Wine & Spirits - October 2019 - 83

US NEW RELEASES
518050

90 | Ridge

$85

2016 Santa Cruz Mountains Klein Monte
Bello Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ^ Ridge
collectors may remember the Jimsomare
cabernets that Paul Draper made until 1997.
They came from a property on Monte Bello
Road that Pierre Klein had originally planted
to cabernet in the late 19th century, and was
replanted in the 1970s. When Ridge signed a
long-term lease on the vineyard in 1996, the
fruit became part of the Monte Bello blend.
The 2016 is the first separate bottling from
the site in two decades. The site is lower in
elevation than others in the Monte Bello collection, with wider shifts between day and
nighttime temperatures, generating a redfruited cabernet with an oceanic freshness
and an acidity that feels pithy. It's tight and
reductive (a little youthfully stinky), needing
five years or more to begin to show its best.
(350 cases) -J.G.

87 | Z. Alexander Brown

$18

2017 California Uncaged Cabernet Sauvignon (Best Buy) ^ With plenty of plump,
extracted dark-berry fruit and mocha flavors,
this is balanced for a juicy burger. -P.J.C.

MERLOT
517762

93 | Duckhorn

$78

2016 Carneros Napa Valley Merlot ^ Merlot
at its silken best, this makes the most of the
variety's fine tannins to support and coddle
its generous red fruit. It's firm and lovely,
delivering richness while sustaining clarity.
Delicious with roast duck. (500 cases) -J.G.
517761

92 | Duckhorn

$78

2016 Atlas Peak Merlot ^ A gentle mountaingrown merlot from Napa Valley's eastern
peaks, this brings earthy black mushroom
notes to its plump cherry-red fruit. Pick up
on the savory notes with short ribs, or highlight the sweeter fruit with spare ribs; it will
go either way. (500 cases) -J.G.

517758

90 | Duckhorn

$110

2016 Napa Valley Three Palms Vineyard
Merlot ^ If you spend some time with this
wine, the red fruit begins to emerge from
all the gamey, meaty darkness. At first it
smells and tastes like morcilla, if morcilla
were made from duck. The spiciness opens
as the fruit comes forward, the tannins still
black but predicting a long life ahead. Three
Palms is a rocky mid-Valley site near the border between St. Helena and Calistoga, a vineyard designate for Duckhorn since 1978 and
part of the winery's estate since 2015. (4,500
cases) -J.G.

517925

90 | Silverado Vineyards

$125

2016 Stags Leap District Napa Valley
Solo Cabernet Sauvignon ^ John Emmerich
focuses this wine on the Heritage Disney Silverado clone, isolated at Silverado's estate
vineyards in SLD in 1989 by Phil Freese and
Deborah Golino. It's classic Stags Leap District cabernet in its softness and richness, a
textural pleasure amplified by blueberry flavors and smoky oak. Simple and grapey in its
youth, this will gain depth as it ages past its
primary fruit. (1,106 cases) -J.G.
517713

90 | Spottswoode

$85

2016 Napa Valley Lyndenhurst Cabernet
Sauvignon ^ Aron Weinkauf blends this wine
from both estate-grown and purchased fruit,
mostly from St. Helena, with a contribution
from Atlas Peak. The tannins lend allspice
and mixed peppercorn notes to the wine's
warm black-currant flavors, creating a gentle
cabernet. There's some crunchy red fruit in
the middle that may lengthen out with bottle
age. For now, the wine's lean tannins need
meat. (1,826 cases) -J.G.
517993

517929

92 | Silverado Vineyards

$40

2016 Coombsville Napa Valley Mt. George
Vineyard Merlot ^ Merlot thrives in the cool
benchlands of Coombsville, tucked against
the hills just east of the town of Napa. Silverado's estate vineyard consistently produces a
quietly rich merlot, this vintage lasting on
dark rose scents; its gentle tannins bring
bass notes of chocolate bitterness to ground
the fragrant fruit. Decant this wine for roast
quail. -J.G.
517363

91 | Chappellet

$45

2016 Napa Valley Merlot ^ A clear line of
fresh cherry flavor drives this wine, rosy and
plump, its fragrance lifted by the tart redapple-skin melding of acidity and tannins
that gives it a lilting impression of birdsong.
The alcohol stands out in the end, suggesting
that you wait six months for the structure to
integrate. Or serve it cellar temperature now
with steak tartare. (1,154 cases) -J.G.

517759

90 | Duckhorn

$56

89 | Tortoise Creek

$12

86 | Decoy

$25

2016 Napa Valley Merlot ^ A plump and
plummy merlot, this is soft and generous,
the kind of warm, fruity red that will appeal
to a wide range of red-wine drinkers. There's
nothing complicated about it, just pure
enjoyment with most anything meaty off
the grill. -J.G.
518115
2017 Clarksburg The Revivalist Merlot
(Best Buy) ^ This smells of ripe blueberries
and sweet caramel, a big wine that's texturally direct and vibrant, with the energy to
pair with lamb chops. (5,000 cases) -P.J.C.
517369
2017 Sonoma County Merlot (Best Buy) ^
A heady merlot, this is gamey and dense.
Match its dark fruit to braised duck. -J.G.
WINE & SPIRITS

OCTOBER 2019

https://www.duckhorn.com/product/2016-duckhorn-vineyards-napa-valley-merlot-three-palms-vineyard?pageID=50ECCF20-DCD4-E108-AF85-0FF4248DAED9&sortBy=DisplayOrder&maxRows=36&&productListName=Merlot&position=6 https://www.silveradovineyards.com/shop/wine https://www.silveradovineyards.com/shop/wine https://www.duckhorn.com/product/2016-duckhorn-vineyards-napa-valley-merlot?productListName=Merlot&position=1

Wine & Spirits - October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - October 2019