Some of my favorite Napa Valley wines are made by Duckhorn. Their luscious and complex merlots would even make Miles from "Sideways" change his opinion of the grape. Greatness does not come cheap, so the wonderful Duckhorn wines sit in the wine rack waiting for just that right occasion. That occasion may be let's say, Tuesday or a new episode of "House", but some event none the less.
Their winery is a must stop for my annual pilgrimage to Napa. Their tasting room is in such a beautiful structure and the entire tasting experience is just wonderful. You sit down at a table and the wonderful wines appear along with a very knowledgeable server to guide you through the tasting. It certainly beats standing elbow to elbow at some long bar hoping the staff notices you and deems you worthy of trying their wines.
The Duckhorn people know that their wine is expensive and have been offering a lower price label Decoy for some time now. Up until recently, Decoy has been a blend of grapes. Now, they are offering single varietal wines, still at affordable prices. I was not aware of this till I was buying some wine at my favorite local merchant. I had a bottle of Decoy in my basket, just thinking that is was the red wine blend of old. When he rang up the bottle, he said "You are going to love this, we just got this in." I looked at him perplexed knowing that I had purchased a bottle of Decoy just last week. I look down at the label and saw that it was marked cabernet sauvignon. I took my purchases home, eager to try this new Decoy.
It did not disappoint in any way, shape or form. I was a beautiful wine, showing off all those wonderful black fruit characteristics of a cab, but with soft enough tannins to enjoy now. I went out a obtained a Decoy merlot and was similarly impressed. While theses wines still retail for about $22 a bottle, they give you a good amount of the much more expensive Duckhorn wine experience.
Head to your local wine merchant and procure yourself a bottle of Decoy. Hurray, there is a Tuesday coming up.
