Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

Duckhorn Merlot (Napa Valley) 1997

I bought this wine in June 2002 for about $45. Frankly, I had sort of lost track of it (hey, you try keeping track of several dozen cases scattered across 4 storage locations!), and when two bottles turned up recently I was a little doubtful as to whether they'd still be good. At nearly nine years of age, a point at which most California Merlots have long since given up the ghost, however, this wine is still going strong. Indeed, I think I'll give that last bottle until it turns 10 in fall 2007 to see what happens.

Although there might be a very slight hint of volatile acidity, this bottle was still quite agreeable. It is an elegant wine with a lot of finesse. An aromatic and still quite fruity bouquet is followed by a medium bodied palate impression with a long finish. Plums, prunes, and black cherries, plus a touch of mocha java. Grade: A--

Update (3/2007): Now on the downhill side, the last bottle nevertheless gave considerable pleasure. The wood is now much more dominant, with a lot of vanilla oak influence. Yet, there was still plenty of dried fruit flavors. Still, drink up.