“I’ve refined the barrel program quite a bit to polish the tannins up yet still give the wine the structure to age,” she says. That regimen represents a shift by Ary from protocols that formerly saw 95 percent to 100 percent of the wine aged in new oak. The 2014 was aged 18 months in French oak barrels, 75 percent of which were new.
All the fruit for the wine comes from the 83-acre vineyard, 50 acres of which are planted to Merlot. The 2014 Three Palms comprises 86 percent Merlot, 8 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 4 percent Malbec and 2 percent Petit Verdot. “It’s warm and rocky, and you really have to be on top of things there because Merlot is susceptible to hydric stress,” which she manages through timely applications of water from drip irrigation.Īnd she respects the finicky nature of Merlot, from spring, when it is prone to poor fruit set, to harvest, when it can be damaged by rain and moisture because of its thin skin.
“Three Palms is a unique site for Merlot,” Ary explains. Ary credits Three Palms’ pedigree to the rocky volcanic soils formed by an alluvial fan that forces the vines to set down deep roots, resulting in grapes bursting with concentrated fruit flavors. It is one of the warmer areas in the valley, located just south of the town of Calistoga, whereas Merlot is typically grown in cooler conditions. Helena, in 2003 and has been head winemaker since 2014, making this Wine of the Year honor an auspicious start to her tenure in that role.įor Ary, the Three Palms site is a somewhat counterintuitive one for Merlot. Renée Ary, 41, started in the cellar, located off the Silverado Trail north of St. CEO and president Alex Ryan, 51, began working at the winery in 1988. The 2014 Three Palms is an elegant expression of Merlot, loaded with red fruit and spice flavors that are supported by medium-grained tannins.Ĭontinuity has been the cornerstone of Duckhorn’s success, not only with the vineyard but also with its winemaking and management team. The classic-scoring Duckhorn Merlot Napa Valley Three Palms Vineyard 2014 is Wine Spectator’s 2017 Wine of the Year. Their faith in the grape has been richly rewarded. The Duckhorns rode the boom in Merlot to financial success before the turn of the century, and weathered the fallout that followed the 2004 release of Sideways. But for Margaret and Dan Duckhorn, Three Palms was the anchor that helped them build one of Napa Valley’s most accomplished wineries.ĭan Duckhorn had been inspired to make Merlot after a trip in the mid-1970s to Bordeaux, where he was impressed by the grape’s approachability in comparison to the sometimes tannic characteristics of its sister Bordeaux variety Cabernet Sauvignon. San Francisco socialite Lillie Hitchcock Coit owned the site in the late-19th century and planted the original palms. Since its first vintage, in 1978, the winery has tapped one of the valley’s most storied vineyards: Three Palms, named for the trio of palms that grow in its midst. Duckhorn’s Three Palms bottling in the excellent 2014 vintage is ample proof.ĭuckhorn Vineyards was founded in Napa Valley in 1976, and Merlot has been its specialty from the start. Despite the comic derision heaped on the variety in the popular film Sideways, Merlot can make extraordinary wines in California.
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