Decoy Limited Alexander Valley Merlot 2021
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James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wilfred
Wong
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
This vibrant and alluring Merlot draws you in with fragrances of ripe raspberry, Bing cherry, and red currant, as well as notions of cedar and sweet baking spice from oak aging. On the palate, velvety tannins accentuate the generous red berry and spice flavors as they flow to a long, juicy finish.
Blend: 86% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Syrah, 2% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Black cherries, blue plums and violets followed by sage, graphite, mint chocolate and cloves. Underlying saline notes. Full-bodied, firm yet finely grained tannins with soft yet bright acidity. Expressive on the nose but it doesn’t have any heaviness on the palate. Beautiful drinkability with zesty layers to it. A blend of 86% merlot, 5% petit verdot, 4% cabernet franc, 3% syrah and 2% malbec.
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Wine Enthusiast
This full-flavored Merlot could almost pass for a Cabernet due to its generous tannins, bold black-fruit flavors and satisfying depth. More sipping reveals more fruit, more oak smoke and a more mouthcoating texture. The wine will be best from 2025–2030.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2021 Decoy Limited Alexander Valley Merlot is pleasing, straightforward, and true. TASTING NOTES: This wine offers aromas and flavors of tart berries and red currants. Try it with lightly-spiced roasted game birds. (Tasted: July 7, 2023, San Francisco, CA)
Since the inaugural vintage of our Decoy Napa Valley Red Wine more than a quarter century ago, Decoy has taken an important place in the Duckhorn Portfolio of wines. With a reputation for delivering great quality at a remarkable price, Decoy has established a loyal following for its distinctive style, which emphasizes ready-upon-release wines that are capable of expressing their full charm and complexity in their youth. Building on this foundation, Decoy has evolved from being a single wine that supported the Duckhorn Vineyards brand to being a renowned winery in its own right.
The Decoy lineup now includes a Sonoma County appellation-designated Red Blend, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as a California Rosé, Pinot Noir and Sparkling Wine, all of which highlight Decoy’s commitment to producing attractively priced wines from exceptional vineyard sources.
Fruit for the Decoy program comes from a mix of Estate vineyards and top grower vineyards. From the wealth of viticultural and winemaking talent we can draw from, to our world-class cooperage program and more, Decoy benefits greatly from the remarkable resources of the Duckhorn Portfolio.
With generous fruit and supple tannins, Merlot is made in a range of styles from everyday-drinking to world-renowned and age-worthy. Merlot is the dominant variety in the wines from Bordeaux’s Right Bank regions of St. Emilion and Pomerol, where it is often blended with Cabernet Franc to spectacular result. Merlot also frequently shines on its own, particularly in California’s Napa Valley. Somm Secret—As much as Miles derided the variety in the 2004 film, Sideways, his prized 1961 Château Cheval Blanc is actually a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
Nearly a northern extension of Napa Valley, Alexander Valley starts just north of the small, Knights Valley, and is just a few minutes drive from the Napa town of Calistoga. It is Sonoma County’s hottest AVA. But the Russian River, which runs through the valley, creates cooler pockets and its soft, alluvial soil is ideal for grape growing, especially Cabernet Sauvignon. In fact, some believe that Alexander Valley Cabernets truly rival the best from Napa Valley and many of the heavy-hitter producers have largely invested here.
In addition to Cabernet Sauvignon, which makes up over 50% of plantings, Merlot and old vine Zinfandel thrive here. Ample, fleshy Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc dominate white wine production. Some old-vine plantings of Grenache have also been discovered and more recent experiments with Sangiovese and Barbera show great promise.