F#!king Merlot...

At this point most people have seen the movie Sideways and the great scene where Paul Giamatti flips out and says he won't drink any f#!king merlot! A truly funny scene, mainly because his coveted bottle that he sips in a styrofoam cup in the closing scene is in fact, a good portion of it; wait for it, f#!king Merlot...OK so it has Cabernet Franc in it as well, but some years Merlot is the dominant grape. Duckhorn is the first taste of Merlot I had, and it ruined me forever. I thought I hated Merlot for many years. You see, I had gotten to finish a bottle a customer left for me, and it was gorgeous. So, on my own, buying Merlot was not good. I don't actually hate Merlot, I just like rather pricey renditions of the grape.
Fortunately, I discovered St Emilion and the right bank of Bordeaux. You can actually get affordable bottles there that are, yes f#!king Merlot.
But back to the Duckhorn....this bottle is tannic and dry, full of dark plums, violets and blackberries. It is one of those bottles that as it ages, gets velvety, with the tannins softening. It is beautiful with a nice steak or lamb chops. Duckhorn has built quite a reputation and for good reason.