Blended with 6% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Malbec, this vintage is superb and exuberant in flavors of chocolate-covered plum, baking spice and dried herb. Structured, robust and mineral-driven, it is powerful yet balanced. (VB)

Duckhorn's Three Palms bottlings inevitably vie for top honors, and this latest incarnation is a deep and character-loaded wine rife with concentrated, black cherry fruit and decked out with a lovely complement of sweet, slightly caramelly oak. It is broad and full-bodied on the palate, and, although it teases with early suppleness as good Merlot is wont to do, it is, in fact, a very solidly built wine that suggests a bit of Cabernet structural influence and gradually tightens and finishes with moderate tannins making a good case for at least four or five more years of age.

Vibrant acidity supports polished flavors of plum tart, dried cherry and dark olive, backed by crisp tannins. Dark chocolate notes merge with herbal accents on the liltingly smoky finish. (KM)