Mustard’s Grill on the St Helena Highway, Napa Valley, is a top spot. Self-described as a fancy rib joint with way too many wines, its most celebrated dish is the Truckstop Deluxe – ‘always meat, sometimes potatoes, rarely vegetables’. I can never get enough of it and have popped many a shirt button there.
It was in this glutton’s/lush’s paradise that I encountered the Decoy range of Duckhorn Vineyards. I was instantly smitten. They are impeccable wines from a great Napa estate. Expressly made to be enjoyed young, they ain’t cheap, but compared with other Napa wines of similar quality they are remarkably good value, especially with the discount that Mr Wheeler are generously offering. We rarely offer California wines, least of all of this quality, and I urge you to get stuck in.
The 2020 Duckhorn Decoy Sauvignon Blanc (1) is full, rich and concentrated, with notes of orange peel, lemon, apple, melon, grass and herbs. It’s a cracker and just one sip caused Mrs Ray (who has recently rather taken against Sauvignon Blanc) to beam the widest of beams. It has a weight, an almost buttery texture and slightly less acidity than one might expect, and just lashings of luscious fresh fruit. £27.50 down from £29.95.
Compared with other Napa wines of similar quality, the Duckhorn Decoy range is remarkably good value
The 2020 Duckhorn Decoy Limited Chardonnay (2) is 100 per cent Chardonnay from some of the best vineyard sites in Sonoma Coast. Part oak- and part steel-fermented and aged (with a touch of malolactic fermentation too), there’s depth and complexity here along with fresh, rich, lively, rounded citrus and white stone fruit and a long savoury finish. £36.50 down from £38.95.
The 2019 Duckhorn Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon (3) is rich, dark and intense with hints of mint, plum, blueberry and blackcurrant, and it’s no surprise to learn that there’s a hefty splash of softening Merlot.
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