A red Bordeaux blend features Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, with smaller portions of Malbec and Petit Verdot (and occasionally, Carménère). Bordeaux is divided by a large river estuary called the Gironde. This is where the terms “Left Bank” and “Right Bank” originate and refer to winemaker’s use of different dominant grapes in red Bordeaux wines. The Right Bank produces wines with Merlot as the primary blending grape. Wines from the Right Bank are renowned for their bold style with Merlot imparting a smoother texture and subtler tannins. On the Left Bank, Cabernet Sauvignon drives the blend, imparting peppery flavors and more muscular tannins. Throughout Bordeaux, Cabernet Franc is employed as a blending grape with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, imparting red fruit and complex peppery flavors and a lively finish.
This curated three-bottle selection features Bordeaux’s primary grapes as deliciously interpreted by Napa Valley winemakers. The selection includes:
- 94-point Ovid Hexameter (Cabernet Franc-driven, Bordeaux-grape blend) 2017
- 94-point Duckhorn The Discussion Napa Valley Red (classic Bordeaux-style blend) 2016
- 93-point Barnett Merlot Spring Mountain 2019
Get this set for $480.00 and save $54.00 off the combined regular retail price!
2017 OVID Hexameter
94 points, Jeb Dunnuck
"The 2017 Hexameter checks in as 47% Cabernet Franc, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 12% Merlot that was brought up in 60% new French oak. It has a terrific, spicy, complex style in its black raspberry and cassis fruits as well as notes of toasted bread, flowery incense, spice, and crushed flowers. Full-bodied, rich, and beautifully concentrated, it shows nicely integrated acidity, building tannins, and a great finish."
2016 Duckhorn The Discussion Napa Valley Red
94 points, Wine & Spirits Magazine
"Breaking from Duckhorn's focus on varietally labeled wines, Renee Ary blends The Discussion based on favored estate parcels. In 2016, it's 55% cabernet sauvignon, 43% merlot and 1% each of franc and petit verdot. Given enough time to evolve past the almost peachy ripeness of its fruit and the significant presence of oak (it spends 18 months in new French oak barrels, then another six months in neutral barrels), the wine feels complete and completely rich. It has none of the stodginess common to cabernet, instead presenting a powerful structure, intense and gracious in its bitter-chocolate tannins. All the elements point in an upward trajectory, a path they should follow with extended bottle age."
2019 Barnett Vineyards Spring Mountain Merlot
93 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
"Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2019 Merlot gives up seductive scents of plum pudding, fruitcake and boysenberries with touches of chocolate mint and star anise. Full-bodied, rich, soft and plush, it has lots of spicy nuances and a long, fragrant finish."
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