2023 Double Eagle Red Blend, Napa Valley, USA
The market on this bottle
Wine-Searcher tracks this 2023 Double Eagle Red Blend, Napa Valley across the open market. Their published U.S. low is $49.40 and the average is $49.40. Our slash is $49.00.
Grieve Family • Napa Valley • 2023
2023 Double Eagle Red Blend, Napa Valley, USA
Philippe Melka and Maayan Koschitzky.
It's $115 at winery. $100 Elsewhere. Today we have it for only $49!
That is 57% off the Grieve Family price. Taste it and the deal gets obvious.
Philippe Melka, in Grieve Family Winery's own film.
A cult superstar wine
Today we showcase another cult superstar wine: Double Eagle.
Winemaking Phenoms Philippe Melka and Maayan Koschitzky have shared the Grieve cellar and the winemaking duties since 2018. They are the core of Atelier Melka. Melka came through Haut-Brion, Petrus, Dominus, and Silver Oak. Koschitzky came through Screaming Eagle and Dalla Valle, then Lail, Seavey, and his own La Pelle. Wine Enthusiast named him to the 40 Under 40 in 2019.
The 2023 Double Eagle Red they bottled is 93% Cabernet and 7% Merlot. The fruit is Mill Creek Vineyard in St. Helena and Skellenger Vineyard in Oakville. It spent 18 months in barrel and used 60% New French oak.
This is another sensational wine from the duo. The wine is on the upswing, every vintage better than the last, and this year stood out from the recent Melka offerings.
“Plush all the way through, and it never goes heavy.”
Do you pour the second glass?
For the avid golf lover:
The round label carries two eagles over a golf ball. A double eagle is three under par on one hole, an ode to a golf fanatic.
Plum jam, then the fresh line under it
Plum jam arrives first, with blackberry coulis right beside it. Licorice, mocha, and flecks of fresh vanilla bean come in behind, the wine coats the mouth, and a fresh line stays under it the whole way.
An earthy mineral line runs under the fruit and holds a long finish.
The oak that tastes like vanilla
Melka trained in geology at Bordeaux, and you can taste the ground under the fruit. The oak gives you the vanilla, then it steps back, and the plum stays in front.
Love-all valley, then the valley floor
David and Kathleen left San Francisco for ten acres in Lovall Valley, and the valley is pronounced love-all. Fog sits in the bowl. The estate vineyard is Sauvignon Blanc and a smaller block of Merlot, and their sons Henry and Michael are in the work with them. The white from that hill is a different bottle.
Double Eagle is the red that leaves the fence. The white stays on the hill. This is the bottle that goes out into the valley.
The house, in Grieve Family Winery's own film.
A braise, or a steak with a crust
A plush Cabernet with this much fruit wants a plate that has some fat and a browned edge.
Short ribs
Braised beef short ribs, a dark jus, glazed carrots.
Why it works: The dark jus meets the plum, and the glazed carrots grab the sweetness in the glass.
View Recipe for braised beef short ribs (opens in a new tab)
Sliced steak
A browned crust, rosemary, a rosy center.
Why it works: The crust takes the Cabernet, and rosemary sits right with the vanilla.
View Recipe for rosemary butter-basted steak (opens in a new tab)Add the 2023.
The bottle is only $49. Add it.
