Napa Valley is a region that rewards consistency with a high level of expectation, sometimes to the point of demanding it. Consumers expect a precise level of richness, depth and polish in these wines along with a sense of uniformity. Vice-President of Winemaking Renée Ary at Duckhorn Vineyards has followed this script closely as she crafts compelling wines with an artistic flair and an attention to detail that are consistently pleasurable. Refusing to follow trends, Ary refined Duckhorn’s architectural style maintaining its identity with a modern sensibility while preserving its traditional core. The result are wines that offer aromatic complexity, expansive flavor profiles and finely knit tannins without sacrificing ageability.

Renée Ary’s journey did not begin in wine country, but in her native home of New Jersey. From an early age, she encountered wine through her father’s travels to Spain, when he would return home with bottles for the family to share. After high school, her father accepted a position in California, relocating the family to Malibu, while Renée enrolled at St. Mary’s College in the East Bay. Her studies began with a major in chemistry and later broadened into art to engage her creative instincts—disciplines that would ultimately shape the foundation of her success in winemaking.

Given her background, Renée had considered working for a pharmaceutical company but instead accepted a lab position at Robert Mondavi Winery. As Renée recalls, “My husband and I stepped foot in Napa Valley and I remember thinking, well that sounds really different, a lab position. So sure enough, we drove out there and met with the Mondavi team and I got the job. Within two weeks, we had moved out there and of course, we were laughing because it was like so beautiful and I just got completely sucked into it immediately. It was so interesting because it was the perfect combination of science and art, you know, melded together.” Along the way she enhanced her academic training studying enology and viticulture at the University of California, Davis.

Renée considered Mondavi to have one of the best labs around and was cutting edge with the latest equipment. Robert Mondavi provided a training ground for Renée under the mentorship of iconic Winemaker Emeritus Geneviève Janssens. “I was always blown away at how they did blends at Mondavi and how many components there were, how everything was kept separate and how they could put 150 components together and end up with this incredibly beautiful wine.” During her four years at Robert Mondavi, Renée built a strong technical foundation and professional discipline that became the basis for her enduring career at Duckhorn Vineyards.

By 2003, she would transition to Duckhorn Vineyards inheriting the expectation and legacy that Dan and Margaret Duckhorn built around Merlot over decades. She advanced steadily at the winery, progressing from lab supervisor to company-wide quality control, then to assistant winemaker and associate winemaker, ultimately becoming head winemaker. Along this path, she worked closely with winemakers Mark Beringer and Bill Nancarrow becoming Duckhorn’s fourth winemaker in its storied history.

According to Renée, “Mark Beringer was definitely a big mentor for me. Mark is really where I started connecting the dots between, you know, what I was doing on the technical side in the winery and the tasting piece…really getting me out in the vineyards more and getting me familiar with kind of connecting the dots.” Renée took the reins as lead winemaker at Duckhorn in February 2014.

Renée is a very detail-driven winemaker, yet she also understands that great winemaking requires a balance—knowing when to guide the process and when to let the wine speak for itself. Her barrel program includes 50–60 different barrel types sourced from 25 barrel producers. Renée’s signature imprint on Duckhorn wines lies in their textural components. It’s noticeable that her wines reflect the same traditional Duckhorn style, but reflect greater refinement and polish, framed by round, supple tannins.

Renée admits that she embraces the challenges of difficult vintages, seeing them as opportunities for growth. “The challenging vintages are really the ones that push you forward in a lot of ways. I loved the challenges that come through those really odd and kind of one off vintages. Those are the ones that stick out in my head and get me excited. I like to show what we can do in a really tough vintage. In an easy vintage, it is easier to make great wines.”

Renée regards Three Palms as the vineyard that firmly established Duckhorn’s reputation. “Dan and Margaret were so passionate about that land there and for such a good reason.” They acquired the entire 83-acre property from the Upton brothers in 2015. “Three Palms Vineyards is very volcanic, it’s almost completely rock and has a unique expression with vines that are anywhere between 28 to 33 years old. I don’t have to worry about the vineyard as much as I do because the vines are so self-regulated and they are used to being stressed from just being situated in such heavy rock. The minerality and the structure from the rock comes up into the profile of the wine. It’s like a new world wine with an old world edge to it.”

When it comes to Three Palms flavor profile, “there is a lot of concentration, intensity of fruit, but you get this really complex kind of earthy minerality that comes through from the soil that kind of gives it a little bit of an old-world edge. Three Palms can rival some Mountain Cabernets in terms of ageability.”

Renée Ary’s accomplishments at Duckhorn are grounded by steady success. Under her leadership, the Three Palms Vineyard Merlot has remained one of Napa Valley’s most consistently acclaimed single-vineyard wines. During Renée’s first year as winemaker, the 2014 Duckhorn Three Palms Vineyard Merlot achieved one of its most notable distinctions when it was named #1 Wine of the Year by the Wine Spectator in 2017. It has also been frequently listed among Wine Spectator’s Top 100 wines. In the near future, Duckhorn will be releasing a limited, single block “Legacy Tier” from Three Palms Vineyard in addition to a Bordeaux-styled Sauvignon Blanc and To-Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon.

As far as the Duckhorn Napa Cabernet, “we source from very specific AVA’s to kind of bring out the very best of that varietal within the valley. The valley floor generates more of that upfront kind of plush fruit. For Merlot, we focus on Carneros, a key AVA, one of the coolest. Finding those great pockets within the valley form a well-rounded wine. Napa Merlot is a very textural wine. It’s going to be a bit more fruit forward than Three Palms, but still have beautiful layers and complexity to it.”

Overall, “the Duckhorn style has always been classic, balanced and food friendly. It shows a degree of restraint and really shows a sense of time and place.” Some have likened the style to a little black dress—timeless, elegant, and never out of fashion. Under Renee Ary, the Duckhorn portfolio has undergone steady refinement and remains rooted in tradition, consistency and seamless quality.