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Wine Description
The Story
Synonymous with Pahlmeyer, Proprietary Red is the winery’s raison d’etre.
“All I wanted to do was to create my own ‘California Mouton’ – a rich, powerful Napa Valley Bordeaux blend, a wine that would drop wine lovers to their knees,” says Jayson Pahlmeyer.
1986 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red was the realization of Jayson’s dream. Anointed 94 points by Robert Parker, it was the first of an extraordinary legacy of critically acclaimed wines.
What is Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red? It is a classic Napa Valley Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Each variety is harvested and held separately throughout fermentation and barrel aging. The lots are aged an average of 18 months in French oak Bordeaux barrels, blended through a meticulous, time-honored artisanal process, and bottled without filtering or fining.
Produced in limited quantities, the Proprietary Red is a wine of superb power and density with commanding tannins and rich, dark flavors that become increasingly lush and seductive with age. Properly cellared, Proprietary Red will evolve magnificently for at least 25 years.
Wine Information
VINTAGE NOTES / The 2009 growing season was steady and mild. Late, light spring rains provided natural irrigation while a warm spell in June helped shut down excessive canopy growth. Temperatures stayed in the 80 to 90 degree range – the “sweet spot” for slow, even ripening – through harvest.
WINEMAKING NOTES
The grape clusters were hand-sorted, and once de-stemmed, the berries were sorted again by hand on the way to tank. After four to five days of pre-fermentation cold maceration in small open-top fermentors, the fruit began 100% native yeast fermenta- tion. Two to three weeks later, the fruit was gently pressed and moved to barrel where it finished primary and secondary fermen- tations. The wine continued to age in 85% new French oak – a combination of Taransaud and St. Martin barrels – for eighteen months. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered.
TASTING NOTES
The 2009 Proprietary Red is at once elegant, rich and powerful. Brilliant purple in color, aromas of wildflower and rose oil deepen as the wine opens. Flavors of cassis, huckleberry and tar are accented by notes of smoked meats and cardamom. Polished, fine-grained tannins are supple and silky. The multi-layered finish relaxes and evolves with time, indicating age-worthiness.