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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 2010 vintage was a tale of patience. A cool, wet spring resulted in later bud break than usual. Careful vine management helped mitigate heat spikes at the beginning of harvest. Once risk of extreme heat passed, we opened up the canopies for greater light exposure and air flow through the vines. Warm, dry weather through mid-October resulted in timelier ripening than expected at the growing season’s onset.
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 fermentation. Two to three weeks later, the fruit was gently pressed and moved to barrel where it finished primary and secondary fermenta- tions. 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
This wine’s stunning intensity begins with its inky hue. Aromas of super ripe cassis, blueberry, blackberry and fig are under- scored by worn leather, anise and shiso mint. On the palate, the entry is rich and viscous, leading to plush, dusty tannins and fetching flavors of dark, ripe berries, figs and chocolate. Warm baking spice balances minerality on the finish, inviting taste after taste of this exceptionally compelling blend.