Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red Wine Napa Valley 2017 750 ML

This 2017 Proprietary Red Napa Valley is a cellar-worthy wine that will reward patience over the next decade or more. Blackberry, leather and Spanish cedar are revealed at first swirl, complemented by subtle hints of dried sage. Dark and opaque, the concentrated, complex palate brings generous notes of summer cherries, wild blackberries, berry compote and figs, layered with Mexican chocolate and freshly scraped vanilla bean. Evolving in the glass, characteristics of plum, brown sugar and spice slowly emerge before a lengthy finish. The best is yet to come for this wine, as its focused intensity and firm, young tannins will age beautifully into sublime texture and fine, velvety tannins.\n \n Blackberries, blackcurrants and hints of mint. Full-bodied with very fine, velvety tannins. Turns firm and structured with a fine chewiness and a caressing mouth-feel.\n \n Producer Information\n Pahlmeyer is a Californian wine estate, founded in Napa Valley in 1986 by attorney Jayson Pahlmeyer and owned by E. & J. Gallo Winery. It is particularly known for its eponymous proprietary red wine, prized for its dense, dark rich fruit and full body. The estate is famous for its involvement with some of the greatest winemaking names in California. Randy Dunn of Dunn Vineyards made the first vintage of the proprietary red in 1986, Bob Levy of Harlan Estate launched Pahlmeyer Chardonnay in 1991 and prominent Napa winemaker Helen Turley was in charge of winemaking through most of the 1990s. Pahlmeyer's aim at the outset was to create a "California Mouton" – California's version of the famed Château Mouton-Rothschild wines of Pauillac, in Bordeaux. The project got off to a good start, with the proprietary red getting a 94-point rating from famed US wine critic Robert Parker on its first release. The label proceeded to establish itself as one of Napa Valley's standard-bearers, commanding high prices and a cult following. The brand has not established a home winery and has a history of making wines in other facilities.