Pahlmeyer Red Wine 2019
(Napa Valley, California) 750ml - [JS 98] [WA 95]

 Our 2019 Proprietary Red is a rich and finely detailed tapestry of the finest lots across our four mountain vineyards. The bounding aromas flicker between fruity and earthy with an interweaving of wild blueberry, black plum, cassis, saddle leather, and cedar. The opulent palate is layered and expansive with captivating flavors of crushed ripe blackberry and castelvetrano olive. The focused fruit core is framed by generous fine-grained tannins, surging long with an echo of earth and spice. 

Composition: 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc

Vineyards: Pahlmeyer Estate Vineyard, Rancho Chimiles, Stagecoach, Upper Range

Bottled: June 2, 2021

Alcohol: 15.2%

Release Date: September 2022

Winemaker: Katie Vogt

Vintage Notes

The 2019 vintage was mild, long, and evenly paced. After generous winter rains, a cool and wet spring emerged. Storms in March and April delayed bud break, and more showers in late May gave vines a welcome water reserve for the growing season. Early June brought steady, warm temperatures and sunshine that persisted throughout the growing season. These ideal conditions allowed our vines to develop consistent, clean clusters with complex, layered flavors and excellent structure. Brief late-season heat spikes ushered the berries’ maturity before settling into mild, acidity-preserving conditions as harvest began. As a result, exceptional, well-developed fruit was delivered into the cellar

Winemaking Notes

The 2019 vintage offered us a broad spectrum of stellar lots to consider for our Proprietary Red blend. We hand harvested each of our high-elevation sites in the cool of night and meticulously hand sorted and destemmed at the winery before fermenting and aging each lot separately. We meticulously evaluated each lot, first on its individual merit and then in the context of the blend. Upper Range, a newer vineyard in our lineup, was a standout out in the group, possessing a signature savory character that elevated the intense fruit profile of the Pahlmeyer Estate — the heart and soul of the wine—and created a beautiful interplay between fruity and savory components. The individual lots were aged in nearly 100% new French Oak for 20 months. After blending, the wine was bottled in June, 2021 for additional bottle-aging before release.