Pahlmeyer, Proprietary Red, Napa Valley

2hr decant in small decanter. Dark berries and fruit dominate, a bit singular. A bit hot on the first taste, probably could’ve used 2.5hrs+ in a wide decanter to increase surface area to round it out. Plenty of life left.

2005 vintage

Absolutely stunning Bordeaux blend from Napa paired with flannery rare ribeye and filet mignon, buttered shitake mushrooms & sweet potatoes. Superb 98 points - with at least 5-8 years left.

2002 vintage

Wow! Quite a treat!

2005 vintage

Outstanding - Fig & Ash with Matt. Still needs to have a short decant to blow off some funk and heat, but excellent fruit and finish.

2010 vintage

Hitting on all cylinders first day... 2nd day the finess disappeared as taken over by more forward fruit - still has a little life left

2010 vintage

Very consistent with other PM Reds over the years. Solid wine. Drinking well.

2007 vintage

This bottle oxidized. Nice fruit overshadowed.

1997 vintage

Ruby in color with a reddish rim. Not showing it's age. Pretty nose with black currants, black plums, blackberries, licorice, cedar, herbs, tobacco leaf, chocolates, dark coffee, pencil lead, light earth and peppercorn. Full-bodied and elegant with medium acidity and long legs. Dry and fruity on the palate with black currants, blackberries, black plums, cooked cherries, cedar, spices, toast, licorice, chocolates, tobacco, earth, light alcohol, peppercorn, green tea and herbs. Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries. This …

2007 vintage

this is going to be amazing

2007 vintage

Room filing bouquet of red fruits…absolutely gorgeous. Deep color. On taste…elegant with refined tannins and beautiful mouthfeel. This is hitting its stride now. Only downside is that after about 1 hour in decanter seemed to lighten up a bit. But a wonderfully aged CA blend

2013 vintage

Decanted for 90 min. Full bodied, cherry flavors and some plum. Big wine, pretty smooth. Liked it a lot.

2013 vintage

Overall very good but probably could’ve used a bit more of a decant - only got about 1hr before diving in. Very supple tannins, deep dark fruits. A bit more one dimensional than other Proprietary’s I’ve had.

2008 vintage

A stunner. No rush but don’t need to wait for maximum enjoyment.

2010 vintage

Very Nice. Not the best vintage of this wine but aging nicely. Only a couple hours of slow ox and its ready to go.

2008 vintage

Mostly consistent with prior notes, but it is fading a bit. Drink up.

1995 vintage

More soft fruit than backbone. Very drinkable though.

2011 vintage

Crimson in color. 14.8% ABV. Soaring nose of dark fruits, scorched earth, leather and cigar box. Approachable and well balanced with an abundance of opulent fruits. Red currants, cassis liqueur, chocolate truffles and earth on the palate. Exceptional length on the finish with ever so silky tannins. Everything you could hope for from a wine approaching 25 years of age. Well cellared bottles will drink beautifully for at least five more years.

2001 vintage

A little past peak. smooth strong tomato tobacco notes

2011 vintage

Dinner in Big sky. Nose of dense cassis and something dark, tobacco maybe. Huge concentration of fruit. Cassis, cherry, dried plums. Rich cocoa and polished tannins.

2013 vintage

Still good!

2004 vintage

Improved the longer it was in the decanter, the initial 30 minutes wasn’t long enough. Fabulous, earthy with black fruits perfect to celebrate my wife’s 30th

1995 vintage

This bottle had been through a couple of moves including one cross country move. In its current wine fridge it’s experienced three hurricanes, two of those were with flooding. Initially I was concerned when the cork came apart even with a blade opener. I removed the rest of the cork and filtered the wine into a decanter. I had it with a prime rib roast that I had cooked on the smoker. Excellent wine with the beef.

2010 vintage

If there’s a poster child for when Napa became NAPA!! it might be the 1997 Pahlmeyer Red Wine. On release it was a sensation, and almost affordable compared to some of the early Cult Cabs. It was big, and rich, but not a caricature. My dad got in back then, and rode the wave through the early oughts. Back then I wanted to hate the ‘97 Red, but I couldn’t. It was not in my wheelhouse, but it wasn’t crazy …

1997 vintage

Fantastic wine. Deep and rich and palate coating black and Blue berry fruit. So ready right now!

2007 vintage

A great steak wine. Not as good as the previous bottle but went well with steaks at Keens.

2008 vintage

Decanted for 45 minutes. The colour was still very dark with no hints of maturity on the rim. The bouquet had hints of baking spice and dark fruit - showing more with more time exposed to air. NIce balance with still noticeable acidity that gave the wine a lot of freshness. Creamy texture, round with a reasonably long finish. A very pleasant surprise for its age.

1997 vintage

Shelley and I enjoyed this bottle at V. Mertz, prior to the Flock of Seagulls concert. The bottle was decanted for an hour, and paired very well with caramelle pasta; (roasted red pepper & crème fraiche, zucchini, fava bean, bechamel, white asparagus), and plum creek chicken ballotine; (huitlacoche, hominy, red pepper, tomatillo, morel mushroom, chicken jus). Inviting nose of dark fruit / currant, liqueur, on the palate, the same. All flavors in harmonious interplay, tannins resolved, perfect acidic drive, long, …

2007 vintage

Give it a few hours of air, needed to reduce the heat and acidity. This is a huge thick wine that is dominated by dark fruits, blueberries, cassis, violets, and tobacco. It will stand up to anything you try to pair with it. Parker says it will last to 2045; despite its muscularity right now, I doubt it will last that long, but it still has a lot of years to resolve itself.

2007 vintage

This fit in with some nice cabs and is drinking very well now; likely at peak. All my notes over time are consistent. Alluring nose, ripe dark fruit and long, smooth finish.

2007 vintage

may be the best i've ever had from Pahlmeyer (and I've had a lot). Decanted for 45 min before tasting... drank like a refined Cab based bordeaux. all the over the top/in your face Cali cab has given way to a beauty

2005 vintage

2 and ½ hr decant. This wine is humming. Full body and delicious.

2010 vintage

PnP. Deep dark fruit aromas initially. Precise and one noted, but not in a bad way. Some barrel spice and coffee bean emerge. Med body, med acid, med+ tannin. Hanging in fairly well. Surprised how juicy the acidity is for 14.7. We’ll see if the fruit emerges with air but it may be starting to fade out. It’s a great wine for its age. Try again in a couple years.

1997 vintage

Still fresh, well balanced

1996 vintage

This was a very good wine but not as interesting as described by some of the other reviewers. And I’d dispute that it’s the ideal combination of Napa and Bordeaux - though again, to be fair it is a very good wine. Color is medium-dark purple, with a rich magenta shade, showing younger than expected. Nose is pretty much all fruit forward, even after a 45 minute decant. Luscious notes of cassis, blackberries, raspberries, and lavender. There were some secondary …

2008 vintage

Decanted 45 minuted, drinking really nice. Dark Murky with a tough of brink. Good nose of spices baking coco ripe fruit, Medium to the edge of full bodied, well integrated and balanced. Medium length finish with pleasant after taste. Very good wine paired with T-Bone and roasted potatoes.

2004 vintage

이 와인 열면서 가장 걱정됐던 건 90년대 빈티지가 과연 제대로 살아 있을까 하는 부분이었다. 그런데 막상 마셔보니 예상보다 훨씬 훌륭했다. 미국 와인 특유의 힘과 깊이가 그대로 남아 있으면서도 세월이 쌓인 고급스러운 풍미가 동시에 느껴져, 잠깐 구대륙 올드 빈티지를 떠올리게 할 정도였다. 그래도 단순히 90년대라는 숫자만 보고 묵직하고 거칠 것 같다고 생각하면 오해다. 오히려 2010년대쯤으로 느껴질 만큼 파워풀하고 젊은 에너지가 남아 있었다. 처음 코를 갖다 대면 숙성에서 온 고급 가죽 향이 먼저 다가오고 젖은 낙엽 같은 구수하면서도 약간 음습한 느낌이 이어진다. …

1996 vintage

Brilliant wine at 24-years of age. Typical Bordeaux-style blend of 80% Cab/14% Merlot and the rest of CF/PV/Malbec. Up front fruit profile of red/black cherries, blackberries, and dark plums. Mid-palate notes of violets, graphite, licorice, dark chocolate, and cedar. Nicely balanced wine with good acidity and tannins and long finish. Great right now and over the next couple of years.

2001 vintage

This is a very good wine, if a Napa cab lover I can see how this gets 97+pts. Espresso, dense dark fruits, tad of mocha in here with a firm and gritty tannin. Still young, has a decade on it for sure but in a great place..

2002 vintage

This is a great wine and while it is nicely settled over the years, it still benefitted from time in the glass after only a 30 minute decant. Next time I will decant longer. Higher cab content creates a rich dark fruit profile with a nice, long finish.

2007 vintage

After allowing 30 min of opening in the glass I experienced a dense and rich palate of intense berry fruit, with tobacco and leather notes. The body is full and finish is long. A very enjoyable balanced wine with fine tannins.

2010 vintage

Decanted for a couple of hours - it improved substantially during this time. Deep color with no bricking. Earthy, with tons of fruit. Tannin is beautifully integrated. Long finish. Love it!

1995 vintage

A great wine that went surprisingly well with spicy and salty chinese food at Chi. Couldve got a higher score if paired with the right food.

2008 vintage

First impression was high ABV, then dark blue fruits. I don't know if this is past its prime but this was not especially balanced. Alcohol was kind of divided from the fruit and frankly made it a bit boring and tiring to drink.

1996 vintage

Every so often i like to compare a bottle that is reviewed very highly to provide a baseline for my regular wines that are typically reviewed in the 85-90 band. I really enjoyed this 2007 Bordeaux blend but i did find myself comparing it to a first or second growth Bordeaux and i just did not find the same complexity or layers with this wine. I’m sure many would disagree but i guess that’s the beauty of wine and personal …

2007 vintage

Big, heavy wine in a big, heavy bottle. Couldn’t think this was 20-year-old bottle as it showed powerful fruit and strong, bold structure. Tobacco, dark chocolate, controlled pyrazyne and dirt comes first and with some time dark fruit explodes. Quite strong but with adequate acidity this keeps nice balance. Not my type of wine but couldn’t complain when it showed the completeness like this.

2005 vintage

Beautiful wine. Still drinking well inspite of being outside of its drinking window.

2008 vintage

Wonderful wine with good balance and residual fruit!

2005 vintage

Brought this to Match 65, a nice corkage friendly French Bistro on the Upper East Side NYC. Decanted at the restaurant about an hour prior to drinking. Last bottle also w/Paolo in 2020. Last bottle of this vintage in my cellar Light garnet, translucent, some fading. Nose showing dark and savory notes, some earth. Palate of dusted dark cherry, plum, savory meats, mushroom. Fruits and savory persist through mid palate. Medium body and finish Nicely aged, past its peak. This …

1997 vintage

An impulse pull from the cellar, brought this to the Hawke in Lambertville (NJ) for a casual dinner with Val. Last note was from 2013, although I have had it since. With some great burgers, PnP. Drank over about 2 hours Deep garnet, inky, some sediment in this one, a little opaque. Nose was deep and expressive, right out of the bottle showing dark fruits, blackberry, tobacco, oak. Palate of blackberry, blue fruit, cassis, plum, vanilla oak, earth. Smooth texture, …

2005 vintage

so smooth. salivating.

2008 vintage

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Pahlmeyer, Proprietary Red, Napa Valley

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