2017 Pahlmeyer Red

The 2017 Proprietary Red is yet another impressive wine from Pahlmeyer. Blackberry jam, red plum, grilled herbs, lavender, black pepper and earth notes give the 2017 quite a bit of aromatic nuance to play off the dark, brooding flavors. Like the Merlot, this was just bottled quite recently; as a result the 2017 shows some tightness, but it will be gorgeous when it recovers. I can't wait to taste it with a bit of bottle age. The 2017 Proprietary Red has a lot of Cabernet energy and tannin that needs time to soften. The 2017 really grows in the glass.

The 2017 Pahlmeyer, bottled at the beginning of September, contains no Petit Verdot or Cabernet Franc this year, as that fruit was smoke tainted. Only Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot made the cut this year. Very deep garnet-purple colored, it delivers provocative blueberry preserves, baked plums and black forest cake scents followed by crème de cassis, dark chocolate, cedar chest and pencil lead with a waft of camphor. Medium to full bodied, the palate delivers impressive intensity with earthy layers offering lots of interest to the intense black fruit preserves, framed by firm, grainy tannins, finishing long with loads of energy.

The 2017 Proprietary Red is succulent, racy and quite promising. Sweet red cherry, plum, pomegranate and exotic spice notes are front and center. Radiant and open-knit, with tremendous fruit intensity, Pahlmeyer's Proprietary Red could turn out to be one of the surprises of 2017. This is the only red wine Pahlmeyer will bottle in 2017. The blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc.