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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.7 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 57 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by fdub on 1/20/2024 & rated 95 points: In a great spot. Fresh and deep on the palate and nose. Chocolate, cherries but starting to show some spice and leather. (369 views) | | | Tasted by VindependenceDay on 11/27/2022 & rated 92 points: PnP. Oh so very rich. Waves of blackberry, plum, tar, chocolate. Loads of tannin and acid but both in balance. Very full and velvety in the mouth and long lasting. With a bit more nose and not less tannin, could see this hitting 93 or 94. Will see how it evolves. (852 views) | | | Tasted by OenophilistMN on 8/27/2022 & rated 94 points: One-hour decant through a screened and aerating funnel. Chocolate and black fruit during decant. Some sediment. Wine was clear; dark bowl to slightly lighter rim. Medium clear halo. After resting: more plum and more chocolate. In the mouth, wonderful balance with the black fruit, chocolate, vanilla. Deep fruit, acid, perfect, long finish. (432 views) | | | Tasted by kenthecpa on 4/30/2021 & rated 94 points: Been a long time since we had a Pahlmeyer Merlot. We all missed it .
Paired with a NY Strip from Costco (prime). A perfect match! (1855 views) | | | Tasted by jpwineguy on 7/29/2018 & rated 93 points: This needed quite a bit of air to really open up and sing, but it sure was worth it. Drank decanted with a simple spaghetti and roasted garlic tomato sauce pairing. Had a significant funk on the nose when the bottle was first opened, but some rather vigorous shaking in the decanter helped speed up the process. After about 45 minutes in the decanter the dark fruit and spices really started to shine in the glass. There was a lovely floral pastille quality on the nose. There was no lack of depth or viscosity as others have implied. Still enough acidity to give the wine lift and freshness on the finish. The tannins are fully resolved and balanced. The alcohol was very balanced at this point, hard to tell this was over 15%. Drinking beautifully now, no need to wait any longer. (3060 views) | | | Tasted by Millennial Drinkers on 3/28/2018 & rated 90 points: A little cloudy in appearance with a deep mix of ruby with lighter edges. Dark nose with notes of plums, sweet and herbal spices, anise, and even a touch of tomato. Well balanced tannins (6.5/10) and medium to medium plus body. Good amount of fruit on the palate with black currants, spices and some graphite. Long finish. Drink till 2024. (2997 views) | | | Tasted by cab blends on 3/27/2018 & rated 92 points: Light raspberry on the nose. Tannins 7 rounded (2777 views) | | | Tasted by cartime on 2/21/2018: Drink soon. (2344 views) | | | Tasted by cab blends on 2/8/2018 & rated 92 points: Pahlmeyer Merlot Vertical Extraordianairre (at Home): Cherry and raspberry similar to the 2008.
Pnp -
T7 B7.5 (1612 views) | | | Tasted by Millennial Drinkers on 2/8/2018 & rated 91 points: Fifth of our seven year vertical tonight....Scratch that the 2014 came out too.
Deep ruby red. Lovely nose with floral spices, blackberries, aniseed and graphite. Medium plus tannins (7.5/10) a bit more than the previous vintages. Medium plus to full bodied. Notes of gravel, dark baking spices and black bramble berries. Long and lingering finish, a touch dry too. Drink till 2025. (2246 views) | | | Tasted by jrhonda160 on 11/18/2017 & rated 94 points: Really good, one of my favorite Merlot's, very smooth (1478 views) | | | Tasted by Millennial Drinkers on 8/2/2017 & rated 89 points: A bit hazy, cloudy and dark ruby red. Thick baking cocoa on the nose with a touch porty, tight black cherries, and raspberries. Strong acidity with medium plus tannins (6.5/10) and full bodied. Seemed a bit disjointed even with a 2 hour decant. Layered palate with plums, cedar, a bit of animal notes like leather, leaves, a touch earthy and dark cherries too. Long finish. Might be going through a dumb phase and need some time. Drink till 2023. (2139 views) | | | Tasted by msuwine on 7/4/2017 & rated 94 points: A rich and layered Merlot that is drinking at its peak right now. Dark red, somewhat hazy in color; full in body; nose of cocoa powder, cinnamon, and baking spices. Tastes of plum, blackberry, mocha, leather, and cedar, with a sweet and lingering finish. 15.2% alcohol. Blend of 89% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2% Petit Verdot.
I've recently had some older Pahlmeyer Merlots that tasted a bit past their prime, but this seems to be in a very good place - not too juicy, not too faded; still powerful, but in a soft package. I continue to think that Pahlmeyer Merlot, properly aged (i.e., 3-7 years after vintage), is among the best Merlots made in California. (2560 views) | | | Tasted by MAXIMUM SATISFACTION on 6/22/2017 & rated 92 points: Quick decant on this. High acid low tannin. Very plush with plums, baked red fruit, smoked meat, and dark chocolate. Tastes more like a Syrah. Plenty of time left but not a whole lot more room to improve. (1944 views) | | | Tasted by Alfaro on 5/11/2017 & rated 84 points: I'm a huge fan of Pahlmeyer, however this was my first experience with the merlot and I was very disappointed! It had an exciting great big beautiful nose of ripe red dark fruit with floral vanilla notes, but the pallet was muted, subdued, bland and disappointing! Maybe this bottle was in a weird place, or not cellared properly, whatever the case I will not be spending any more money on the Pahlmeyer Merlot anytime soon. (2253 views) | | | Tasted by Luke Woods on 2/4/2017 & rated 94 points: Went great with crab Louie for lunch (2034 views) | | | Tasted by Coachron13 on 1/16/2016 & rated 93 points: A really outstanding merlot. Very bold, well integrated. Lots of fruit, but it's balanced well with the other attributes. Many years left. (3035 views) | | | Tasted by Drew Pauk, CWE on 2/15/2015 & rated 92 points: High alcohol. Silky silky smooth with a great finish. (4256 views) | | | Tasted by Cali Fan on 2/14/2015 & rated 92 points: smooth, plummy and extremely enjoyable. (3661 views) | | | Tasted by capacious on 2/10/2015 & rated 92 points: Wow. Have always liked Pahlmeyer Merlot, think I might like this one better than any, and even more than the proprietary. If you haven't had Jayson et al Red wines, get this one and forget sideways. Not a right bank imitation but makes more from the grape than any other US Merlot I've had. Have to hide a few because this is so tempting now and it will go a while. On the softer side, but complex and lengthy, chocolate, cedar, a bit of spice, a bit of New York strip? Really enjoyed this (3899 views) | | | Tasted by Bakeman on 9/11/2014 & rated 94 points: Great nose. Smooth, great finish. Drank next to a 2009 o'shaughnessy and smoked it. Hints of Cherry. (4452 views) | | | Tasted by capacious on 7/16/2014 & rated 92 points: Excellent wine, served as part of a tasting see petit Verdot pahlmeyer for all elements of tasting, this was preferred even over the proprietary red from 2005! We have generally found Italy and France do better with Merlot, but Pahlmeyer has made an outstanding domestic merlot that silences the movie critics. Mouth filling, complex, many fruits in there, lengthy, durable. (4014 views) | | | Tasted by TightLettuce on 12/5/2013 & rated 91 points: This is a bottle that should sit for years. Sampling this vintage does give great promise into the future however. At this point there is an almost clover essence to the wine, followed with dark plum, cigar box and finishes with spring flowers. Considering it's youth, the tannins are rather round, but obviously still over-powering.
I would certainly recommend holding this powerful vintage down for 3-5 years. (4236 views) | | | Tasted by fdub on 4/20/2013 & rated 94 points: Great aromatics. Shows a wonderful depth of fruit right now but will really improve with time in the bottle. A great dark earth and loamy element are present now on the nose. The palate is still very primary and the fine grained tannins need to resolve a bit. Very nice. (4607 views) | | | Tasted by fdub on 3/7/2013 & rated 94 points: Very primary and young. This was a late night pop and pour. The nose is deep and round with dark berries, herbs and spice. The palate is youthfully disjointed but with air starts to meld together. This needs several years in the bottle to calm down and show its best. (4418 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, 2011 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: Terroir Matters - Updated (Nov 2013)
(Pahlmeyer Merlot Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, 2010 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: An Epic Vintage (Dec 2012)
(Pahlmeyer Merlot Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2012, IWC Issue #162
(Pahlmeyer Winery Merlot Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Pahlmeyer Producer website
Jayson Pahlmeyer, recently joined by his daughter Cleo Pahlmeyer, have been producing highly sought-after, seductive, hedonistic wines since 1986. Pahlmeyer's flagship wine is the Proprietary Red, a Napa Valley Bordeaux blend. Chardonnay, Merlot and Pinot Noir round out this stunning portfolio. These wines are produced from exceptional mountain vineyards in the Napa Valley and Sonoma Coast, including the Pahlmeyer family’s Waters Ranch (Atlas Peak AVA) and Wayfarer Farm (Fort Ross/Seaview AVA). These vineyards, coupled with winemakers Kale Anderson and Bibiana Gonzalez Rave's passion and talent, turn out wines with power and finesse.MerlotMerlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to be a diminutive of merle, the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color of the grape. Its softness and "fleshiness", combined with its earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which tends to be higher in tannin.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Napa ValleySt. Helena |
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