94pts Decanter

A seamless, balanced, classic Napa Cabernet with ample fruit weight balanced by a cooling freshness. Leads with red berry fruit laced with tobacco, cassis, cedar and sagebrush. A dusty tannin backbone with hints of chocolate and baking spices built to a toasty finish that grows bright with crushed purple florals. So inviting. Grape sources are William Hill in Napa, Stagecoach, Waters, Round Pond in Rutherford and Sun Lake in Pope Valley, along with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon from the iconic Monte Rosso vineyard in Sonoma. It is aged 16 months in 72% new French oak.

93pts Wine Spectator

Frankly ripe, offering an enticing gush of açaí, blackberry and black currant compote notes that roll through, carried by warm humus, licorice root and singed alder notes. A muscular style, this is defined, with subtle, latent energy through the finish.

Winemaker Notes

Classic Napa Valley Cabernet aromas of ripe blackberry and red currant are underpinned by an alluring dark forest floor earthiness and a high note of red licorice/candy shop. Valley floor fruit brings mouth-filling plushness to the palate, while concentrated mountain fruit drives through the core. Focused black fruit –cherry, plum, and raspberry –surge long and deep with hints of black olive and freshly cracked pepper. Polished tannins frame and lengthen the palate as a balancing acidity provides a magnifying lift. The finish is long, juicy, and plush with a thrust of grippy tannin, persisting with notes of vanilla bean, warm spice, and toasted hazelnut.

Winery Notes

Pahlmeyer was founded in 1986, by a desire to be great by its eponymous creator Jayson Pahlmeyer. With a dream to create a California Mouton, Jayson and his partners spared no resource to make this dream a reality. Whether it was finding the perfect piece of land high atop Napa Valley’s Atlas Peak or covertly smuggling in Bordeaux cuttings, all pieces of Pahlmeyer’s history have led to its place as one of the top brand names from Napa Valley. From the very beginning, Pahlmeyer has been dedicated to crafting fine wines from the best fruit sources possible. In California, this means high elevation mountain sites, where the grapes are afforded more sunlight, cooler temperatures, and less fertile soils, which together create ideal conditions. Pahlmeyer sources the majority of their fruit from four key locations: Pahlmeyer Estate (Atlas Peak), Stagecoach (Atlas Peak / Pritchard Hill), Rancho Chimiles, and Antica.

Blend: 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec, 1% Merlot