2004 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red

(15.25% alcohol): Bright medium ruby. Superripe, almost roasted black raspberry, cassis, kirsch and mocha on the nose. Sweet and smooth but youthfully tight, even a bit tart and ungiving. Rich flavors of dark berries and bitter chocolate saturate the entire mouth, leaving the taste buds quivering. But today the wine's acids and tannins have not yet integrated, leaving the finish a bit sour. From a second bottle sampled in New York: Full medium ruby. Sexy roasted blackberry and cassis aromas complicated by charred oak, tar and truffle. Savory, rich and dry, with cherry pit and menthol flavors framed by strong acidity and rather unrefined, chewy tannins. Slightly sour on the finish, showing good but not exceptional length. Will this harmonize? There's something primary and stunted about this Cabernet-based wine.

Composed of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot and 1% Malbec, the saturated purple-colored 2004 Proprietary Red Wine is a wonderful monster in the making. It boasts a dense purple color as well as notes of beef blood, creme de cassis, licorice, incense and spring flowers. It looks more like a 2-year-old wine than one that has seen its tenth birthday. Mouth-coating, unctuously textured, corpulent but well-delineated, this is a spectacular Proprietary Red that is even greater than I remember it in its youth. Bravo to Jayson Pahlmeyer (I believe his winemaker at the time was Erin Green) for this dynamic duo of 2004s. Jayson Pahlmeyer has done as good a job with Merlot as anybody in Northern California. Tel. (707) 255-2321; Fax (707) 255-6786

The 2004 Merlot (a blend of 87% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Sauvignon) reveals Pomerol-like aromatics of caramelized red and black fruits, toffee and spice as well as a big, creamy, opulent texture, and a full-bodied mouthfeel with no hard edges. The wine’s saturated ruby/purple color reveals no lightness at the edge. Wonderfully dense, rich, full, and incredibly sexy and long, this beauty is everything a Merlot should be. (RP)