2006 Pahlmeyer Red
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Tasting notes
Good medium ruby. Musky aromas of black raspberry, mocha and smoke. Ripe, lush, seamless and deep; broad for the vintage, with plenty of mid-palate stuffing to support its tannins. This, too, is still youthfully unevolved and will need longer to express its inherent sweetness. Like the 2006 merlot, this merited a score at the high end of my original projected range.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
There are 7,000 cases of the prodigious 2006 Proprietary Red Wine (a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec). Most of the fruit comes from the Stagecoach Vineyard and the Waters Ranch. Sweet, smoky, meaty aromas interwoven with melted asphalt, camphor, blackberry, cassis, and charcoal scents emerge from the complex aromatics. In the mouth, the wine is full-bodied, displaying sweet tannin, a concentrated mouthfeel, and a long, heady finish with substantial fruit, glycerin, and extract. It should drink beautifully for 20+ years. Things just seem to get better and better at Pahlmeyer, a long-standing, brilliant, remarkably consistent source for one of Napa’s finest Merlots, Chardonnays, and Pinot Noirs. Tel. (707) 255-2321; Fax (707) 255-6786
Good full red-ruby. Cassis, violet, tar and licorice on the nose; shows a bit of the grapey primary quality of the 2006 merlot. Fuller than the merlot on the palate but not quite fleshy, with slightly stunted flavors of medicinal black cherry and licorice. This seriously tannic 2006 is evolving very slowly.