“The 2007 Proprietary Red is at once restrained yet complex. Composed and intensely focused, it exhibits layer after layer of blackberry, cassis, anise, sweet cocoa, black cherry, blackberry preserves, extract, tar and cola. On the palate it is dense and concentrated with great weight and structure. Each layer lingers on and on. This wine is exceptional now and will only open further with time.” – Erin Green, Winemaker October 2010
Composition
85% Cabernet Sauvignon
7% Merlot
4% Cabernet Franc
3% Petit Verdot
1% Malbec
Vineyards
- Pahlmeyer Estate Vineyard,
- Rancho Chimiles,
- Stagecoach
Proprietary Red: An Iconic Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend
Jayson Pahlmeyer's "California Mouton" - a rich, powerful Napa Valley Bordeaux blend called Proprietary RedRead More
Critics
96+ Points
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #186, December 2009
Sensational... There is no doubting its extraordinary bouquet of subtle smoked meats, oak, mountain wild flowers, blueberries, blackberries, coffee, and cassis. Super-rich and full-bodied with noticeable, but stunningly sweet tannins, it possesses a rare minerality and definition, characteristics that seem to be found across the board in Napa’s 2007s. This dense, powerful red needs 3-5 years of cellaring, and should have 25 years of life ahead of it.
95 Points
James Laube, Wine Spectator, September 2010
A rich, explosive style, packed with layers of currant, blackberry, wild berry and black cherry fruit woven together in a tight way. Full-bodied, turning supple and polished on the finish, where the fine-grained tannins are ripe and let the fruit flavors flow freely.
93 Points
Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, May/June 2010
Full ruby-red. Slightly syrupy dark fruit aromas complicated by truffle and earth, with an element of minerality providing lift. Then surprisingly ripe and lively in the mouth, with very intense, rich black fruit, licorice and mint flavors. Offers a lovely combination of sweetness and lift and a real impression of small-berry concentration.
Winemaking
- Winemaker:
- Erin Green
- Alcohol:
- 15.2%
- Harvested:
- September 6 to October 15, 2007
- Bottled:
- April 21, 2009
- Released:
- September 1, 2009
The grape clusters were hand-sorted, and once de-stemmed, the berries were sorted again by hand on the way to tank. After four to five days of pre-fermentation cold maceration in small open-top fermentors, the fruit began 100% native yeast fermentation. Two to three weeks later, the fruit was gently pressed and moved to barrel where it finished primary and secondary fermentations. The wine continued to age in 79% new French oak – a combination of Taransaud and St. Martin barrels – for eighteen months. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered.
