2021
Pahlmeyer Raison d’Être
I’ve never tasted a Cabernet Franc like this — so finely detailed, harmonious, and complete. The wine opens with layered aromas of bramble berries, spicy, earthy clove, and freshly ground anise seed. The palate is full-bodied and plush, with a juicy, expansive fruit core and a touch of warming spice, underscored by savory notes of forest floor, crushed rock, and graphite. A beautiful floral lift of violet emerges mid-palate, accompanied by a persistent finish of macerated blackcurrant, plum, and cassis, as polished, well-integrated tannins counterbalance fresh acidity. While approachable now, the wine has the potential to age gracefully for the next two decades. A couple of hours in the decanter will enhance its already impressive complexity. – Katie Vogt, Winemaker
- Winemaker
- Katie Vogt
- Alcohol
- 14.9%
- Harvested Start Date
- September 23, 2021
- Harvested End Date
- October 6, 2021
- Bottled Date
- August 15, 2023
- Release Date
- October 7, 2024
Winemaking Notes
Throughout the growing season, I walked the vineyards, carefully observing each block’s development. A block of Cabernet Franc in Waters Ranch consistently stood out for its exceptional concentration and phenolic balance. Harvested at the perfect moment, the fruit was meticulously hand-sorted, then optically sorted to capture only the finest “caviar berries.” Fermentation took place in upright oak tanks, with delestage performed as necessary to achieve ideal extraction. The wine was then aged in 100% new heavy-toast Taransaud oak barrels for 20 months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered, ensuring the purest expression of the vintage.
“It is an absolutely riveting wine with a nose of dusty minerals, sagebrush, thyme and rosemary, and sous bois. It is beautifully refined with a riveting palate feel and expressive, sensual dark fruit notes that are so neatly delineated between ripe black cherry, blackberry, Damson plum, and raspberry. Expressive fine-grained and powdery tannins build in sheer intensity and volume on the finish, laced with saline minerality. The addition of Merlot lifts the fruit, balancing out the savoury qualities of the Cabernet Franc, resulting in a seamless expression of mountain-grown fruit with serious cellaring potential. Just 163 cases were produced. 88% Cabernet Franc and 12% Merlot are aged in 100% new heavy toast Taransaud barrels. Grapes are hand-sorted and optically sorted, gravity-fed into oak tanks and barrel-aged for 17-19 months.”
