Aromas of red fruit, crushed raspberries and jam mingle with notes of orange-spiced tea and blueberry muffin. On the palate, a rich entry turns soft and plush, with bright red fruit supported by balanced acidity. This is a juicy wine, with satisfying depth and length.
Composition
96.5% Merlot
2.5% Malbec
1% Cabernet Sauvignon
Vineyards
Critics
96 Points
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, May 2018
Aromas of blackberries, violets and dark fruits. Very aromatic. Full-bodied, round-textured and very balanced with both firmness and freshness. Energetic at the end. Drink or hold.
95 Points
Virginie Boone, Wine Enthusiast, December 2018
Hugely concentrated and a touch reduced, this is a lovely, generously full-bodied wine, rich as a dark-cherry cobbler in flavor. The barrel oak is pronounced and supportive of the wine's seasonings of black pepper, violet and plum. The ripeness and richness are profound, met by a structure that suggest further cellaring; enjoy best 2025–2030. {CELLAR SELECTION}
93-95 Points
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, December 2016
There are few truly profound Merlots being made in California, but Pahlmeyer has consistently made some of the best. This is a big, fleshy, rather hefty and chewy style of Merlot with loads of chocolate, blackberry, cassis, extraordinary opulence, voluptuous texture (as you might expect) and terrific ripeness without going over the edge. This should drink well young, but age effortlessly for 20-25 years.
Winemaking
- Winemaker:
- Kale Anderson
- Alcohol:
- 14.5%
- Harvested:
- September 4 to October 10, 2015
- Bottled:
- April 13, 2017
- Released:
- March 19, 2018
Grape clusters were gravity-fed onto a vibrating table where two screens sifted out materials other than grapes, and we removed by hand any fruit that did not pass visual inspection. After gentle destemming, individual berries were hand-sorted again to ensure that only the best grapes were delivered to the fermenters. The fruit underwent five days of cold maceration and two to six weeks of primary fermentation before gentle basket press. We aged the wine in 85% new Seguin Moreau Icone and Taransaud French Oak barrels for 20 months.
