This attractive Sonoma Coast Pinot is lively and bright from the outset. The nose literally pops with a potpourri of wild berries, perfumed rose petals, lavender and spice. Swirl a glass of this wine – scents of luscious strawberry-rhubarb pie, peach and citrus blossoms, pomegranate and red currant are revealed. Savory notes of sage, prosciutto and cedar are also present, complementing the profusion of fruit. Balanced, elegant and graceful, this wine’s focused aromatic complexity glides evenly onto the palate. A flashy mouthfeel offers racy acidity, a perfect foil for the mellow, smooth tannins. The finish is lasting and sustains its fresh impression throughout.
Pahlmeyer “Jayson” [Cabernet] Napa Valley, 2015
75
Our mountain-grown cabernet sauvignon is whole-berry fermented, not crushed, in order to capture its concentrated color and flavors, while preserving a fresh fruit profile and preventing excessive tannin extraction. We harvested at night to deliver naturally cooled grapes to the winery by early morning. The whole clusters were gravity-fed onto a vibrating table where we hand-sorted to remove any damaged fruit and sift out materials other than grapes. The resulting berries - ripe, plump and intact, were then gravity fed into our fermenters. After five days of cold maceration, the fruit entered primary fermentation for two to three weeks, then was gently pressed in our stainless steel basket. The wine was then transferred to barrel to finish malolactic fermentation and aged in 65% new French oak for 18 months.
