Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red Bordeaux blend California Napa 2004

 Composed of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot and 1% Malbec, the saturated purple-colored 2004 Proprietary Red Wine is a wonderful monster in the making. It boasts a dense purple color as well as notes of beef blood, creme de cassis, licorice, incense and spring flowers. It looks more like a 2-year-old wine than one that has seen its tenth birthday. Mouth-coating, unctuously textured, corpulent but well-delineated, this is a spectacular Proprietary Red that is even greater than I remember it in its youth. Bravo to Jayson Pahlmeyer (I believe his winemaker at the time was Erin Green) for this dynamic duo of 2004s. (RP)