1994 Pahlmeyer Napa

[winoweenie]

Found 4,yes FOUR, of these orphans whilst putting away some stuff in the cellar. What a bottle! Medium dark ruby. Slight bricking on rim. Outstanding nose of flowers, ripe red fruits, sweet spices and a whiff of menthol. All come over on the palate along with creamy raspberry mousse. Silky entry, medium center and a 4+ lapper finish. The only other Merlot I've experienced (excluding Pomerols) that age this gracefully are Dan Duckhorns 3 Palms vineyard. I'm sure as the blue-blazes not gonna' lose these agin' so they'll be gone in the next few months. 93/90 40 by the box. 14.4% alc. WW

[Kcwhippet]

How could you possibly lose any wines in there with that high tech tracking system you're using, WW?

[Innkeeper]

Funny you should mention a Pahlmeyer Napa Merlot right now Verne. We still have the '01 that you recommended to hold till this year. Does that recommendation still hold?

[winoweenie]

Can assure you IK that sucker is jes now approaching its' puberty. Give it at least another 3-6. WW

[winoweenie]

Well BRW , another friend Mike and I went to the club for lunch today and took this along with a 93 Duckhorn 3 Palms Vineyard Merlot. If there are any 2 Calif merlots that have aged as gracefully as this duo bring-em on. The Pahlmeyer sang from the moment it was released but it took the 3 Palms over an hour to open. We got involved in conversation so hard to put a definative score on either bottle but remember 2 years ago that Dan Duckhorn was blown away by another bottle of this 93 I found. Maybe BRW payed more attention than meself and will put his 2pesos worth. They both have to be in the outstanding catagory. WW

[winoweenie]

remembered that these lil orphans were available and after the organized drinkfest yesterday tot this would do the fix-up-paint-up. Not much to add except I'm amazed that these wines have developed without losing too much fruit after 14 years. WW