93 Points - Wine Spectator. The Pahlmeyer Jayson Cabernet Sauvignon was produced from fruit from Pahlmeyers mountain-grown vines. Its a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Merlot, so a classic Bordeaux blend. 2018 was an outstanding vintage, the unusually cool growing season saw the grapes ripen more slowly and gave them the opportunity to develop even more complexity. Once deemed ready, the grapes were harvested at night to preserve their freshness and ensure the aromas werent damaged by heat. At the winery, whole clusters were given an initial hand-sorting. Clusters were then de-stemmed and then sorted again, ensuring only the best of the best made it to fermentation. The berries were given several days of cold maceration to ensure optimum extraction and tannic balance, before a fermentation which lasted up to three weeks. Once finished, the Jayson 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon was aged in oak for 17 months. 70% of the barrels were new but a medium toast ensured that the oak didnt overwhelm the wines natural delicacy.

Vivino Rating: 4.3 (Nov 2024)

Wine Press Ratings

93 Points - Wine Spectator (2021 Vintage)

Taste

The Pahlmeyer Jayson Cabernet Sauvignon remains invitingly deeply coloured. The bouquet is wonderfully expressive, with notes of wild blackberries, cassis, purple flowers, olives, and toasty vanilla. Fruit-driven, but with excellent balance, the layers of black berry fruits are intermingled with warm spices, blueberry jam cherry liqueur, minerals and a lift of raspberries, a signature of many of the finest Napa Valley Cabernets in this cool vintage. Medium bodied with an impressive structure, its just coming into its drinking window. The quality of fruit, polished tannins, and firm acidity will enable it to develop over the coming decade. If you plan to drink it now, decant it for a couple of hours or let it breathe in the bottle for 4-5 hours and serve with red meats, roasted Mediterranean vegetables, hard cheeses and other full-flavoured foods.

About the Producer

Pahlmeyer has gone from being one mans dream to being one of the finest producers of Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa Valley. Founder Jayson Pahlmeyer started with a shoebox of smuggled Bordeaux vine cuttings and a mission to create a California Mouton - a rich, powerful Napa Valley Bordeaux blend, a wine that would drop wine lovers to their knees. Taste the Pahlmeyer Jayson 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon and youd have to say mission accomplished. The establishment of his own vineyard in the late 1990s in Atlas Peak in eastern Napa Valley from where the fruit for the Jayson comes, was a game-changer. Desolate, poor and free draining its proved a paradisal location for vines and has allowed Pahlmeyer to take its place amongst the worlds greatest Cabernet Sauvignons.