92 Points - Wine Spectator. The Jayson Red Wine was produced from grapes from a selection of prime sites in and around Atlas Peak in eastern Napa. Hailing from the outstanding 2021 vintage, a year noted for its opulence, this blend of 81% Merlot and 19% Cabernet Sauvignon is wonderfully full and plump. The grapes were hand-picked and hand-sorted before undergoing fermentation in stainless steel tanks to enhance its fresh fruit profile and retain its bright acidity. The wine was then racked into French oak barrels, 58% of which were new, for 15 months of ageing. The resulting wine has more than a passing resemblance to a fine red Graves but with more generosity to the fruit character and less minerality.

Vivino Rating: 4.3 (Nov 2024)

Wine Press Ratings

92 Points - Wine Spectator

Taste

The Jayson Red Wines high proportion of Merlot gives it an immediacy and a slightly exotic character, while Cabernet adds structure and depth. Still very deeply coloured, the nose is that classic Merlot mix of plums, cherries, violets, and chocolate. On the palate it is luscious, weighty and plump. Flavours of red and black cherries, stewed plums, and boysenberries take centre stage but are given great support from the blackcurrant, green pepper, clove and pencil lead tones of the Cabernet. Enjoy this now with charcuterie, roast duck or pheasant, or tomato-rich dishes and fresh pasta, or cellar for another five years.

Blend: 76% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Malbec, 4% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc

Winemakers Tasting Notes

"Balance in the vineyard is crucial for our red varietals, and I carefully restrict yields and manage canopies to create just the right dappled sunlight to achieve ideal ripeness. In the cellar, I start with a core of ripe, concentrated mountaintop fruit, and seek out blending components to turn up the wine to its fullest potential really plush, concentrated, and fruit driven. Like that first 93 blending session, Im going by feel, achieving a complete wine with nuance and intricacy, a rich, approachable texture, and impeccable balance. Heavily toasted Taransaud imparts counterpoised structure and texture while retaining fruit purity."

About the Producer

Pahlmeyer has gone from being one mans dream to being one of the finest producers of Bordeaux Red style 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 Red Blend 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 red blends.