WTN: Urban Pahlmeyer

[David M. Bueker]

• 1997 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red - USA, California, Napa Valley (7/28/2025)
  If there’s a poster child for when Napa became NAPA!! it might be the 1997 Pahlmeyer Red Wine. On release it was a sensation, and almost affordable compared to some of the early Cult Cabs. It was big, and rich, but not a caricature. My dad got in back then, and rode the wave through the early oughts. Back then I wanted to hate the ‘97 Red, but I couldn’t. It was not in my wheelhouse, but it wasn’t crazy (that came later with the 2001 that was a reduced sauce of ridiculousness). Tonight I revisited the guidepost, and while leaning to the extreme, it remained under control. Surprisingly, at almost 28 years since the vintage, there was still ripe, uncorrupted fruit. Plummy fruit, but fruit, rather than some elixir of Slytherin. I was honestly stunned at how freshly the wine presented, where a couple of years ago the 2001 fell apart over several hours. My style of wine, no. Enjoyable as a representative sample of a movement, yes.