Pahlmeyer’s progress: From smuggled vines to Napa favourite

Pahlmeyer is one of Napa’s best-known wines. It is famous for its top-shelf Cabernet and Chardonnay releases, and for the fact that it has unprecedented access to some of California’s most coveted sites: Stagecoach Vineyard and its own, Atlas Peak Proprietary Vineyard.

Today a critical darling and a brand that takes pride-of-place in collector’s cellars, Pahlmeyer’s success was built from the ground up; thanks to a little bit of smuggling skulduggery and canny hiring of winemaking talent by its eponymous creator.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores of eight Pahlmeyer wines to try

Talent spotting and swift success

The winery’s story begins in the 1980s, with Jayson Pahlmeyer, an experienced lawyer irrevocably bitten by the wine bug. Determined to make a ‘California Mouton’, he travelled with his friend John Caldwell to Bordeaux, and smuggled vine cuttings back through Canada and into the USA in shoe boxes.

After getting caught, Pahlmeyer infamously swapped his contraband cuttings for similar-looking ones he’d acquired from UC Davis. With the authorities duped, Pahlmeyer and Caldwell used the ‘suitcase’ Bordeaux clones to plant the Caldwell Vineyard in Coombsville in 1981. Their fait accompli soon caught the eye of the locals.

By 1986, Randy Dunn (of Dunn Vineyards fame) asked to purchase Pahlmeyer’s grapes. Jayson agreed to sell him the fruit on the condition that Dunn made Pahlmeyer’s first red wines.

A few years later, in 1989, Pahlmeyer had added Chardonnay to its offering, bringing in Bob Levy (then winemaker for Merryvale and later Harlan) to lead the white winemaking programme. Pahlmeyer clearly had a nose for talent, and the duo of Dunn and Levy would subsequently be followed by future Californian winemaking stars Helen Turley (in 1993) and later Erin Green (a protégée of Turley’s).

As early as 1992, Pahlmeyer had branched out with the introduction of the ‘Jayson’ label – a more approachable lineup made in the same style and held to the same quality standards as Pahlmeyer’s top-tier wines. In 1998, American viticulture guru David Abreu planted the Pahlmeyer Estate Vineyard atop Atlas Peak, using cuttings taken from the ‘suitcase’ plants. Over 2,000 feet (609 metres) above sea-level, on a clear day one can see the Golden Gate Bridge from the vines.

Other winemaking talent that passed through Pahlmeyer’s doors in the 2000s included Kale Anderson (who earned the winery a 100-point score for the 2013 Pahlmeyer Cabernet Sauvignon Pièce de Résistance) and, then Bibiana Gonzalez Rave was brought on by Jason’s daughter Cleo Pahlmeyer, who became the winery’s president in 2017.

The Katie Vogt era at Pahlmeyer

Katie Vogt had quietly been building a reputation as a rising star in the West Coast winemaking scene and was widely tipped to take on a senior winemaking role. Her winemaking career began in 2008 working for Christian Tietje of Cypher, Four Vines, and Anarchy Wine Co. in Paso Robles. She quickly rose to the position of Assistant Winemaker and, by 2014, E. & J. Gallo Winery took notice and sought her out.

Vogt joined the company’s California Central Coast team, making larger-production wine for Edna Valley Vineyard and Bridlewood Estate. Recognising Vogt’s talents, Gallo focused her attention on Cellar 254, a single-vineyard, small-lot Cabernet offering from the Louis M. Martini Winery.

With Gallo’s purchase of Pahlmeyer in 2019 (for US$235 million), Vogt got her chance to take the reins of an established winery herself. Self-assured, quick-thinking, and singularly focused, she approaches her work with the same reverence with which a die-hard fan would approach a treasured bottle of Pahlmeyer in their cellar.

Pahlmeyer’s style – abundantly fruity and powerful but also focused, complex, and savoury – has been a signature of the brand for nearly five decades. Vogt has done little to change what she inherited. In any case, she explains that: ‘Chasing any style is inauthentic,’ and she favours ‘sticking to the pillars of grape sourcing and doing the best we can to balance ripe fruit with Pahlmeyer’s hallmark savoury qualities’. And when it comes to grape sourcing, Pahlmeyer has quite the selection at its disposal.

Pahlmeyer at a glance

Founded: Vines were first planted in 1981 by founder Jayson Pahlmeyer. The first vintage released was in 1986. In 2019, E&J Gallo purchased both the Pahlmeyer and Jayson by Pahlmeyer brands.

Owned by: E&J Gallo

Key vineyards: Atlas Peak Estate Vineyard, Antinori Vineyard, Hyde Vineyard, Rancho Chimiles, Stagecoach, Upper Range, Vangone, Waters.

Vineyard sources for ‘Jayson by Pahlmeyer’: Antica, Bay View, Broken Rock, Carpenter, Cypress, Deconique, Fisch Ranch, Laguna Ranch, Monte Rosso, Round Pond, Shiftlet, St. Andrews, Sun Lake, Waters, and William Hill.

Key varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Chardonnay

Hollywood moment: In 1994, the 1991 Pahlmeyer Chardonnay was featured in the blockbuster movie Disclosure, starring Michael Douglas and Demi Moore.

The keys to Stagecoach and the Gallo acquisition

Another important impact of the Gallo acquisition is that Pahlmeyer and its most famous vineyard source – Stagecoach – are now under the same ownership. This prime piece of Pritchard Hill and Atlas Peak real estate is a source of top-quality fruit, used by wineries such as: Merryvale, Darioush, Arkenstone, Blackbird Vineyards, Swanson, Quintessa, Plumpjack, and Alpha Omega, among others.

As Vogt puts it, ‘Being able to utilise this ranch for a brand like Pahlmeyer is pretty much a perfect match’. But, she continues, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a decision-making process. As she says: ‘We have to be mindful of the blocks that we choose, and we’re ultra-selective about what makes it into Pahlmeyer.’

‘I think the main difference is really, how we’re leveraging Stagecoach,’ Vogt continues. ‘Owning a vineyard is so different than buying fruit from someone. The growers that we work with make our partnership feel like we’re in it with them, and that’s really important. But owning the vineyard is a whole new ballgame. Stagecoach is a big enough vineyard to sustain a sizeable year-round, full-time crew,’ which allows Vogt to ‘try different things,’ like grafting and rootstock projects.

Vineyards aside, improvements to the winemaking space for Pahlmeyer are paving the way for a new era in precision winemaking. Vogt was quite vocal with the Gallo family about finding Pahlmeyer a permanent home. She was given a budget, and by 2020, Gallo had created a dedicated and impressive space for Pahlmeyer, replete with custom tanks to accommodate all of Pahlmeyer’s needs and allow for growth.

Future focused

This was necessary too, as Pahlmeyer continues to extend its reach when it comes to sourcing, both within Napa Valley and outside of it (for the Jayson label). ‘I think diversity is good’, Vogt explains. ‘We’re in long-term contracts across the Valley, and having a varied set of growers with grapes that offer different flavour profiles is what gives these wines dimension.’

The winery’s bread and butter, however, remains the Stagecoach vineyard, and with the Gallo acquisition behind it, Pahlmeyer is now sourcing more than ever from that location. ‘We really get to set ourselves up for the future, for the long term,’ Vogt says regarding the unique relationship with this storied vineyard. As well as fruit, Vogt has substantial influence on what gets planted where and how canopies are managed for their dedicated blocks.

Vogt also has her eye on proving that Pahlmeyer’s Chardonnay is on equal footing with its top-end Cabernets. ‘One of the things that I do with the vineyard manager is we look at blocks that are up for redevelopment. And then start negotiating. I say: “Oh, that’d be a great spot for Chardonnay. Could you dedicate a quarter of it or half of it?”’

For Vogt, the future is about, ‘dialling things in and fine-tuning our fruit sourcing by partnering with growers like the Betinellis with their Upper Range vineyard that shares our vision. The bottom line is, that for the Pahlmeyer name to remain relevant, it has to evolve,’ and this new era in Pahlmeyer’s story could end up being one of the most interesting for fine wine fans.

Jonathan Cristaldi’s take: Eight Pahlmeyer wines to try

Wines were not tasted blind

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