2008 Pamplin Family Winery Columbia Valley Proprietary Red

"Overwhelmingly Cabernet Sauvignon, with 7% Malbec plus smidgeons of Petit Verdot and Merlot, Pamplin’s 2008 Proprietary Red features cassis, huckleberry and juniper along with high-toned suggestions of mint and pungent brown spices. Plenty of primary juiciness survives the relatively lavish oak (nearly half new) and there is a combination of textural and fruit richness with clarity and invigoration such as this cuvee’s lesser sibling JRG (or for that matter its 2009 counterpart) doesn’t manage. Vanilla, brown spice, and resinous herbal notes successfully complement the fruit in its persistent finish, though it doesn’t display (for now at least) the mineral dimension of the corresponding 2009. This ought to be worth following for at least 4-5 years. (I’m sure the Pamplin team envisions something much longer-lived and they may well be correct. But since vintage 2008 is this cuvee’s first, it’s too early to speak of a track record, and I always prefer to sin on the side of stringency.) " - RP