Nearly three years ago a few of us kicked around the idea of doing a comprehensive Saxum tasting. This fall we settled on a date and began organizing the event. Looking through our collective cellars we determined we would be able to provide every bottle produced from the beginning. Ultimately, we decided to focus on vintages up through 2010 (with a few more recent vintages of some of the newer vineyards). This past weekend 13 of us traveled to Paso Robles with a large collection of Saxum for what ultimately turned out to be a tasting of 57 bottles of Saxum!
For anyone hoping for very detailed notes - mine are going to disappoint you. I’ve included some very brief impressions on the wines below. Perhaps some of the other attendees will have more to add. I will also try to post some more pictures of the bottle lineups.
Event 1 - Thursday, January 19th at McPhee’s Grill in Templeton
For our first night, Ian McPhee put together a very nice five course menu and we dined in the private room at McPhee’s Grill in Templeton. Our focus at this event was the Broken Stones and Booker Vineyard. A few of the bottles were opened in the morning with most of the rest being opened an hour or two before we arrived at the restaurant.
Flight 1:
2002 Broken Stones - This has aged really well. Great complexity and mouth feel
2003 Broken Stones - Darker fruit, black cherries, raspberries
2004 Broken Stones - Much lighter than the previous two, earth, funk, higher acid
Flight 2:
2005 Broken Stones - Dark fruit, bigger, complex - drinking really well
2006 Broken Stones - Black fruit, a little heat on the finish
2007 Broken Stones - Tight at first, this needed a little more air, lots of upside potential
Flight 3:
2008 Broken Stones - Plums, spice, black pepper - great balance
2009 Broken Stones - Dark cherries, intense, super concentrated
2010 Broken Stones - Seemed very approachable and drinking well now
Flight 4:
2005 Booker Vineyard - Black fruits, black pepper, approachable
2006 Booker Vineyard - Very ripe and intense, a little heat on the finish
2007 Booker Vineyard - Somehow I have no note on this one
Flight 5:
2008 Booker Vineyard - Darker fruits, plums, rich
2009 Booker Vineyard - Very intense, lots of red fruit
2010 Booker Vineyard - A little lighter in style than previous vintages - I thought this was one of most approachable Bookers.
Event 2 - Friday, January 20th - morning barrel tasting in the Saxum caves
On Friday morning Justin invited the group over to his caves for a little barrel sampling. We were joined by his assistant winemakers, Mark Adams and Don Burns (both of whom have their own exciting projects - Mark with Ledge Vineyards and Don with Turtle Rock Vineyards and Wine Shine Distillery) as well as the very gracious Sierra Christensen who has many roles at the winery including overseeing the mailing list (thus in my mind having the hardest job at Saxum!) We tasted primarily 2015 barrels. I am really excited for these wines, just sad that volume is down and there will be less to go around.
2015 Terry Hoage - Dark red fruits, cherries, spice, acidity, one of my favorites from the barrel tasting
2015 Heartstone Vineyard - Approximately 40% grenache, 20% syrah, 20% mourvedre - lighter red fruit, more feminine, great acidity
2015 Paderewski Vineyard - Lots of black and blue fruit, some savory characteristics, this will need some more time
2015 G2 Vineyard - Dark fruit, black cherries, blackberries, intense
2015 James Berry - We sampled from a barrel that was new in 2007 and held the 2007 JBV - so it has quite the pedigree. Also intense, more red fruit, lots of strawberries
2015 Rocket Block - There are only four barrels of this. Mainly grenache, co-fermented with a little syrah and mourvedre. We sampled two different barrels - the first showing lots of red fruit and the second barrel showing a lot more oak. Very excited for the finished product.
2015 Broken Stones - Lots of structure, cherries and spice
2015 Bone Rock - Again only four barrels of this elixir exists. Big, intense, dark, burly, tannic
We then moved on to sample two 2016’s. It is always tough for me to get much of a read on wines this early in the process. The first barrel we sampled was grenache from James Berry Vineyard that will most likely go into a new bottling to begin in 2016. I believe this barrel was still going through malo. The second barrel was a 2016 from the Booker Vineyard - inky color, dark fruits, seemed a little further along.
Event 3 - Friday, January 20th - dinner in the caves at Saxum
On Friday evening, Justin and Heather hosted us for a dinner in the caves. Michele Gargani, a local chef prepared a great meal to pair with wines all coming from the James Berry Vineyard. Again we were joined by Justin’s assistants, Don and Mark. Tonight’s bottles were all opened approximately 5 to 6 hours prior to our meal and Justin chose the flights and order.
Flight 1:
2000 Bone Rock - This aged really well. Savory, hints of oak, nice balance
2001 Bone Rock - Red fruits, raisins, raspberries
2002 Bone Rock - Served out of magnum, very fresh, lots of cherries
2003 Bone Rock - Red fruits, cherries
Flight 2:
2005 James Berry, 44 month - Rich and savory, earth, spice, black pepper, just an outstanding wine
2005 James Berry - Savory, red fruits, pomegranate
2006 James Berry, 32 month - red fruits, well balanced, good complexity
2006 James Berry - Very juicy, lots of strawberries
Flight 3:
2004 Bone Rock - Earth, a hint of spritz and brett
2005 Bone Rock - Black pepper, spice, sweet tannins, rich finish
2006 Bone Rock - Red and black fruits, well balanced
2007 Bone Rock - Earth, savory, complex, lots of upside
Flight 4:
2007 James Berry - This lives up to its legend. Dense and voluptuous, great depth and complexity, extremely long finish
2008 James Berry - Black and blue fruits, big and structured
2009 James Berry - Dark black and blue fruits, very dense and rich
2010 James Berry - Still a baby and a bit tighter than some of the other 2010’s, higher acidity
Flight 5:
2008 Bone Rock - Red fruits, cherries, long finish
2009 Bone Rock - 100% whole cluster, lots of spice, black fruit, darker profile
2010 Bone Rock - Co-fermented with 11% roussanne, lots of spice, red fruits and nice acidity
2011 Bone Rock - A little lighter in style, white pepper, good minerality
Flight 6:
2004 James Berry - A healthy dose of brett
2003 Rocket Block - Really bright, tons of red fruit, lots of strawberry, this has aged really well
2005 Rocket Block - Slightly darker red fruits than the 2003, more cherry, long finish
2013 Rocket Block - Soft tannins, hints of vanilla and cherries. Excited to try this again in another 7 years
Justin mentioned that this was the first time that he had poured all three Rocket Blocks together, a truly great experience
Flight Unicorn:
1999 Linne Calodo James Berry Vineyard Bone Rock - As many people know Justin and Matt were partners in the early days of Linne Calodo. This was a 90% syrah, 10% mourvedre blend. At the end of the night Justin surprised us by opening this bottle, one of only two bottles he has in his library. The best part of wine is sharing and we were all extremely grateful that Justin chose to share this with us. In all of the excitement, I did not write down any impressions on the wine - but is was certainly enjoyable.
Event 4 - January 21st - dinner at the home of Bill Gibbs at the top of Heartstone Vineyard
Bills Gibbs owns the Heartstone Vineyard as well as the G2 Vineyard that Justin sources fruit from. Bill graciously offered to host us at his home with an excellent dinner prepared by John, a chef friend of his. We chose to focus on the Heartstone, Terry Hoage and Paderewski vineyard for this tasting. All wines were opened approximately 4-5 hours before dinner.
Flight 1:
2004 Heartstone Vineyard - Brambly, a bit pruny
2005 Heartstone Vineyard - Red cherries, spice, red licorice
2006 Heartstone Vineyard - A bit softer, feminine style, just a bit of stems
2007 Heartstone Vineyard - Savory, herbs, plums, blackberries
Flight 2:
2008 Heartstone Vineyard - Strawberries, pomegranate, higher acidity
2010 Heartstone Vineyard - Black fruits, licorice, precision and balance, certainly a favorite
2011 Heartstone Vineyard - Lighter style, herbal, a bit of stems, higher acidity
2012 Heartstone Vineyard - Blueberries, showing some oak and tannins, it is a baby
Flight 3:
2010 Terry Hoage Vineyard - Sweet tannins, bright red fruits, a real pleasure
2011 Terry Hoage Vineyard - Cranberries, higher acidity
2012 Terry Hoage Vineyard - Black and blue fruits, tannic, still a baby
Flight 4:
2009 Paderewski Vineyard - Red licorice, black pepper and cherries
2010 Paderewski Vineyard - Brambly, red fruits
2011 Paderewski Vineyard - Blackberries, higher acidity
2012 Paderewski Vineyard - Cranberries, cherries, tannins
Flight 5:
Bill naturally wanted to show off a Saxum G2 and who were we to say no. So down to his cellar he went to grab two more bottles that were popped and poured.
2014 G2 Vineyard - Meaty, savory, dense, really a lot to like. Excited to try this with a bit more age.
2014 Heartstone Vineyard - Sweet tannins, a hint of oak, a little dust on the finish. Another baby that will be exciting to revisit in a few years.
Lessons from the weekend:
I have been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to sample in excess of 200 bottles of Saxum over the years, so I already had some strong opinions. While none of the the lessons below surprised me, the comprehensive tasting served to reconfirm them.
Am I happy to have a cellar full of Saxum? - Absolutely
Will I continue to buy Saxum? - All that they will sell me
How well does Saxum age? - Some of the oldest wines we had this weekend including the 2002 Broken Stones, 2000 and 2002 Bone Rock, 2003 Rocket Block have aged very gracefully and were some of our favorites. The 2005 vintage, now going on year 12, was probably our favorite vintage as they have reached a place where they are drinking great and I suspect they will continue to for years to come.
Can you drink Saxum young? - Yes, they are often big and dense in their youth but oh so hedonistic.
Do all these big Paso wines taste the same? - Based on my very limited notes above you may think so, but that is the fault of my weak note taking and could not be further from the truth. The vineyards Saxum sources from each have their unique individual style and when combined with weather differences from vintage to vintage, different varietal blends, differences in the winemaking process, etc., were all factors that enabled us to enjoy 57 bottles that were very unique and individual in character.
Is Justin Smith an extremely talented winemaker and a helluva nice guy? - Without a doubt. Hey this would have been a good event had we hosted it in a few restaurants in southern California. Having the opportunity to drink all of the James Berry in Justin’s caves along with the barrel sampling, hearing stories of the wines and tasting the 1999 LC James Berry took this event to an entirely different level. I would say once in a lifetime, but we may have to return in five years to do a comprehensive tasting of more recent vintages!
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Epic weekend, thanks for sharing. We did a horizontal vertical of every Halćon Vineyard Syrah a few years back that turned into a 50+ bottle evening with 22 people. It’s tough drinking a lot of Syrah without getting fatigued. Well done on your part being able to make a weekend of it and going back to the source. Really enjoyed reading your write-up!
!!! I have one last bottle of that '99 Bone Rock - I must find it… Anyways, I’ve been a long-time admirer of Saxum - since the beginning - I can’t believe the years seems to have gone that fast. An '05 Bone Rock will be on tap tonight!![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
