Things didn’t go off as smoothly as hoped (real, non-wine life sometimes gets in the way), but we were able to open up all five of the 2007 Saxums, and amazingly none of them were corked. Nine people tasted: most had a passing knowledge of Saxum wines, but a few had no experience. And, even though there were several AFWE folks and Francophiles, everyone enjoyed all five of the wines, and collectively we were amazed at how young the wines looked, smelled, and tasted, and how well integrated they wines were (vibrant fruit, no heat on the nose). Everyone said they would be happy to own any of the wines, but people did have favorites.
We tasted them from left to right, and although everyone had their preferences, Broken Stones received the most last place votes, and James Berry received the most first place votes. But, the real dividing line was between the Broken Stones and Heart Stone, and then the Booker, Bone Rock, and James Berry. The Booker stood out the most, with a darker, more brooding profile that came the closest to an old world wine (that said, close is a relative term). The James Berry was the most polished, and had a mouthfeel unlke the others - pure velvet that coated your mouth and didn’t fade. The Bone Rock was the most polarizing - the only wine with First and Last place votes (three of each). I went back and forth, and ultimately rated it #3 just because I loved the Booker (my #1) and the James Berry (my #2). The Bone Rock had more acid, and a more linear mouthfeel than the others, and when jumping back and forth, just didn’t seem to have the power or polish of the other two - which surprised me, because going into this, the Bone Rock has consistently been my favorite Saxum wine.
The most interesting topic of discussion, which originated from a person with no Saxum experience, was essentially, “Why five wines? Why not just one or two? These are all very delicious, well-made wines, but they are all a variation on the same theme. If anything, why not just make a Syrah, a Grenache, and one GSM blend?” Honestly, I don’t have an answer - I thought I did, but in tasting up and down the lineup over the course of two hours, I enjoyed each wine very much, but there were enough similarities that I wonder. Maybe it was the vintage? That said, hopefully I can do a similar tasting in a few years with the Terry Hogue, Paderewski, G2, and the others, and maybe then I can better understand and differentiate.
But, the bottom line for me personally is that I am happy to have found Saxum in my wine journey, and lucky to have many more bottles to share and enjoy.