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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.5 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 203 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by ZekeBoston on 2/19/2023 & rated 89 points: I went through my 2004 Saxum years ago. The spritz vintage. Got this off auction for $60 and wanted to see how a 19 year old Saxum was doing. I had a 2005 Rocket Block Thanksgiving and it was mind blowing. That and a 2003 Rocket Block that Justin gifted me are the oldest in my cellar.
This wine still has some spritz so vigorously decanted. A little reductive on the nose. Comes across with stewed, Caramelized, medicinal notes. Question how well it was stored or if this is the evolution of spritz vintage. Still drinkable. My wife actually loved it. I just don’t do well with unintended Amarone. (616 views) | | | Tasted by 559Cheers on 12/5/2021 & rated 95 points: Drinking well, just opened yesterday. Very nice. Nose very intriguing, mixture of subdued cinnamon, wintergreen and herbal notes (perhaps fenugreek). A very pleasant nose. On the palette, vigorous fruit, with other intriguing elements. Trying to understand and place it all. Great bottle.
*5th night Beautifully concentrated and brimming with everything “great”. (1075 views) | | | Tasted by Les Raisins Du Aron on 4/5/2021 & rated 93 points: 2 hour decant. 3 might have been best. Super pleasurable, would be my overall here. Blackberry and late season plum notes, with a touch of spice up front, but seems to be a mature wine. I am glad I got to drink this one. (1255 views) | | | Tasted by CRUSHER on 10/31/2020 & rated 93 points: black and blueberry with notes of tobacco. good tannic structure (1452 views) | | | Tasted by Charlie C on 10/2/2020 & rated 93 points: This wine is in great shape at age 16. Dark red in color. Sharp, red fruited nose. Plums, raspberries, bit of roast meat on the palate. Lovely, round fruit, but precise and well defined. Cherry notes come out on the mid-palate with just a bit of air. The longer it sits in the glass the more elegant it becomes. Great acidity and balance, smooth tannins. Finishes long, long with sharp red fruits and cleansing acidity. Just lovely. Drink over the next 5 years without any concerns. (1484 views) | | | Tasted by rexmerlot on 10/29/2019 & rated 94 points: Wow for 15 years old this wine is still showing well. Dark ruby red in color. Notes of black berry, licorice, baking spices, and some floral. Dry, med body, med acidity, smooth tannins. Can believe all the fruit still showing after 15 years. I have had these wines younger and found them a little too big, but with age this wine is really drinking well. Wish I had more bottles in the cellar, could easily go another 10 years. (1539 views) | | | Tasted by Winerut on 3/31/2019 & rated 94 points: Still going strong (1368 views) | | | Tasted by RPerro on 12/31/2018 & rated 93 points: A bit of spritz on the pop, leading me to decant rather aggressively to dissipate it. An hour later this was in it's sweet spot. Lush black cherry and plum fruit, cracked peppercorn, and vanilla on the finish. Started to slide into pruney flavors at about hour 3. Drink now, and be sure to shake off the spritz. (1177 views) | | | Tasted by jshufelt on 9/8/2017 & rated 93 points: Decanted two hours before service. Still had to shake off the spritz!
Largely consistent with our previous tasting note from a couple of years ago, but we also noticed a lavender note in the mix, which was quite nice. If I had another bottle, I'd recommend a four hour decant, and a good shake - this still needs substantial air time to show everything it has. (2106 views) | | | Tasted by peternelson on 6/19/2016 & rated 93 points: Just killer. Knocked the 2000 out of the water IMHO. Pure fruit, balanced, some spice and minerals for complexity, just more going on and in perfectly good shape. B&J's (3747 views) | | | Tasted by dhammer53 on 2/10/2016 & rated 94 points: Clearly the WOTN at the WineBerserkers offline at Di Fara's pizza in Brooklyn. Great nose. This was a really nice wine. No notes taken. (3984 views) | | | Tasted by odds on 2/9/2016 & rated 94 points: Di Fara's Pizza and Wines that don't suck offline :-) (Brooklyn, NY): Offline for wine and pizza. Clearly WOTN material. Full body, great nose, medium+ (long finish) . Dark color as others have noted, and still have years to go imho. The spices take the right spot (ratio of spices to fruit), where they are secondary, but not hidden (if it makes some sense). Berries on the nose. Enjoyable. Took two tastes from it to revisit over the evening. (for what a vote by the glass counts :-) )
~94 (3988 views) | | | Tasted by LFCHALA on 1/5/2016 & rated 91 points: Overpowering. Massive. No subtleties. Modern style, with some balance. Not for me. (3817 views) | | | Tasted by kietkopelli on 6/21/2015 & rated 93 points: This is my first Saxum with no additional bottles in the cellar. Whilst this wine is fantastic there are similar wines from France and Australia with similar profile for less money.
Base on the blend and 15.8% alcohol content we knew this will be a BIGGGG wine so we decanted it for 45 mins while we mingled so I missed the spirtz that everyone talked about. On the nose the fruit was explosive with a decent amount of floral scents and a bit of mushroomy funk. In the mouth it's loaded with fruit and flowers, I would have never guessed it has 85% Syrah from the absence of peppery notes. I can go on about the tasting notes but most of the folks have covered them here.
I paid $75 for this wine which seemed like a bargain base on retail pricing but I think it's a fair price given the French and Australian offerings at $80 and under. I would not buy the Saxum at $100 and above but would pick up cases if $50 or under. (3851 views) | | | Tasted by Seafoam Manor on 3/21/2015 & rated 94 points: So it turns out that the Coravin can kill spritz. This was the final glass and change from a Coravined bottle which was much more resolved than the previous glasses. Very dark wine for 11 years old, to the point that you would have no indicator of age at all. On the palate this is dominated by rich blackberry and blueberry notes with big spice, then more tertiary leather and tobacco notes on the finish. With more time in the glass, a raspberry liquor flavor, with a slight medicinal tone, started to emerge. The integration of the very high alcohol is probably the greatest achievement with this wine. I think this will hang on for a while, but I don't think this will improve with age. (2866 views) | | | Tasted by rdsboca on 2/21/2015 & rated 83 points: The spritz was back! (3354 views) | | | Tasted by Winerut on 2/14/2015 & rated 94 points: Fantastic after 2 hour decant. Definite efervescent on opening. I shook this vigorously several times over a couple of hours and it paid off and with a little patience it was fantastic. Full bodied, well balanced but a little short on the finish; wishing the flavors would last forever. Very nice spice on the palate. Very enjoyable. (2636 views) | | | Tasted by Seafoam Manor on 1/23/2015 & rated 93 points: Yes, the spritz was very much there and needed about 45 minutes to resolve itself. A very deep ruby, which almost skewed a little purple. It was slightly cloudy and certainly didn't look 11 years old. Initially the nose was full of leathery tertiary notes, but with time, the alcohol became the prominent aroma, despite not really being noticeable on the palate. Complex palate, with a base of deeper black fruit, although with a red fruited grenache influence that felt much larger than the 10-12% present in the blend. There are strong leather and mushroom notes that really balance the wine out, along with a big five-spice note (which may have been exaggerated, since I was having this with five-spice crusted pork). Given the raw power of the wine, the finish was shorter than expected, but not bad. Really held the alcohol well at almost 16%. Far from an all time classic Saxum, but still a good wine and an interesting "how they got here" sort of historical footnote for the truly great, more recent, wines. (2715 views) | | | Tasted by jshufelt on 1/17/2015 & rated 91 points: After all this time, still a touch of spritz, but it is settling down. Still a lot of fruit here, plums and blackberries, and although the alcohol is imperceptible, you'll feel it by the time the bottle is drained. Some very faint high-toned aromatics and aged notes make me think another 2-3 years might still yield some upside... (2355 views) | | | Tasted by Nguyenning on 9/17/2014 & rated 90 points: Opened at JTYH Noodles in Rosemead. While still impressive, this was my least favorite Saxum I've tried. Could have used a 3-hour decant though, and we gave it 1.5, so that definitely played into it. There was a bit of early funk which diminished over time. A true powerhouse. (2801 views) | | | Tasted by Uglypinga on 8/11/2014: Very spritzy but wuth vigorous shaking it blows off. Big juicy smokey nose with some grilled meat and even a hint of mint. The palateis medium to full in weight with ripe plums and some black berries but nice freshness. If i have any complaint about it woulf be a slightly clupped finish. (3064 views) | | | Tasted by ronte bello on 7/16/2014 & rated 89 points: No bouquet. Sweet concentrated black fruit, but not a lot of flavor. Good acidity. Gentle tannins and alcohol. A slight bad taste on the back-end. (3180 views) | | | Tasted by rcg62 on 4/5/2014 & rated 95 points: Color is dark purple with red ruby edges. Looks young. Good nose with plum-like aromas. Looks young. Huge palate that really lingered. Dark fruit with tar, licorice and chocolate. High alcohol but well integrated. Really beautiful juice. Probably at or near peak but think this will still be a beauty ten years from. Better than I remembered; think it has improved a lot the last couple of years. (3583 views) | | | Tasted by Mrbuzz on 12/27/2013 & rated 93 points: Been awhile since I've had this one…last one had WAY too much spritzy VA. You still need to decant and shake the hell out of this sucker…but it is starting to mellow out! 85% Syrah, 12% Grenache, and 3% Mourvedre...plenty of dark oozing blueberry,blackberry,creme de cassis, plum fruit…tasty graphite, white flowers, licorice, smoked wood, crushed rocks..…all pure and creamy smooth…WITH still some tingle of acidity…which actually livens it up and keeps the freshness. Not really showing any age, but maybe a little plum and portness. Great balance, with just a tad more acidity than ideal. Tasty! (4256 views) | | | Tasted by wcchang on 10/2/2013 & rated 94 points: Very enjoyable. Fruity, fruity and fruity! Nose, palate to the lingering finish. Very enjoyable with unique flavor profile. On Palate, this wine may not have as much variations on complexity as some wines at similar high level. But it is so vibrant and lovable, for beginners and wine lovers. Especially for the fresh vigorous nose and the unique lingering finish. It simply leaves a long lasting impression on me and I am in love with Saxum. (4403 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, September/October 2006, IWC Issue #128
(Saxum Winery Syrah James Berry Vineyard Bone Rock Paso Robles) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (8/16/2008)
(Saxum Bone Rock James Berry Vineyard) Funky carbonic maceration, black fruit and prune juice nose; carbonic maceration, black fruit, fig and prune palate with drying medium finish 88 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous and RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Saxum Producer website
Justin Smith of Saxum Vineyards is focused on producing Syrah, Grenache, and Mataro based blends from the Willow Creek District of Paso Robles, California. We let our rocky calcareous soils, steep hillsides, and cooling ocean breezes speak through our wines by keeping our yields extremely low, picking fruit at the peak of ripeness, and using a minimalist approach in the cellar. We respect our land and farm everything sustainably without chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides. Because our vine’s roots penetrate deep through the fissures in the calcareous soil irrigation is rarely needed. Production is kept at 5000-6000 cases per year divided between 12 different cuvees, Broken Stones, Heart Stone Vineyard, James Berry Vineyard, James Berry Vineyard White, Booker Vineyards, Rocket Block, Bone Rock, Paderewski Vineyard, G2 Vineyard, Terry Hoage Vineyard, 4hearts Vineyard, and The Hexe.2004 Saxum Bone Rock James Berry VineyardSyrah - 85%
Grenache - 12%
Mouvedre - 3%Syrah BlendThe 2018 is 40% Merlot and 60% Syrah.James Berry VineyardUnder the expert care of Justin Smith, James Berry Vineyard has quickly established itself as one of the premiere Rhône varietal vineyards in the state. The “Carlisle” block of James Berry Vineyard is located just below the terraced “Bone Rock” section and is planted to Syrah clones 470 and 174. Justin practices sustainable farming, using no chemical fertilizers or pesticides. And with the limestone laden soils and devigorating rootstock, the vines struggle, yielding small quantities of intensely flavored fruit.
Copyright © 2013 Carlisle Winery & Vineyards, all rights reserved
On weinlagen-infoUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Central Coasthttp://www.ccwinegrowers.org/links.html
http://www.discovercaliforniawines.com/regional-wine-organizations/
http://beveragetradenetwork.com/en/btn-academy/list-of-winegrowers-association-in-central-coast-california-274.htm
Central Coast AVA WikipediaPaso Robles Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance
Set apart by unique climate and geography, Paso Robles Wine Country provides prime growing conditions for more than 40 varietals planted over 26,000 acres of vineyards. More than 300 wineries craft this fruit into premium wines, gaining recognition around the world. The fruit, the wines and the distinct environment have quickly made Paso Robles California's third largest and fastest growing wine region. |
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