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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 94.9 pts. and median of 95 pts. in 113 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by larrybbaldwin on 12/24/2023 & rated 91 points: A bit dusty, musty on opening but grew into its ripe and lovely self. Dried fruit with firm acid, it feels as its trajectory is pointing down not up. (618 views) | | | Tasted by MQuentel@web.de on 7/26/2023 & rated 95 points: What a thick ship. 82% Syrah with a bit of Grenache and Mouvedre. Not dissimilar in style to an Amarone, the wine fires from all guns. Cassis liqueur, blackberries, blueberries, plums, chat olives - plus some pipe tobacco and nougat. Amazingly, the perceived medium acidity takes control of this monster and balances it out. It gets better with air, the freshness increases with air, not decreases. On the palate, in addition to the fruit, it shows some spicy notes that suit it well. For pure elegance drinkers in the sense of a Grand Crus from Burgundy, the wine is not suitable, but undoubtedly this is great stuff, which despite the high alcohol is not too hot and has an amazing balance and especially complexity. "Vini extremi" is what the Italians say to something like this. (1024 views) | | | Tasted by Mike Dildine on 3/18/2022 & rated 98 points: Crazy good. Combines youthful power and intensity with secondary lusciousness. Absolutely stunning. (2082 views) | | | Tasted by Mike Dildine on 8/28/2021 & rated 96 points: 15.7% abv. Medium-dark ruby, extremely aromatic. Damn cork broke off upon removal. Note to self: Ah-so on anything much older than a decade or so. On the plate, ripe plum, black pepper, iodine, black olive, meat and a sweet floral hint. A hint of alcohol on this high octane bruiser. Outstanding depth, length, intensity and concentration, but not heavy on the palate. Flamboyant, wild and exotic. I usually prefer the Grenache-based Saxums with age, but this exceeded my expectations. (2370 views) | | | Tasted by wineismylife on 11/14/2019 & rated 94 points: WIML94
Tasted non blind. Opened and served immediately. Followed over about 90 minutes.
Dark purple to almost inky black color in the glass, clear looking as best as I could tell. Huge nose of currants, dried plums, dark chocolate covered cherries, black pepper, you name it. It's in there. Rich flavors of juicy currants, black berries and dried plums. Medium acidity, medium to firm tannin, full bodied plus some if possible. Drink now with some air or continue to hold. Wowzer. Massive. (3841 views) | | | Tasted by brigcampbell on 9/22/2019: Very dark, hello. Dark blackberry, cocoa, and plenty of white pepper. The alcohol is aggressive mid palate. I'd be worried as this ages the booze will overhead the fruit. It's not balanced now. Still fun. (3460 views) | | | Tasted by Immigrator on 9/15/2019 & rated 97 points: Popped and held for 6 hours in a wide-bottomed decanter. Dark, inky purple with a moderate amount of sediment present when decanting. Aromas of blackberry, blueberry, black currant, black pepper. On the palate, it's delicious with lots of black currant, dark cherry, and additional notes of vanilla, bark, minerality, and a pronounced high alcohol bite. Medium acidity, a super long finish, full body, and a polished mouthfeel. The '07 JBV Bone Rock does not disappoint and will definitely keep well for another 5-7 years, probably longer. (2981 views) | | | Tasted by jshufelt on 9/2/2019 & rated 93 points: Pop and pour into a decanter. Inky, dark red wine, fading almost immediately to black at the core. On the nose, loads of crushed berries and stone fruit. On the palate, pure, clean fruit - blueberries and raspberries are dominant, but there are secondary notes of currants, plums, and black pepper. Somehow, despite that, this wine doesn't come across as a fruit bomb, and I think it's due to that purity of fruit. Still substantial tannins on the finish, which makes me wish I had another bottle to check in ten years. (2459 views) | | | Tasted by Bebes on 9/1/2019 & rated 90 points: We decanted for two hours. We had the 2007 in 2019. I felt the alcohol overwhelmed the wine. Nobody raved about it which suggested to me that it had aged behind its years. Normally I would have a lot to positively say about a Saxum wine (1998 views) | | | Tasted by Cailles on 7/13/2019 & rated 93 points: Saxum Tasting (Zurich): Comprehensive vertical tasting of several Saxum vineyards and a total of 24 wines. Most wines on a good to very good level in the 93 to 95 points range, just one on an exceptional (97+ points) level (James Berry Bone Rock 08). The consistency of the wine-making at Saxum is impressive but the tasting proofed to be rather a bit boring with less difference between the vineyards and vintages showing than expected and wished for. Heart Stone stood out a bit (bigger vats used, little new oak) thanks to more terroir expression. James Berry (mostly Grenache) and James Berry Bone Rock (elevated complexity and sexiness) were great. Best vintage (we tried wines from 2003 to 2011) is clearly the 2007 which produced the wines with the most depth.
TN: Currently, the weakest of the three Bone Rock wines tested (2011, 2008) as it showed some heat along the same aromatic profile as the others (dark, dense fruit, minerality, nuttiness). A bit less expressive too. I guess, this just needs more time to unfold, integrate and open up. As all Saxums the structure is fine and elegant, despite all the power. If you pop a bottle today, I would give it a long decant (4+ hours) or better just wait a few years. (2233 views) | | | Tasted by sirpat00 on 6/22/2019 & rated 96 points: Grand Saxum Tasting (Gustav in Zurich): Grand Saxum tasting over several vineyeards and vintages. 23 wines in total. What was remarkable is the consistancy in aromatics across vintages and partly also across vineyards. Big and powerful wines but not without elegance. As a vintage 2007 stood out as exceptional across all vineyards. Booker stood out as the most consistent on a high level while James Berry vineyards had the highest range, but was oustanding in some vintages. The top wines for me were 2008 Bone Rock and Booker 2007.
Tasting note:
Ripe fruit, greenish herbs. Complex texture and layered on the palate. Plush tannins keep acidity in check. (1616 views) | | | Tasted by bobvictor on 4/17/2019 & rated 96 points: Near perfection. Rose petals sorrounded and then absorbed by blackberries. Silky smooth and luscious. (1328 views) | | | Tasted by europat55 on 3/23/2019 & rated 90 points: I think that wine has not reached it's peak yet... (1369 views) | | | Tasted by AJCM on 12/5/2018 & rated 93 points: It needs at least 2hrs to soften the alcohol content.
A blend of 82% Syrah, 13% Mourvedre, and 5% Grenache
Once the alcohol has dissipated, one can feel the abundant aromas of blue and black fruits, acacia flowers, spice, pepper, and earth. Notes of minerals, pepper, violet....creamy feeling. (1705 views) | | | Tasted by drazhen on 11/24/2018 & rated 99 points: Every now and then I will have a $200 bottle of good ol’ Cali wine like this and scratch my head and wonder why I ever pay $1,000 for those Lafite’s.... This wine is near perfection. What an extraordinary vintage 2007 was. They have a few other bottlings as good as this at Saxum. 15.7% alcohol hits you at first but after an hour decant the heat subsides and the amazing structure comes out. What a long finish this has. Pure joy. (1404 views) | | | Tasted by Cow Town on 11/11/2018 & rated 94 points: Drank with the other 2007 Saxums, my #3...but still an amazing wine. The most acid of all, with very vibrant red and black fruit. More linear profile, where the others were full and round. Wish I had more to taste, and it was the most difficult to grasp. Was #1 for many. (1522 views) | | | Tasted by Kevnzworld on 7/19/2018: Decanted for two hours.
The nose reminds me of a berry lifesaver mixed with alcohol.
The first taste had the heat from the alcohol mixed with the sweetness of the berries.
Even after three hours it’s evident that this is too young. The acidity and heat overpower the fruit and other flavors.
The 15.7 alcohol is still weighing on this wine. (1964 views) | | | Tasted by Backdoctor on 1/16/2018 & rated 100 points: Amazing wine. Big fruity nose and palate. Decanted for over an hour and back in bottle for two more. Outstanding wine. Ready to drink (2413 views) | | | Tasted by cookie7 on 10/7/2017: Decanted for three hours. Showed extremely well. Paired in a flight with the SGN Labels which seemed to show a bit more pepper and darker fruit. (2706 views) | | | Tasted by cubswinws on 10/1/2017 & rated 95 points: Black as night and amazing density of fruit with good spice and pepper. Lovely now but no hurry on this one. (2547 views) | | | Tasted by MLwine on 8/26/2017 & rated 96 points: Flat out delicious. Smooth, balanced, fruity, rich, but still remarkably light on its feet for such a flavorful wine. (2596 views) | | | Tasted by Dale M on 8/3/2017 & rated 95 points: Decanted 3 hrs. Showed surprisingly young given the decade of age, certainly more structured that a regular James Berry given the much higher percentage of Syrah vs. Grenache. Very fresh and bright berry fruit with the classic JB floral overlay. Zero indication of heat or any type of imbalance, seamless really. My one and only bottle but if I had more, I'd hold it for another 5 years to see where it goes. (2542 views) | | | Tasted by Mr T on 6/18/2017: Big wine
Folks loved it (2146 views) | | | Tasted by jaylew1 on 6/16/2017 & rated 97 points: Shockingly young. Blue and black fruits. Drinking beautifully but still incredibly dense and dark. Could use more time. (1803 views) | | | Tasted by Loren Sonkin on 5/21/2017 & rated 99 points: Some great wines with Friends; 5/20/2017-5/21/2017 (The Barn at Walden): From Magnum. Just a killer bottle of wine. Inky purple in color. The nose is great. Black raspberries, black pepper, slight roasted meats, slight blueberries, and some floral notes. Clean and young. On the palate, what a great texture. In this era of Saxum wines, they were so powerful yet so light on their feet at the same time. Lots of black raspberries and blueberries, some earthiness and minerals. Complex. Juicy. Deep. Long finish. No hint that this wine has 15.8% alcohol. Just deliciousness and fantastic. Great wine. (2777 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| 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.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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