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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.3 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 84 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by DoubleMagnum on 11/5/2022 & rated 92 points: This is mellowing down quite a bit. I would decant if you still have some. The notes from two years ago are there but not as powerful as they were. The extract and texture are the same. Time to drink up! Decant! you won't regret it. (464 views) | | | Tasted by exphilip on 12/25/2020 & rated 90 points: If memory serves , it was better when it was younger (897 views) | | | Tasted by DoubleMagnum on 4/8/2020 & rated 94 points: Medium garnet color. On the nose, there is blackberry, black pepper, leather, barnyard. There's also a meat freezer note, like the Western Beef meat room and an aged pork note, like when you leave bacon or porchetta on the fridge for too long. Dry on the palate, full bodied, medium ripe tannins, almost resolved. Silky texture. Flavors of nicoise olive, and game pop. The finish is long, lush and engulfing. Beautiful mature bottle that exudes complexity and still has a few years of life left. Pop now and within the next five years. (995 views) | | | Tasted by smchludzinski on 4/3/2020: Plenty of life left! (980 views) | | | Tasted by MattB72 on 10/25/2019 & rated 91 points: Good but nearing the end. Drink now (1100 views) | | | Tasted by BillyRayValentine on 10/19/2019 & rated 91 points: Completely agree with KKLEG. Spot-on note. Still great but wish I drank this a year ago. Drink now. (794 views) | | | Tasted by kkleg on 2/17/2018 & rated 92 points: Absolutely lovely nose, with herbs, olive tapenade, and smoked meats coming through. The palate is a bit short, but there’s some cherry and smoke there. The finish is a bit short, which prevents a higher score. A 91.5 right now and probably at its peak, but should hold for another 2-3 years or so. (1374 views) | | | Tasted by psi on 1/13/2018 & rated 93 points: My last. Damn good glass. It has been a pleasure. Cool, northern Rhône profile with that extra charm :-) (1087 views) | | | Tasted by psi on 8/5/2017 & rated 92 points: Always great. Mature (1344 views) | | | Tasted by joraesque on 6/10/2017 & rated 90 points: A bit ripe, but quite tasty, reminiscent perhaps of a rich CdP -- 95% Syrah though, co-fermented with Viognier. 13.8% ABV.
89-90 (1621 views) | | | Tasted by jshufelt on 6/8/2017 & rated 92 points: Largely consistent with all of our prior tasting notes - but this bottle was just a little smoother, and a little more balanced than I recall for previous bottles. I have to admit that this, our last bottle, is making me wonder whether the drinkability window is actually just starting... (1552 views) | | | Tasted by smchludzinski on 2/14/2017: In a great place, worth the wait! (1390 views) | | | Tasted by Ridgerunner on 9/4/2016 & rated 91 points: Finally coming to the end of my older Pax/Donelan wines. The wines are always good. Part of me wishes that they never parted ways! (1484 views) | | | Tasted by psi on 5/14/2016 & rated 92 points: Consistent impression (1511 views) | | | Tasted by ksde on 4/29/2016 & rated 91 points: Gets better after a couple hours in a decanter. (1443 views) | | | Tasted by jshufelt on 3/14/2016 & rated 90 points: Consistent with previous tasting notes. (1339 views) | | | Tasted by Chainthroer on 10/28/2015 & rated 93 points: Last tasted 26 months ago. The wine is softer now than it was two years ago and a lot softer than when I tasted it four years ago. It still has complex aromas of blackberry, black cherry, cassis, game meat, herbs, earth and oak. This time it had floral notes in the beginning. The flavors are similar to the aromas, along with black pepper and hints of cocoa. Big, rich and powerful. Very slightly jammy in the mouth. Nice structure and acid. A better length on the finish than last time. This time it pairs well with a dish composed of Italian meat sauce, Italian sausage and squash. (1404 views) | | | Tasted by psi on 10/23/2015 & rated 92 points: Consistent impression (941 views) | | | Tasted by jshufelt on 10/11/2015 & rated 90 points: Consistent with previous tasting notes. (893 views) | | | Tasted by SineQuaNon on 8/23/2015: Only got a small pour of this bottle outdoors. Judgement reserved until I taste it Again. Seemed nice still. (1231 views) | | | Tasted by alpha_ori on 8/12/2015 & rated 91 points: I like this wine, but wow are my perceptions different than previous reviewers. Bottle variation?
For me, the nose is not very forthcoming. (Admittedly, I PnP'ed, and it hasn't been that long yet.) The palate is dominated by acids. The fruit is somehow both blue and unripe -- not in an unpleasant way, but it is unexpected.
It's softening up a bit with some air, but it's still very acid-driven. I'm really curious if other bottles are different. (But I'm not sure if I have any more.) (955 views) | | | Tasted by FLI on 5/17/2015 & rated 92 points: Great nose and big fruit. Tannins smoothed out. Seems to be at or near its peak. Very enjoyable. (992 views) | | | Tasted by redz on 5/3/2015 & rated 91 points: Full dark fruit, floral nose,rich palate with dark blackberry, eucalyptus aftertaste. May still improve. (950 views) | | | Tasted by GrandeSerataFuori on 2/14/2015 & rated 90 points: Blueberry, blackberry. Initial nose JUMPS out of the glass at ya. Tannins are nice and mellow. It was nice with cheeses and a Valentine's day dessert. It changed over the couple hours it was open. We saved some to try tomorrow.
Similar, as good or better on day two. I got a similar profile with some smoked meat added in. Great with some braised radicchio, with mustard and cumin seeds. (1071 views) | | | Tasted by psi on 1/3/2015 & rated 92 points: Great wine. More floral than my previous bottle. Meaty profile with mature blue and black fruit, roasted meats and violets. The palate was dominated by black fruit and roasted flavours. A balanced effort with smooth tannins. (988 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Pax Producer website
The goal of our winemaking is to discover distinct California wines that are that way because of a unique terroir, or a unique interaction of vine and environment. Therefore with respect to winemaking we do everything we can to do very little. However, while it is true that great wine is made in the vineyard, we know that we can make decisions that have impacts on the critical characters of a wine. The first step of good winemaking is to be very involved in the vineyards, afterward taking inspiration from the Rhone Valley in France, we’ve discovered a few critical factors to why our wines taste the way they taste: harvest timing, stem inclusion, native fermentations, judicious oak regimes, and patience [...] our goal is to make great wine and nothing else.
Each bottle matches the soil color of the specific vineyard with the color of the label (and, prior to 2014, with the cork wax). For instance, the white, chalky, limestone soils of the James Berry Vineyard merit a white Pax label, etc.Syrah Varietal article (Wikipedia) | (Wines Northwest)
Note that some producers in the Northern Rhone distinguish between simply Syrah and "Serine", the latter described as ‘an ancient clone of Syrah, the berries of which are more oval-shaped and less deeply pigmented than Syrah’ by producer Tardieu-Laurent. USAAmerican 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 Sonoma CountyMendocino CountyRussian River Valley Russian River Valley Winegrowers Association | Wikipedia |
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