Winery - Saxum
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Wildly rich and exotic, massive in fruit of a grilled variety, and dry, this Rhône blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre offers tons of raspberries, cherries, herbs and spices. There’s some heat in the finish, but that’s a minor quibble. Decadent.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Fabulous aromatics on this blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre. About one-third inclusion of the stems during fermentation gives it a spiciness, and also some grippy tannins. Underneath are bright red and black stone fruits and berries. Very exotic and compelling.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A combination of Saxum’s James Berry, Heart Stone and Booker vineyard bottlings. Big, slightly rustic, and fruit-forward, with scoury, hard tannins. Give it a good airing.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Dark and full-bodied, and bone dry, showing lush, dark fruit and black pepper flavors. Feels fine in texture, but could have a bit more complexity.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Erupts in aromas of spices, grilled meat and black pepper. In the mouth, it turns lush, with massive flavors of cherries, blackberries, black raspberries and mocha. Three-fourths new oak adds elements of vanilla, smoke and butter. Tremendous, and a great success for the vintage. Now–2012.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is awesome Syrah. It starts with wonderfully rich and inviting aromas of Provencal herbs, such as thyme, bay leaf and rosemary, and a note of lavender. The fruit is all cherries and blackberries, sweet and pure, seasoned with smoky oak. Fresh in acids, backed with firm but soft and complex tannins, this is a dramatic and beautiful wine. What a long, rich finish.
Tags:
Saxum Syrah - 2002
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The chocolate, cassis, cherry liqueur, licorice and smoky oak flavors are wrapped into smooth, rich, ripe tannins. Compulsively drinkable, almost a food group on its own, the wine is roughly equal parts Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This new bottling from Saxum is nearly all Syrah, with a splash of Grenache. In youth, it’s dark and somewhat brooding, rich in tannins. But acidity is low, and the tannins are of the ripely sweet modern kind, so the wine is immediately drinkable. Immense in blackberry, cassis, mocha and dusty Asian spices, it’s gorgeously rich and decadent.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
It’s necessary to talk about alcohol levels with Saxum’s wines, because they define the style. With this one, it’s 16.4%, higher than almost any commercially-released red table wine in California. That’s almost Port. It’s vast in chocolate, raspberry purée, cherry jam, anisette and cassis flavors. That makes it sound sweet, but it’s dry and smoothly tannic. Saxum fans will exult. Others may find the wine problematic.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The wine comes from a particular portion of the estate vineyard, and is almost entirely Syrah, with a splash of Grenache. It is a brilliant wine, entirely New World, and impressive even by California and Australia standards. Massively rich in cherry, chocolate, cassis, licorice, vanilla and cinnamon spice flavors, the ’05 Bone Rock is softly tannic and compulsively drinkable, although the alcohol, 16.1%, is considerable. Best now and for a year or two.
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