2018 Saxum, James Berry Bone Rock, Paso Robles, Bottle (750ml)
Price On Request
100LP98+JD98VM
Critic key
JD = Jeb DunnuckLP = Lisa Perrotti-BrownVM = Vinous Media
- Rating
- LP100/JD98+/VM98
- Producer
- Saxum
- Vintage
- 2018
- Region
- California
- Appellation
- Paso Robles
- Country
- United States
- Format
- Bottle
- Volume
- 750mL
- Type
- Still
- Color
- Red
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Product Description
LP100 The Bone Rock block of Saxum’s James Berry estate vineyard gets its name from the fossilized whale bones uncovered at the site while trying to break through the rocky soil. This was the first James Berry block planted and still possesses 30-years+ head-trained Syrah vines.
JD98+ Tons of ripe black fruits, licorice, graphite, and charcoal notes emerge from the 2018 Bone Rock, a blend of 63% Syrah, 16% Mataro, 12% Grenache, 7% Graciano, and a splash of Roussanne that spent 34 months in oak. Sporting an inky purple hue, it's full-bodied, brings a wealth of richness and depth, building tannins, and a monster of a finish. This powerful, meaty, impenetrable effort needs to be forgotten for 3-4 years and will keep for two decades or more.I was able to taste three vintages from Saxum, the late release 2019s from bottle, the majority of the 2020 lineup from barrel, and a handful of 2021 barrel samples. As I wrote last year, the 2019s are just brilliant, ripe, hedonistic, magical wines, and these late releases only reinforce that opinion. Looking at the 2020s, this is clearly a challenging vintage, with many wines having subtle smoky nuances and firmer yet still ripe tannins. Justin commented that the lab numbers regarding smoke taint were very low, so I think these are safe wines that will offer plenty of pleasure, although this is not a vintage to hide in the cellar. The 2021s that I was able to taste were terrific, and this will clearly be another terrific vintage here. In addition, they’ve planted a new vineyard located just four miles off the Pacific, the Cayucos Ridge Vineyard, and I expect we’ll see more releases from that site in the future.
VM98 Dark violet. An assertively perfumed bouquet evokes ripe cherry, dark berry preserves, incense and exotic spices, and a peony topnote builds as the wine opens up. Palate-staining, alluringly sweet Chambord, cherry liqueur, vanilla, floral pastille and spicecake flavors deliver a compelling blend of depth and energy. Smooth, even tannins add shape an extremely long, spicy finish that leaves sappy blue fruit, floral and smoky mineral notes behind.
JD98+ Tons of ripe black fruits, licorice, graphite, and charcoal notes emerge from the 2018 Bone Rock, a blend of 63% Syrah, 16% Mataro, 12% Grenache, 7% Graciano, and a splash of Roussanne that spent 34 months in oak. Sporting an inky purple hue, it's full-bodied, brings a wealth of richness and depth, building tannins, and a monster of a finish. This powerful, meaty, impenetrable effort needs to be forgotten for 3-4 years and will keep for two decades or more.I was able to taste three vintages from Saxum, the late release 2019s from bottle, the majority of the 2020 lineup from barrel, and a handful of 2021 barrel samples. As I wrote last year, the 2019s are just brilliant, ripe, hedonistic, magical wines, and these late releases only reinforce that opinion. Looking at the 2020s, this is clearly a challenging vintage, with many wines having subtle smoky nuances and firmer yet still ripe tannins. Justin commented that the lab numbers regarding smoke taint were very low, so I think these are safe wines that will offer plenty of pleasure, although this is not a vintage to hide in the cellar. The 2021s that I was able to taste were terrific, and this will clearly be another terrific vintage here. In addition, they’ve planted a new vineyard located just four miles off the Pacific, the Cayucos Ridge Vineyard, and I expect we’ll see more releases from that site in the future.
VM98 Dark violet. An assertively perfumed bouquet evokes ripe cherry, dark berry preserves, incense and exotic spices, and a peony topnote builds as the wine opens up. Palate-staining, alluringly sweet Chambord, cherry liqueur, vanilla, floral pastille and spicecake flavors deliver a compelling blend of depth and energy. Smooth, even tannins add shape an extremely long, spicy finish that leaves sappy blue fruit, floral and smoky mineral notes behind.