2015 Saxum Paderewski Vineyard Paso Robles

46% Mourvèdre, 30% Syrah, 14% Petite Sirah, 10% Zinfandel

Wine Makers Notes:

I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the 2015s. It was an anomaly of a vintage. First off, 2015 was the third consecutive drought year. The vineyards received abysmal rainfall and the vines were stressing. Due to the stress and unfavorable spring conditions, the vines set meager, and I mean MEAGER crop loads. Worst hit was the Syrah and Grenache, which unfortunately, is the bulk of what we produce. Anyways, enough belly aching over low yields…..back to the wines! The type of wine that you would expect to make from tiny yields and extended drought conditions would be massively concentrated behemoths. Thick, dark wines that you would have to smack the bottom of the bottle to get them to pour out. Surprisingly, we found the opposite type of wine when we started to press the young 2015s into barrel. Everyone stopped and scratched their heads. They are beautiful, nuanced wines! They possess the awesome spice of a cold vintage, like 2011, along with the sweet tannins of a cool, long growing season, like 2007. Hmmmmmm, what is going on? Well, here’s my theory, and if anybody else has one, let me know because I’m all ears. 2015 was an unusually humid summer, something we never see here in dry Paso Robles. A monsoonal weather pattern set up, possibly due to the warm El Niño waters off the Pacific, and it culminated in mid-July with a crazy lightning storm, dumping almost three inches of rain on us. Nobody had ever seen this. Even the old farmers who have been living here for close to 90 years! Now in the vineyard, it was too early to impact the fruit because the clusters hadn’t begun to color up yet. But the storm seemed to rejuvenate the stressed out vines. They perked up and started to smile. Luckily, there weren’t any more freak rain events for the rest of the season and harvest went super smooth. We were able to pick when we wanted to pick and ferment exactly the way we wanted to ferment. And oh, did I mention we had a brand stinking new winery to play with!? New fermentors, new equipment, and so much glorious space! (The new place is 6 times bigger than le garage of old.) We had the ability to put the fruit inside the precise fermentor size or type we thought best. (Wood, concrete, or stainless steel?) And, something new to us, we could leave it there as long as we wanted to because we now had enough fermentation space for every bit of fruit. No need to turn a tank like days of old! Anyways, I’m digressing again…… the wines! Downright beautiful (this is the word of the day). They are open and aromatic, the tannins are soft and supple, they are layered and nuanced beyond all belief. They are already enjoyable. You can drink them while waiting for the 14s to come around. Probably even the 13s and 12s for that matter! On the other hand, I believe they will age magnificently. The balance is perfect.

(95 Points) Inky ruby. Ripe red and blue fruits, incense and candied flowers on the intensely perfumed, spice- and mineral-accented nose. Velvety in texture and alluringly sweet, offering intense raspberry, blueberry, violet pastille and spicecake flavors that put on weight with air while maintaining vivacity. Shows outstanding energy and sweet, red fruit thrust on the impressively persistent, floral-tinged finish, which is shaped by smooth, harmonious tannins. Josh Raynolds, Vinous Nov 2017

(97 Points) A 46% Mourvèdre, 30% Syrah, 14% Petite Sirah and 10% Zinfandel blend, the 2015 Paderewski Vineyard has a deep garnet-purple color and notes of red roses, warm cranberries and blackberries with hints of mulberries, garrigue, moss and dusty earth. Full-bodied, with a lovely fragrant earth and savorylaced palate with firm, grippy tannins and loads of mineral nuances on the long finish. Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate Sept 2017

(97 Points)  The 2015 Paderewski Vineyard was tasted as a final blend and is a more Mourvèdre dominated blend that includes 46% Mourvèdre, 30% Syrah, 14% Petite Sirah and the balance Zinfandel. This is the warmest vineyard they work with and it offers terrific notes of plums, violets, hoisin sauce and spice notes. Rich, beautifully textured, with fine, elegant tannin, it's a seamless and long. I’ve raved so much about the wines from Saxum’s Justin Smith, I feel like a broken record every new vintage. Nevertheless, these latest vintages are all stellar, and certainly the move to the new cellar hasn’t affect or changed the quality here. The 2014s show the richer, more fleshy style of the vintage, yet still carry the slightly more streamlined/elegant style that Smith has chosen over the past few years. The 2015s play even more in that realm, which is very much the vintage, and are lively and elegant, with pretty, perfumed characters – and plenty of fruit. The 2015s share a lot of similarities to the 2011s (which shined for their aromatics), yet have more fruit and power. It’s worth noting that the majority had just been recently bottled, which makes these showings even more impressive. Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Tasting Date: 8/10/2017