Saxum Vineyards Bone Rock James Berry Vineyard Blend, Paso Robles, USA 2020

Saxum Vineyards is focused on producing Grenache, Syrah, and Mataro based blends from the Willow Creek District of Paso Robles. We let our rocky calcareous soils, steep hillsides, sunny days, and cooling ocean breezes speak through our wines by keeping our yields low, picking the 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 around 8000 cases a year divided between ten different cuvees, Broken Stones, James Berry Vineyard, The Hexe, Bone Rock, Rocket Block, G2 Vineyard, Paderewski Vineyard, Heart Stone Vineyard, 4hearts Vineyard, and James Berry Vineyard White.

If a wine can show the best possible expression of where it came from and what season it was grown in, as well as please the senses, you have a great bottle.    — Justin Smith

NOTES FROM JUSTIN:
What a special wine Bone Rock is. Not only is it where Saxum started with the 2000 Bone Rock, but it’s also the block our house sits next to, so I basically live in this block. It is so much more than a vineyard. But I’m here today to tell you about the
2020 Bone Rock…. It is rock star material. When we tasted through this line up, our son Colin thought this wine was showing the best out of all 5. High praises considering the
company it was in! A classic showing from vines we planted with jackhammers over 30 years ago. Aged for 33 months in mainly barriques with a few hogsheads (300L) thrown in, this wine is still structured, and holds the promise of wonderful things to come with a couple years of aging. But really, I find it delicious right now.

76% Syrah, 12% Grenache, 7% Mataro, 5% Graciano