Brand: Saxum James Berry Vineyard | Appellation: Proprietary Red | Designation: | Year: 2006 | Varietal: Grenache Syrah | Country: United States | Region:

The prodigious 2006 James Berry Vineyard (45% Syrah, 38% Grenache, and 17% Mourvedre) is one of this challenging vintage’s top efforts. Performing even better this year than it did in 2007, it reveals phenomenal concentration, a superb texture, and a stratospheric mouthfeel without great weight or over-the-top sensations. Black fruits, licorice, minerality, and floral notes are found in this intense, savory, broad, long effort. It should drink well for 10+ years.

One of the superstar, artisinal winemaking operations in Paso Robles is Heather and Justin Smith’s Saxum Vineyard. The Smiths are also the proprietors of the James Berry Vineyard, an exceptional hillside site planted in pure white limestone, a site that provides extraordinary richness, minerality, precision, and individuality. Like his colleague to the south, Manfred Krankl, Justin Smith has been moving from strength to strength, building more elegance and nuances into his wines without sacrificing their intrinsic intensity, purity, and richness. As for the 2006s, these wines are scheduled to be bottled slightly later than usual as Justin Smith is another producer who is instituting longer cask and pungeon agings. The 2007s tasted suggest this may be one of the finest vintages Saxum has yet produced. The wines are already spectacular, and will no doubt gain in weight, texture, and nuances over the next year.

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Saxum James Berry Vineyard Proprietary Red 2006