Saxum - Heart Stone Vineyard 2012

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~~Price: $123.99~~

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Producer	Saxum
Country	United States
Region	California
Subregion	Paso Robles
Varietal	Proprietary Red
Vintage	2012
Sku	99180
Size	750ml

Wine Advocate: 96 Points

The 2012 Heart Stone Vineyard is 43% Syrah, 41% Grenache and 16% Mourvedre that was aged mostly in concrete (the ’11 was aged 100% in concrete) yet also saw some new and neutral puncheons. Fermented with 40% whole clusters, it’s a big, burly effort that has beautiful creme de cassis, black raspberry, crushed violets, vanilla bean and exotic flower-like qualities all emerging from the glass. It too has a structured feel, with high, yet ripe tannin, so short-term cellaring is also advised here. This was another great visit with Justin Smith, and he continues to tweak and experiment with varying degrees of whole cluster and concrete, puncheon and barrel aging regimes. Looking at his 2011s, I was able to taste all of these from bottles in Colorado, and they’ve closed down substantially since I reviewed them from barrel. In most cases, these took a day or more to fully unwind, and the style here is much more Rhone-like, with spice, pepper and meaty aromatics paired with focused, firm palate profiles. These are gorgeous wine that won’t start to show their full potential for another 3-4 years. The 2012s are just as good, if not better, yet are surprisingly tannic and structured. Given the up-front nature of the vintage, I was surprised by the tannin profile and more reserved style in most of the wines. Nevertheless, the concentration level here is on par with, if not slightly greater than, the 2011s, and they show the fabulous purity and focus of the vintage. Both of these vintages will need short-term cellaring. My favorite of the three vintages reviewed here, the 2013s offer thrilling density of fruit, massive concentration, and sound underlying structure that keeps the wines focused and balanced. I think short-term cellaring will be helpful here as well, but I wouldn’t be afraid to crack a bottle or two on release either. Despite these vintage differences, as I hope the reviews and scores show, these are incredible wines that make the most of this special terroir. Truthfully, there are few mailing lists out there worth being on, but without a doubt, this is one of them.

Vinous: 92 Points

Opaque purple. Smoky, deeply pitched black raspberry, ginerbread and floral pastille scents show excellent clarity. Sweet and palate-staining, with intense red and dark berry liqueur flavors stratching out slowly. Finishes with outstanding thrust and length, chewy tannins coming up quickly to add grip.

Wine Spectator: 91 Points

Offers a potent expression of loamy earth–infused dark berry, sage, bay leaf, espresso, black tea and black licorice flavors, all deep and persistent, cloaked in chewy tannins. Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre. Best from 2016 through 2028. 410 cases made. — JL

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