Saxum James Berry Vineyard White 2019

- 98 Punkte, VINOUS, Josh Raynolds: „Limpid yellow-gold. Powerful, mineral-tinged aromas of fresh
pear and white peach; hints of ginger, jasmine and fennel emerge with air. Sappy, concentrated and silky in texture, offering penetrating orchard and pit fruit flavors sharpened by a smoky mineral nuance. Finishes taut and impressively long, with echoes of citrus zest and dusty minerals adding bright back-end lift.“ Drinking Window: 2024-2033
 

At the risk of sounding like a skipping record, Justin Smith has, again, produced the strongest set of releases this year from Paso Robles. Yes, there’s plenty of competition out there, and
the numbers grow every year, but the Saxum 2019s sit at the top of the vintage hierarchy yet again. Smith is constantly refining his winemaking techniques, with particular focus on how the wines are raised in his hillside tunnels. Concrete tanks and eggs as well as oak vessels of varying age, shape and size all
come into play here, to consistently stunning results. This set of bottlings show the elegance of the vintage, combined with the depth and intensity of flavor that has long been the Saxum
trademark. They should age effortlessly, like their outstanding 2018 siblings, a few of which were or are being released longside the 2019s. A 222-acre property in the York Mountain AVA is now part of Saxum’s holdings and planting is under way, so expect lots more activity here in the coming years.

-  97 Punkte JEB DUNNUCK: „This estate fashions one of the best whites in the region, and the 2019 James Berry Vineyard White showed brilliantly. Honeyed quince, peach, crushed stone, flowers, and toasty notes all define the bouquet, and it's medium to full-bodied, with a rich, layered textured, good freshness, and a great finish. It can be drunk any time over the coming decade or more. The blend is 46% Grenache Blanc, 31% Roussanne, and 23% Chenin Blanc, brought up in 60% new French 600-liter barrels.“ 2022-2033

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.

- 95+ Punkte, Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate (03/22) Erin Brooks: „In its third iteration, the 2019 James Berry Vineyard White was matured in mostly new 600-liter demi-muids for 20 months on the lees. A blend of 46% Grenache Blanc, 31% Roussanne and 23% Chenin Blanc, it has lush quince paste and apple pie aromas with tones of jasmine and beeswax. The medium-bodied palate offers intense, ripe, savory fruits and bursts of fresh acidity, finishing with great length.“ Drink Date: 2022-2032