Saxum Vineyards

Saxum Vineyards is focused on producing Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre based blends from the Templeton Gap/Willow Creek area 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 at 4000-5000 cases a year divided between seven different cuvees, Broken Stones, James Berry Vineyard, Bone Rock, Booker Vineyard, Paderewski Vineyard, Heart Stone Vineyard and Terry Hoage Vineyard.

James Berry Vineyard

The James Berry Vineyard is the Smith family’s estate vineyard. It is located 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean with an average elevation of 1200 feet. It consists of a series of slopes with shallow clay loam topsoil covering an ancient seabed, complete with fossilized shells and sharks teeth. The cuvee is a red fruit driven, Grenache based blend, with a large portion of Mourvedre for texture, and Syrah as spicy support. The James Berry Vineyard blend is aged for 18-20 months in a variety of vessels. The Grenache portion ages in concrete tank and larger puncheons, while the Mourvedre and Syrah ages in the smaller French barrels. A high percentage of them are new. The wine is rich and layered. Raspberries and blackberries lead the way followed by Provincial herbs and smooth dense tannins. Our wines are never racked off their lees and are bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Booker Vineyard

Owned by Eric and Lisa Jensen, the Booker Vineyard is extremely steep and rocky with a mix of calcareous and siliceous soils. We lease 2 acres of East facing Syrah that produces extremely concentrated fruit with great acidity, 1 acre of a North West face that we ferment whole cluster to produce a black tannic wine with great texture, and 1 acre of Mourvedre on a South slope that gives wonderful intensity and structure. The resulting blend is very concentrated, with great texture and tons of fruit and spice. We age it for 20-26 months mainly in new 350 Liter French hogshead barrels with extra thick staves. Our wines are never racked off their lees and are bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Paderewski Vineyard

The Paderewski Vineyard is a beautiful property owned by Bill and Liz Armstrong, the owners of Epoch Estate. It was the site of the legendary vineyard of Ignacy Jan Paderewski. If you are unfamiliar with the life and music of Ignacy, please look into it, he was a fascinating character and brilliant musician. Long story short, we have replanted the original site. We felt a wine coming from the Paderewski Vineyard had to include the original varieties that made it famous, Zinfandel and Petite Sirah, but in a blend that also showcased our beloved Rhone Varietals too. Our wines are never racked off their lees and are bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Heart Stone Vineyard

The Heart Stone Vineyard is a small 7 acre vineyard planted on a gentle South slope of limestone and shale. With 8 different clones of Syrah, 4 of Grenache and 1 Mourvedre, we aim to produce a wine that is both compelling and complex. We typically co-ferment all the varieties together with a high proportion of whole clusters, producing a tannic and spicy wine that has great purity and complexity. We age this wine with very little new oak in mostly larger puncheons for 20-28 months. Our wines are never racked off their lees and are bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Terry Hoage Vineyard

The Terry Hoage Vineyard is owned and farmed by Jennifer and Terry Hoage. It consists of rolling hillsides and a beautiful bass pond where dragon flies abound. The oldest block we source from is a South West facing Syrah, planted in 1994, with the local favorite Estrella clone. It yields a red fruit driven flavor profile, with superb structure. Across the pond and higher up the hillside sits the Grenache block with a similar exposition, incredibly concentrated fruit, and a nice bright acidity which adds lift to the blend. Terry agreed to plant my favorite little section of Syrah at the super high density of 1 Meter by 1 Meter, without any rootstock, on a steep North facing section. Of course he has to do all the work by hand. This fruit is fermented in open top puncheons without de-stemming. It is wildly spicy and dark, with a real teriyaki beef jerky component that I absolutely love. This blend is a truly unique expression of Paso Robles terrior, light on its feet but still packed to the brim with character and intensity. Our wines are never racked off their lees and are bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Bone Rock

The Bone Rock blend comes from the Bone Rock block of James Berry Vineyard. It is a steep terrace of old head trained Syrah vines on a south facing slope. We unearthed fossilized whale bones when we terraced it and then needed to use jack hammers to plant the vines. This wine might be the most structured blend Saxum produces and because of its density, tannin, and acidity, it needs a few years to unfold. Our wines are never racked off their lees and are bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Broken Stones

Our Broken Stones cuvee is Syrah based, with a large portion of Petite Sirah and Grenache and a splash of Mourvedre. It is aged for 18-20 months in mainly new, French barriques. It is full-bodied, rich, and intense, but also reveals great purity, focus and complexity. The Broken Stones is the only wine we make that is a multi-vineyard blend, utilizing all the vineyards that we source from. Our wines are never racked off their lees and are bottled unfined and unfiltered.