The incomparable Alder Springs Vineyard is one of California’s most iconic vineyard sites. Perched high above the tiny northern California town of Laytonville, this patchwork of lieu-dits is more reminiscent of the great vineyards of the Rhone Valley than anything in California. Amongst all of the amazing Syrah and Pinot Noir and Chardonnay is a Gorgeous terraced block of Grenache called Spirit Rock Terraces, we vinify this wine every year, most years it is blended into the Vicar bottling and some years it is just too good to blend it away.
100% Grenache
100% Whole Cluster Fermented
Aged in neutral French Oak Barrels for 10 months
0% New Oak
Free SO2 – 10ppm
3.6 pH
13.0% Alc By Vol
Tasting Note:
Black Cherry and white flowers and loads of glorious spicy plum scented Grenache berry aromas and flavors make for a spellbindingly aromatic red wine. Full, luscious and spicy this wine emanates California sunshine and fine sandstone soil flavors. Firm tannins on the backend ensure some short term cellaring will be beneficial.
Pax Wines:
Pax and Pam moved to wine country in 1997 to create a lifestyle that involved working with wine. After a few years of tasting and sourcing wine from all over California, Pax finally found a vineyard in which he felt a kismet connection. Alder Springs Vineyard was the site and subsequently led to the launch of the PAX brand in 2000.
The Mahles made a bold choice by favoring the “untapped potential" of the Syrah grape. Their entire lineup of wines came from cool climate vineyards in Sonoma County and Mendocino. These wines were big, rich expressions of Syrah that went on to be highly sought after. As a result, Pax quickly became established as one of California’s premier producers of Syrah.
Presently, Pax Wines has evolved to include new and exciting varieties in addition to Syrah. This includes Trousseau Gris, Chenin Blanc, Gamay Noir, and Mission, along with a host of others recently planted.
At Pax Wines winemaking is approached holistically. This is done by taking care to use only grapes that are grown without the use of chemicals and by hand making their wines with as little intervention as possible. As a result, all of their wines are crushed by foot and hand, and fermented using only natural yeasts. To taste these wines visit the urban winery and tasting room in the outdoor Barlow market in downtown Sebastopol.
