Saxum Vineyards

Saxum Vineyards stands as Paso Robles’ most important estate and has one of the most exclusive and hard-to-join mailing lists. Almost every single drop is spoken for by California’s top restaurants and the winery members-list, but as Justin says: “We like to send all the cool markets a little bit”, which of course includes Four Corners Wine here in the UK!

Story

Saxum Vineyards was founded by Justin Smith and his wife Heather in 2002, and their winery is located in the James Berry vineyard which was planted by Justin’s father, James Berry Smith, in the 1980s. Justin has played a massive part in making Paso Robles one of California’s most dynamic and exciting regions, and is cited as major influence by a generation of winemakers.

Justin is practically a Paso Robles native. He was born in Northern California, but his parents moved to Paso in 1980 when he was 10. His father bought a 55 acre parcel and set about planting the white varietals that were popular in the area at the time. He was advised by a friend to replant with Rhone varietals in 1990, and went about taking out the whites to put in Mourvèdre, Grenache and Syrah. The very early wines showed great promise!​

Justin had never intended to follow in his father’s footsteps as a vintner, studying ethnobiology at university (where he met his future wife!). After graduating, Justin and his college buddy Matt Trevisan pooled their resourced to start their own wine label – Linne Calodo. Matt gained experience working with some established wineries, while Justin learned to farm the family vineyard which became an important source of fruit for Linne Calodo.

Having made a name for themselves at Linne Calodo, Justin decided to part from Matt to start his own project – Saxum Vineyards. He had been inspired by 2 bottles of great Syrah – Penfold’s Grange 1990 and Jaboulet La Chapelle 1990. He began by trying to emulate them, but quickly saw that Paso needed a different approach, and by the mid-2000s he was starting to make serious waves among critics and collectors.

In 2009, Justin made history when he achieved the first-ever 100-point score for Paso Robles, for his James Berry Vineyard 2007 which Robert Parker hailed as “Utter perfection”. He has since been among the top three highest scoring producers in every vintage to date.

Vineyards

Justin know the soils of Paso Robles better than anyone else, putting him in the perfect position to hand select the vineyards for his wines. The jewel in the crown is his family’s James Berry Vineyard, surrounding the winery in the heart of Willow Creek District.

For his non-Estate fruit, it’s a veritable who’s-who of Paso Grand Crus, including G2, Paderewski, Booker, Denner and Dusi. With fruit of such incredible quality, Justin has the ultimate palette with which to craft his extraordinary wines.

Winemaking

Justin Smith is rightfully a legend in Paso Robles, and a certified dude who epitomises California at its coolest: laid back, a blast to hang out with but incredibly focused on pushing boundaries with his coveted Saxum Vineyards wines. He has also become one of the most sought after consultants for vineyard planting and replanting, including for Epoch Estate’s Paderewski and York Mountain Vineyards, and the new generation ‘Grand Cru’ site, G2 Vineyard.

Latest arrivals from Saxum Vineyards

2017 Saxum, The Hexe, Paso Robles 1x75cl

JD99
Blend: 58% Grenache, 27% Mataro, 11% Petite Sirah, 4% Tempranillo Vintage production: 1,098 cases Hexe is a remarkable, multi-vineyard cuvée that is built around Grenache. Not just any old Grenache... though. Justin Smith selects the blackest, most wicked Grenaches, the ones that he knows will benefit from 33 months aging in various large puncheons or concrete amphora. The heart of this cuvée is the oldest block at James Berry Vineyard, a South facing hilltop Grenache block that was planted in 1980. Around this he weaves in some of the most intense Grenache and Mataro blocks from G2 Vineyard, along with a bit of Petite Sirah from Paderewski Vineyard. It is the dark side of Grenache. Black magic!
£190 / BottleDuty Status: In Bond ⋅ Price incl. of Duty & VAT: £232.04 / BottleAvailability: Immediate ⋅ ETA to UK address: 2-4 days

2017 Saxum, James Berry, Paso Robles 1x75cl

JD99
Blend: 55% Grenache, 29% Mataro, 13% Syrah, 3% Carignan Vintage production: 1,102 cases Surrounding the winery, the James Berry Vineyard is Saxum’s Jewel in The Crown and has been considered... hallowed ground by winemakers for nearly two decades. The secret to epic wines produced here is the remarkable and unique terroir. It is located 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean with an average elevation of 365 metres, and consists of a series of steep slopes with shallow clay loam topsoil covering an ancient seabed, complete with fossilized shells and sharks teeth. Saxum's James Berry Vineyard was Paso’s first 100-point (RP) wine in 2007, and is one of the most sought-after labels among California’s great Rhône blends.
£160 / BottleDuty Status: In Bond ⋅ Price incl. of Duty & VAT: £195.20 / BottleAvailability: Immediate ⋅ ETA to UK address: 2-4 days

2018 Saxum, James Berry, Paso Robles 1x75cl

JD99
Blend: 64% Grenache, 16% Mataro, 14% Syrah, 6% Carignan Vintage production: 1,418 cases Surrounding the winery, the James Berry Vineyard is Saxum’s Jewel in The Crown and has been considered... hallowed ground by winemakers for nearly two decades. The secret to epic wines produced here is the remarkable and unique terroir. It is located 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean with an average elevation of 365 metres, and consists of a series of steep slopes with shallow clay loam topsoil covering an ancient seabed, complete with fossilized shells and sharks teeth. Saxum's James Berry Vineyard was Paso’s first 100-point (RP) wine in 2007, and is one of the most sought-after labels among California’s great Rhône blends.
£155 / BottleDuty Status: In Bond ⋅ Price incl. of Duty & VAT: £190.07 / BottleAvailability: Immediate ⋅ ETA to UK address: 2-4 days

2020 Saxum, G2 Vineyard, Paso Robles 1x75cl

JD93-95
£135 / BottleDuty Status: In Bond ⋅ Price incl. of Duty & VAT: £166.13 / BottleAvailability: Immediate ⋅ ETA to UK address: 2-4 days