2011 Broken Stones Syrah
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Tasting notes
The brilliant 2011 Syrah Broken Stones comes from a cooler block of the James Berry Vineyard and checks in as a blend of 78% Syrah, 18% Mourvedre and 4% Petit Sirah. Relatively forward (especially when compared to the locked up Bone Rock), with fabulous purity and freshness, it exudes notions of creme de cassis, blueberry, pepper, crushed flowers and sweet oak on the nose. Full-bodied, seamless and elegant, yet with building richness and rock star length, it’s an elegant version of the cuvee to drink over the coming 15 years or more. 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. Tel. (805) 610-0363; www.saxumvineyards.com
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
A dark, mysterious beauty, the 2011 Broken Stones is laced with expressive dark red and black stone fruits, iron, smoke and French oak. This is one of the more explosive wines in Saxum's range of 2011s. The Broken Stones finishes with substantial depth and power. While oak levels have come down quite a bit here in recent years, Broken Stones is one wine in this range where the oak influence is noticeable. The blend is 78% Syrah, 18% Mourvèdre and 4% Petite Sirah.
(78% syrah,18% mourvedre and 4% petite sirah): Inky purple. Sexy aromas of blackberry liqueur, candied cherry, potpourri and a hint of olive tapenade. Offers sweet black and blue fruit flavors and a velvety texture, with slow-building smokiness and a touch of bitter chocolate. Fine-grained tannins add shape and grip to a long, juicy, dark fruit-dominated finish. This suave wine easily carries its 15.3% alcohol.
The Syrah-based 2011 Broken Stones is striking. Savory herbs meld into plums, cassis, black olives, tobacco and smoke as the wine opens up in the glass. This is a relatively mid-weight style for Saxum. Cool, bracing notes of minerality give the wine much of its energy and focus. The combination of Paso richness and the vibrancy of the vintage as interpreted by Justin Smith yield a drop-dead gorgeous, compelling wine. The 2011 is 78% Syrah, 18% Mourvedre and 4% Petite Sirah, 50% James Berry and 25% each Booker and Paderewski vineyards.
About the producer
Founded in 2002 by Justin and Heather Smith, Saxum Vineyards is a leading Paso Robles producer of Rhône-inspired wines. Limited to around 8,000 cases annually, the range includes Broken Stones, James Berry Vineyard, Bone Rock and Rocket Block.