2016 The Hexe
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Tasting notes
Deep, glistening magenta. A hugely fragrant bouquet evokes ripe red and dark berries, exotic flowers, licorice and incense, and a smoky mineral overtone builds in the glass. Juicy, deeply concentrated and seamless in texture, offering alluringly sweet, palate-coating creme de cassis, cherry-cola, spicecake and floral pastille flavors that spread out smoothly on the back half. Closes supple, sweet and incredibly long, with gently building tannins adding shape and subtle grip.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
The 2016 Hexe is a blend of 56% Grenache, 13% Petite Sirah, 10% Syrah, 9% Mataro, 7% Zinfandel and 5% Tempranillo aged 31 months in various vessels, including 66% new oak and 17% amphorae. Deep ruby in color, it gives aromas of blackberry preserves, baked marionberries, black cherries and red berries with accents of dried citrus peel, dried flowers, charcuterie and an earthy undercurrent. Medium to full-bodied, intense and still tightly wound, it has a firm, lightly chewy frame and well-woven freshness, finishing long and perfumed. 770 cases produced.
A perfect wine, the 2016 Hexe comes mostly from the estate James Berry Vineyard yet has a little bit of G2 fruit as well. Made from lots showing the most structure and power, it tastes like an old vine Grenache from the La Crau lieu-dit in Châteauneuf du Pape with its huge bouquet of black raspberries, cassis, garrigue, ground pepper, and melted licorice. Full-bodied, ripe, and sexy on the palate, with awesome concentration, it has enough structure to warrant 2-3 years of bottle age, but good luck keeping your hands off this beauty. Saxum’s Justin Smith has hit a home run with these recent vintages, and his 2015s, 2016s, 2017s, and 2018s all have singular styles, with the quality remaining sky-high. The 2018s show the slightly more pure, fresh, yet concentrated style of the vintage nicely. While not yet bottled, these will offer pleasure in their youth as well as benefit from short term cellaring. The 2017s are more pretty, perfumed wines that don’t quite have the density of the 2016s yet certainly don’t lack for fruit. Most are already drinking nicely today, yet as with all great wines, they’re going to evolve gracefully. Lastly, the 2016s are some of the greatest wines I’ve tasted from this estate, and they offer massive, layered, yet impeccably balanced profiles that are a joy to drink today; they’ll also be a joy to drink in 10-15 years as well. As I’ve written more than once, there are few mailing lists worth being one, but without a doubt, this is one of them.