Title says it all
Lol, I’m curious too. Youngest Saxum I’ve opened was a 2012 earlier this year, and I noted that it was way too early.
Opened a '13 Broken Stones a few months back and regretted it. Sticking to my 5 year or more past vintage date plan for Saxum.
Does anyone with more Saxum experience than me know if you can count on a shut down or “dumb” phase? E.g. Manfred Krankl has said that SQN drinks great the first year after release before shutting down for 5-7 years… similar timelines with Saxum, or no?
I’d just pour a 14 Saxum down the drain now rather than hope for a good showing a month after shipping. Other than one JB we haven’t opened a 2010 yet.
I concur with Glenn. I had an 2008 Bone Rock last week with a 4 hour decant and it was still primary (which I am a little worried about).
Yeah Dale we had the 08 this year and it was good, but not the equal of the epic 07 Bone Rock.
Never had a problem drinking Saxum early(2-3 years). Always a great experience.
EDIT: Actually, once a 3 year old was monolithic(can’t remember which one), but that was only 1 out of dozens of bottles.
So interesting reading the replies thus far.
I think that with every brand on this board, there are some that open early to get a sense of where things are - and they let folks know that in advance.
Can you enjoy this now? Why not - most likely with a heck of a decant and over a very long meal . . .
There are so many wines that fall into this category - their best lives lay ahead. And I continue to shake my head at how many burgs and cabs and ‘name it’ are opened as early as they are.
But guess what - we need to treat EVERY day as it is special, right?
Let er rip!
Cheers!
I may have more Saxum tasting notes on CT than anyone (a prior thread alerted me to that fact). It depends on how many you have. I think that they peak, depending on vintage at 10 years or so, and would probably stay at peak for at least that long. My rule used to be five years, but it seems that since around 2007, they need even longer IMO. I have not had any 14’s yet, but I have a few posted on the 2013’s. The 13 Rocket Block which just got delivered is there. It was hot and disjointed but by the end of the night, it came together quite well. That was back in September. If you like them young, I would still decant or give it plenty of air if you have the time. If you have a bunch, then by all means open one and drink over a day or two. Great reference point. I will probably open one 2014 before the end of the year. My CT notes are posted under the clever handle of Loren Sonkin fwiw.
While I don’t post as prolific as Loren, I probable have consumed over 100 bottles over the past eight years. I would agree that the peak drinking window is probably around ten years. However, if you must drink one early then my opinion is to drink it over two nights. These wines when enjoyed young need a lot of air to come together. Over 95 percent of the time, day two is significantly better than day one. Even as tasty as it is.
Either way, Enjoy!
Have been on the wine list since 03 vintage maybe 02 but I would have to double check that. The 03 and 04 offered some of the most fabulous early drinking wines I have ever come across. Jumping to the 12 and 13 vintages it is clear that there has been some evolution. A bit more tannin and they need more time to get into the prime drinking window. Have had several 12 and 13s and while the quality is there I felt it was too soon for the best showing. The 12s are tighter than the 13s imo but both can still use time.
Visited the new, unfinished at the time, winery in March of this year and Justin said at one point they were trying to dial back the tannins a bit (I have never thought his wines were tannin heavy) so I will open a couple over the Christmas holiday. Will be interesting to see what they are like. The 14 barrel samples were wonderful. A note with my shipment said the wines were bottled close to shipping so I will respect that and wait a bit.
fwiw, Justin opened a couple older bottles. One was a 42 month barrel aged 04 iirc and it did not strike me as being near decline at all. I have had a hard time keeping corks in the Saxums I have had over the years but I now have several in the 8-10 year range and I am not concerned about over shooting the window with the of 06 and 07s that I still have.