I will be at a tasting this weekend where all five of the 2007 Saxums will be opened/tasted. I have looked at Cellartracker, but does anyone here have any recent experience with any of them, and have thoughts on what decanting should be done (if any), and what I should expect? I am a huge fan, but after several underwhelming 2007s early (I found that I like my Saxums with age), I haven’t tasted one in years.
Thanks in advance.
Eric
They are still pretty powerful, i would suggest at least 3-4 hours. Had the Bone rock recently and it needed all of four hours
Thanks Alan. I reached out to the winery, who recommended uncorking 1-2 hours before serving. That seemed low/short to me, so I will try something in between most likely.
will love to hear your impressions as i still have some that I want to check in on
Shall do. I think there will also be a 2007 Epoch, which Justin made (or consulted on?), and maybe some other Syrah/GSM blends. I’ll to my best to bring back some notes…
We had a Saxum retrospective last year, where wines were given about 3 hours of air (bottles opened only) before serving. In general, the Bookers of all vintages needed either a lot more air (in a decanter) or more time, so extra careful if opening a Booker. The 2005s were drinking very youthfully and were my favorite vintage overall. The 2007s across the board were HUGE and needing more time, so I’d go 2-5 hours (less time for Broken Stones & Heart Stone, a bit more for James Berry, more for Bone Rock and most for Booker) depending on which bottle is opened.
Had a Magnum of James Berry a couple of months ago. It needed a bit of air but it was at a party and everyone drank it quickly. I saved a glass in a jar for the next day and it was better but was still great right on opening. If was doing it again, I would decant for five hours plus or open 48 hours ahead and slow ox. To Ron’s point above, I agree the Booker is the most backward.
LOREN!! Miss your tasting notes around these parts. Hope you’re doing/drinking well!
I’ve been lax in writing notes in the past year or two. Here’s my most recent 07 Saxum note:
Posted from CellarTracker
I believe this was during the Superbowl after opening a Bionic Frog and a SQN, so there were no shy and retiring wines that day.
Things didn’t go off as smoothly as hoped (real, non-wine life sometimes gets in the way), but we were able to open up all five of the 2007 Saxums, and amazingly none of them were corked. Nine people tasted: most had a passing knowledge of Saxum wines, but a few had no experience. And, even though there were several AFWE folks and Francophiles, everyone enjoyed all five of the wines, and collectively we were amazed at how young the wines looked, smelled, and tasted, and how well integrated they wines were (vibrant fruit, no heat on the nose). Everyone said they would be happy to own any of the wines, but people did have favorites.
We tasted them from left to right, and although everyone had their preferences, Broken Stones received the most last place votes, and James Berry received the most first place votes. But, the real dividing line was between the Broken Stones and Heart Stone, and then the Booker, Bone Rock, and James Berry. The Booker stood out the most, with a darker, more brooding profile that came the closest to an old world wine (that said, close is a relative term). The James Berry was the most polished, and had a mouthfeel unlke the others - pure velvet that coated your mouth and didn’t fade. The Bone Rock was the most polarizing - the only wine with First and Last place votes (three of each). I went back and forth, and ultimately rated it #3 just because I loved the Booker (my #1) and the James Berry (my #2). The Bone Rock had more acid, and a more linear mouthfeel than the others, and when jumping back and forth, just didn’t seem to have the power or polish of the other two - which surprised me, because going into this, the Bone Rock has consistently been my favorite Saxum wine.
The most interesting topic of discussion, which originated from a person with no Saxum experience, was essentially, “Why five wines? Why not just one or two? These are all very delicious, well-made wines, but they are all a variation on the same theme. If anything, why not just make a Syrah, a Grenache, and one GSM blend?” Honestly, I don’t have an answer - I thought I did, but in tasting up and down the lineup over the course of two hours, I enjoyed each wine very much, but there were enough similarities that I wonder. Maybe it was the vintage? That said, hopefully I can do a similar tasting in a few years with the Terry Hogue, Paderewski, G2, and the others, and maybe then I can better understand and differentiate.
But, the bottom line for me personally is that I am happy to have found Saxum in my wine journey, and lucky to have many more bottles to share and enjoy.
Ive only tried the Heart Stone, Broken Stones and bone Rock from 07. All of them were fantastic but i would put the Bone Rock at the top because i like a little acid, i find Rhone blends and even cabs to a certain extent can take on what i call the milk chocolate effect if they are too smooth, this is not to be confused with a silky mouthfeel though, they can be a little hidden behind the smoothness as if they are hiding something and it reminds me of milk chocolate
justin did in fact make the 07 epoch. his early TH wines where he was still involved (03/04) were great as well.
thanks for the notes! I have three different 07’s left and wondering if i should check into at least one for the holidays. Cheers!
Brett - I don’t t think you can go wrong opening any of the 2007s. I would heed the advice above - give the Booker, Bone Rock, and James Berry a bit more air.
2007 Epoch Ingenuity - totally forgot to add this note. This wine changed the most over the course of the day. Immediately upon opening, it was very sweet. confectionary on the nose, and sweet tart flavors. Somehow, four hours later, this showed more black olive and savory notes. Nice wine, and interesting, but not on par with the top Saxums.