The new Pax is definitely not over the top. The new Pax Syrahs are bigger than Wind Gap mainly because of the vineyards, he left the cooler vineyard sites like Majik and Armaugh in the Wind Gap line-up, and makes the wines from Griffin’s Lair, Alder Springs, etc. under the revived Pax label.
-Al
Thanks! I’m happy to follow the middle road.
Great to hear! We had a 2004 Griffin’s Lair recently and were pretty disappointed, lots of overripe fruit and jammy flavors.
Following AG’s score, I’ll give them another try (plus I do like the Wind Gap wines)
The early 2000s Pax Syrahs were in the ±15% abv range and were quite large. While the new Pax wines are bigger than Wind Gap, they are far from the bombs they used to be.
Some of those old Pax syrahs still drink really well, surprisingly.
This is definitely a delicious wine. Classic olive and meat aromas, even some earthiness. Nice medium body that is both stylish and elegant.
100pts??? I’ll just do a direct comparison with the '13 Rhys, Horseshoe, Syrah that I drank recently and would rate in the mid 90s. This wine is not quite in the same league as the Rhys, maybe low 90s. That said, I’m really looking forward to drinking them all and buying others from Pax wines in the future. Definitely my style of wine.
I like the Rhys Syrah wines very much and haven’t tried this Pax wine (but, am sure I’d love it). As far as the comparison, note the Pax is quite young compared to the Rhys and will probably evolve over the next three years. Thanks for the note.
-Al
Yes, that is a good point about age. Now the Pax is unsulfered and under some sort of fake cork, so while it might age well it is also more of a gamble?
Store the Pax well, and it should not be a gamble for the mid-term. Keep it at 55 or lower.
Pretty sure it’s under DIAM, so no worries about the closure.
Ok, into the bottom of the fridge it goes.
Not trying to start a war here (but I’ll bite)… are we all that confident in DIAM these days??
Yes.
Legit question. I am not. Didn’t know it was DIAM when I bought my six, but am
Not really thinking 15+ years on these anyway.
Out of curiosity, why does the dominant vibe seem to be that these are for nearer-term drinking? 100% whole-cluster from a vineyard with a good pedigree. Why wouldn’t it age well?
Come on man. That’s just as worthless to me as the OP. Do I need to beg???
Because it’s 100points and people are dying to try it.
Are Diam 5’s only good for 5 years?
This wine is closed with a Nomacorc Select Bio vs a DIAM.
Hmm…know much less about those. Oh well, gives me a reason to drink them.
But as for DIAM, I am very confident. I have wines going back a decade in my cellar, and they are perfect. Had an ‘08 ESJ Syrah a few weeks ago that was progressing exactly as I expect ESJ Syrah to do so.
This is not a plastic cork. Made from sugarcane and is recyclable and industrial compostable.
Hopefully this performs better than the various plastic corks from 10-20 years ago.