Perhaps not a fair fight because of age difference… but anyway, 2010 Saxum Broken Stones is showing herby, peppery and very ripe fruited, as one might expect. Slight melted vinyl, lots of vanilla oak, but tasty and aromatic - pretty much what you expect from the style.
Both wines opening up normally, showing well. But the Arcadian is blowing the Saxum out of the water right now. The 2006 Hommage a Max shows a touch of meatiness on the nose, together with an exotic Indian spice touch and herbiness that very much reminds me of a good Northern Rhone. On the palate, the acidity is so juicy. As I said, maybe not a fair fight since this has had much more time to age than the Saxum which is still an infant, but the Arcadian is way more complex, complete and exciting a wine right now. Is there a better winemaker in California than Joe Davis? Hard to imagine, he bats at such a high level in pinot, chard and syrah. Wow.
About the Coravin - this was my first two pours and they were very easy. The Coravin experience very much reminds me of a home version of Enomatic. Won’t know for a week if this does what it claims to, but so far I am very very impressed. Easy to use, worked like a charm. Now to see how well these wines are preserved, and if they continue to age or are stuck in arrested development.
It’s not a fair fight not because of the extra age the Arcadian has, but because the '06 Max is an unbelievably amazing Syrah ---- probssibly the best CA Syrah I’ve ever tasted.
Granted, the Saxum style isn’t for everyone but the 10 Broken Stones has enough acidity to be balanced. The flavor profile isn’t my favorite, with a but too much stewed cherry licorice, but it’s easy to see why some people find this to be tasty and aromatic.
Brian, agreed - the 06 Max is one of the best syrahs I’ve ever had, from anywhere. Only La Turque surpassed this for me, and not by much.
More data points: revisiting the wines nine days later, neither wine showed any oxidation; they were quite open upon pouring compared to the first pours nine days ago. The Saxum showed better this time, with the fruit feeling ripe and exuberant, with less of the stewed fruit feel. It was pretty comparable to top wines from Alban and Pax that I’ve had in the past. The Arcadian showed similarly to last time. Both terrific wines, and fun to taste against each other given the stylistic contrasts.
Joe, well earned. As an update, I finished the bottle just this week. The Coravin preserved the wine well for over a month, and this time I tasted the Hommage a Max against a 2008 Tardieu Laurent Hermitage. While the Hermitage showed quite a bit more Old World (as well it should), with savory olive, lavender, herbs and garrigue, again I preferred the Arcadian, which had brighter fruit and juicier acidity. Right in my wheelhouse for balance between fruit and rustic elements.
Stu, I didn’t mean to imply that the Saxum experienced any evolution in that short period of time - I believe the better showing the second time around is due to the wine opening up better somehow. It reminds me very much of Pax Griffin’s Lair syrahs from the ‘big Syrah’ era for Pax. Other wines it evokes includes various syrahs from Jaffurs and Alban. This was probably a touch less ripe than 06 Alban Reva, which was more of a wow wine but a shade less controlled. Terrific wine if you like the style. Unfortunately I’ve decided not to spend in that price range anymore, will be sticking to lower-cost syrahs myself.
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