I know there are 3 tiers, ive been the tier 3 the lowest one for a while. Im hoping to get to tier 2 soon, does anyone know the allocations at the different tiers please
I know tier 3 is spring - 6 x Broken Stones, fall 4 x JBV + 2 Paderwerski.
I think there may be more than 3 tiers, but I suspect a Ouija board may come into play as well. I can’t blame Justin or Christina from refraining comment - these allocation threads never play out well for producers.
That said, once upon a time, the wines were priced at different levels, presumably reflecting volumes available for allocation. Now that they are uniformly priced, getting a line on volumes produced each vintage is a bit harder. From what I’ve discerned based on my history:
Tier 4: JBV & Broken Stones (appear to be the highest volume)
Tier 3: Above + Paderweski, Maybe some Hoage and Heartstone if WL?
Tier 2: All 4 above if WL granted previously+ 1 bottle of Bone Rock if WL and available
Tier 1: The full Monty + >1 Bone Rock + Mags?
Not sure where Rocket falls if it ever makes a comeback.
Purely an anecdotal observation. It probably changes ever year, and original sign up date, attrition rate and letters to the editor are all factors.
Speaking of which, Christina/Justin, if you are reading this, please bump up my allocation (more BR at least! mags or 3Ls of BR preferably! )
Thanks, so the bottom line from is this thread is I don’t think anyone really knows except Sierra !! that’s cool it just adds to the fun of being on the Saxum list.
You seem to be fond of BR, is this the best cuvee in your opinion, ive never had one only JBV, BS and the Pad.
There are two outlier entries on Cellartracker for 2011 Saxums - Saxum Rocket Block and Saxum Mourvedre. Do you have to be in Tier negative 3 to get those?
As to those in lower tiers, be patient. The one thing you don’t want is for Justin to dilute quality to increase allocations. Easy for me to say. I have been on the list since the 2004 vintage. We’re having a 2005 Broken Stones for New Year’s Eve.
I don’t trust everything listed on CT. Sometimes people make mistakes and you end up with multiple variations of the same wine or a wine is entered that doesn’t exist. Not saying the two you listed are that way, but I always have a bit a skepticism when I see a wine that seems like an outlier.
As far as I know, the last Rocket Block was 2005, with rumors of a 2013 vintage.
I’ve never heard of a Saxum"Mourvedre". Especially odd, as no Saxum is simply named after it’s grape.
No problem, ill be patient, just let me have your Bone rock in the mean time !!!
So far ive had 07,8,9,11 Broken Stones and loved them all. The best being the 07 which is spectacular.
Are all the 07’s great ? I actually have 1 each of Bone Rock, Heartstone and Broken, im trying to decide between one of those and a 08 JBV for tomorrow. I know according to WS the BR is the best but as its my only bottle im thinking of keeping that one a bit longer and doing the 08 JBV. I will be pairing with a 10 Reva as well, food is big USDA prime ribeye with minted new potatoes. First course is grilled Lobster and for that I have the now traditional bottle of Krug NV.
The '06 and '07 Central Coast Syrah vintages are great almost across the board. Every one I’ve had from Saxum, Copain, Jaffurs, Melville, etc… have been some of best I’ve ever had.
Alan, the Bone Rock has been my favorite by far, although the last vintage of Rocket Block was right before my first offer… I love Grenache and I’m sure it’s a treat.
And now that I’ve mashed up Sierra’s first and last names, I’m sure I will have dropped down a couple pegs…
As Jay said, they’re worth the wait. With the days of enormous allocations in the rear view, I save them for special occasions. Probably a good thing, because they get the rest they demand to show well.
Now I’m craving Saxum. Just killed that '10 Reva last night but no reason I can’t go back to back on these!
I made traded Bourbon for Saxum and Alban to drink this holiday, so far ive killed three Saxums, a 12 JBV and 08 & 09 BS. Im going to kill another Saxum tonight and then a Saxum and Reva tomorrow
I planned to get the wine to enjoy this holiday as a sort of self present so im thinking why the hell not, its going to be along shitty winter in Chicago and a hard slog at work so make the most of the holidays.
Now you’ve done it to me !!! going to open the bottle to breathe for tonight
Come to NY and I will share a Bone Rock with you. I don’t want to mention how many I have. Some people will get very annoyed and it could cause me to experience bodily injury.
A few Bone Rock TNs to keep you interested (I do not always write notes, so I have not written on the 2011):
2007 Saxum Bone Rock James Berry Vineyard- USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (10/10/2013)
WOTY thus far. Absolutely exceptional. Preparation - I was drinking it at a dinner in NYC so it was in my office. No decanter so three hours before dinner I poured out about four ounces into a glass and the poured it back, let the bottle rest open, and then recorded to bring to the restaurant. Decanted into a wide bottom decanter at the restaurant and then sat for about another hour as we had a Ramonet Chassagne Montrachet with shrimp cocktail. The color was extremely dark. Red, but almost impenetrably black. When I poured this, the nose was spicy as well as fruity. There was some cedar pn the ose as well. Dark fruit. On the palate, there were layers and layers of complexity, even though still mostly primary. Raspberry and dark red fruits, a bit of blueberry. Smooth dark smoked black pepper with the characteristic meatiness that people ascribe to the Mourvedre. Still some tannic bite to it but rough edges of youth are gone. BRAVO Justin. I have more and this could be the WOTY every year for the next five years . . . But then again I’ve got other Saxums to enjoy. (97 pts.)
2005 Saxum Bone Rock James Berry Vineyard- USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (9/7/2009)
This is a great wine. I opened this towards the end of a lareg BBQ for our partners, lawyers and staff at my house. Because of the flow of people in and out, the only ones left were office staff - no lawyers - so I went down to the cellar with two of them and gave them a few choices. They picked the Bone Rock because of the label. Popped, decanted and poured. I will admit that the nose has a bit of alcohol on it which the wimps among you find unacceptable. For me, it just kept the wine from getting to the rarified air of 96 pts or higher. The color was extremely dark. The palate was red fruit - cherries, plums and a bit of raspberry - and spicy smoked black pepper with a meaty component, just a tiny drop of vanilla and some very light background oak. Tremendous complexity. There are a lot of other flavors mixed in so you might find some others instead, like some blackberry. This wine has the stuffing to stand up to a day in which we cooked a massive amount of strong food for 40 people and then entertained them for 6 hours. If you do not like flavor in your wine, DNPIM, and then there will be more for me. 93% Syrah, 7% grenache. (95 pts.)
2004 Saxum Bone Rock James Berry Vineyard- USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (6/9/2009)
I really really love this wine. If you don’t like flavor in your wine, or if you like your wine to taste like it is made from crushed rocks instead of grapes, this is not for you. BUT for me this is a great wine with wonderful aromatics and a well-balanced fruit flavor of up front red fruit, red berries and blueberries, with a chocolately chewyness, a moderate amount of spice, a very smooth mouth feel and a very long finish. A bit of apparent sweentness from the fruit but no real sugar. Very dark color. almost a glycerine-like smoothness on the tonuge. There is alcohol in this wine (what a suprise) but I was bothered a lot more by the alcohol on the nose of a 13% Portugese blend a few days ago than on this wine.
I abused this bottle before opening it, carrying it on the train from my house to my office and then on the train again from my office to a testimonial dinner, with well over a mile walking with this in a bag slung over my back for good measure, and then I popped and poured with no decant all the same day, and the wine showed no ill effects. I shared this wine with 6 or more people at the dinner and they all thought it was great. (94 pts.)
2004 Saxum Bone Rock James Berry Vineyard- USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (11/24/2007)
WOW. Drunk over 3 days. First half on Thanksgiving. Dark cherry, blueberry, great mouth feel, dark color, long finish. Too much wine opened that day, so recorked, brought home, and thrown in the refrigerator. Took out on Saturday for dinner. Intense cherry, raspberry and blueberry fruit. Vanilla, just a hint of oak, pepper and allspice. Color is still very dark and finish is very long. This is even more expressive with more complex flavors on the third day. The feel in the mouth is almost creamy and tghe fruit is so strong it almost tastes sweet. The alcohol is perfectly balanced and not noticeable at all. If the improvement after two days in the refrigerator (and it was no slouch on day 1 either) is any indication of aging potential, then this wine will be incredible in a few more years. (93 pts.)
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