WA: 98
The 2010 Syrah Booker Vineyard – a blend of 81% Syrah and 19% Mourvedre – is about as textbook a representation of a Paso Robles Syrah as I can think of. Locked and loaded with notions of ripe black and blue fruits, smoke, bouquet garni, espresso, and licorice, it is unabashedly full-bodied, rich, and yet elegant on the palate. Showing real class, as well as first-rate freshness, superb depth and concentration, and masses of tannin, this blockbuster Syrah needs a solid 3-4 years of bottle age to flesh out, and will keep for 15-20 years or more.
A benchmark estate for California, Saxum, under the helm of superstar winemaker Justin Smith, continues to produce some of the most compelling, profound wines on the planet. While Smith’s wines are always full-flavored and intense, there has been a stylistic change over recent vintages, with the wines showing more obvious tannin and structure, as well as additional minerality and savory qualities. These 2010s exemplify this change and are all serious, structured efforts that will need bottle age to blossom.
VM: 95
A full-throttle Paso Syrah, the 2010 Booker Vineyard explodes onto the palate with an exotic melange of black fruit, smoke, tar and game. The style is decidedly masculine, virile and imposing. There is an immediacy to the Booker that is impossible to miss. At the same time, this is a wine that tells you everything right up front. Might there be something more to discover in this site? The 2010 is 81% Syrah and 19% Mourvèdre, aged in 350 liter barrels, 60-70% new.
WS: 94
A sizable wine that's rich, intense and harmonious, with a nuanced mix of extracted blackberry, spice, plum, licorice and cigar box flavors. Best to cellar. Syrah and Mourvèdre. Best from 2014 through 2024. 500 cases made.
