Terry Hoage Vineyard 2016

SAXUM

Terry Hoage Vineyard
2016

Country
United States
Regulated designation
American Viticultural Areas (AVA)
Region
California
Subregion
San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles
Varietal(s)
Syrah
Grenache
Mourvèdre
Colour
Red
Producer's website
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About this winery

Saxum is one of the hottest wineries in Paso Robles, which is saying something, since Paso is pretty well as hot as it gets in California these days. Of course Paso is 'hot' by virtue of being cool, and the coolest part of Paso Robles is the Templeton gap in West Paso, where Saxum is located. Here cool marine air streams in from the Pacific Ocean, creating a microclimate that is surprisingly temperate for Southern California. Saxum's James Berry vineyard is perhaps the supreme expression of...

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Product notes

It was a drought busting rainy winter, followed by a nice warm spring. The spring had minimal frost which in turn provided a good set of fruit and gave us the option to thin the fruit down to just the perfect clusters. To top it all off, a moderately warm, but not too hot, summer season allowed the fruit to reach optimal ripeness and retain great natural acidities.

Press reviews

Jeb Dunnuck

(96-98) POINTS

August 2017

Justin loved the Grenache in 2016 (he did 6 Grenache dominated cuvées in the vintage) and his 2016 Terry Hoage Vineyard is a downright exotic, sexy red that give up tons of blood orange, plums, blackberries, mint and spice aromas and flavors. Rich, voluptuous and unquestionably sumptuous, it’s going to be a great vintage for this cuvée.

I’ve raved so much about the wines from Saxum’s Justin Smith, I feel like a broken record every new vintage. Nevertheless, these latest vintages are all stellar, and certainly the move to the new cellar hasn’t affect or changed the quality here. The 2014s show the richer, more fleshy style of the vintage, yet still carry the slightly more streamlined/elegant style that Smith has chosen over the past few years. The 2015s play even more in that realm, which is very much the vintage, and are lively and elegant, with pretty, perfumed characters – and plenty of fruit. The 2015s share a lot of similarities to the 2011s (which shined for their aromatics), yet have more fruit and power. It’s worth noting that the majority had just been recently bottled, which makes these showings even more impressive. A vintage that really excites me is the 2016s, which appear to be a return to a more bombastic style, with beautiful fruit and texture.

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