(96-98) POINTS

Août 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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