Cuvee Moriah
⏳ Drinking Window
2004 - 2010
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted duck, grilled lamb chops, wild mushroom tart
✨ Technical Specifications
Pax Mahle's Cuvée Moriah is a heartfelt tribute to his daughter, Moriah, and a masterful expression of California's potential for Southern Rhône-style blends. Sourced from cool-climate, high-altitude vineyards in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, this cuvée represents a departure from the heavy, over-extracted styles once dominant in California. Instead, Pax utilizes traditional, low-intervention winemaking techniques, including concrete-tank fermentation, whole-cluster inclusion, and aging in neutral French oak puncheons. The result is a wine of immense soul and vitality, balancing the bright, peppery red fruit of Grenache with the savory, structured depth of Syrah and Mourvèdre. It reflects the rugged beauty of the Northern California coast, where maritime breezes and diverse soils coax out complex aromatics of wild herbs, lavender, and dark earth.
🍾 About the Producer
Founded in 2000 by Pax and Pam Mahle, Pax Wines is an acclaimed artisanal producer based in Sebastopol within Sonoma County, California. Recognized as a pioneer of the New California wine movement, the winery focuses on cool-climate coastal terroirs across Sonoma and Mendocino Counties. Pax champions a minimalist, old-world approach to vinification, utilizing whole-cluster fermentation, indigenous yeasts, and aging in neutral French oak and concrete tanks to preserve purity and freshness. The estate is widely celebrated for its benchmark, savory Syrah bottlings—such as the Sonoma-Hillsides and Alder Springs Vineyard designations—as well as dynamic, terroir-driven expressions of Gamay, Chenin Blanc, and heritage varieties.
🍇 Grape Varieties
Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre