Gamay Noir
⏳ Drinking Window
2004 - 2008
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
roasted duck, charcuterie board, grilled salmon
✨ Technical Specifications
Pax Mahle's exploration of Gamay Noir represents a vibrant chapter in California's modern wine renaissance, reclaiming a grape that was historically misunderstood in the state. For decades, what Californians called 'Napa Gamay' was actually Valdiguié; Pax, however, champions the true Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. Sourced from cool, wind-swept vineyards in Sonoma County, this wine is crafted using traditional Beaujolais techniques, including partial carbonic maceration and fermentation in concrete vats and neutral French oak. The result is a narrative of pure, crunchy red fruit, alpine freshness, and a distinct coastal minerality that challenges the historic California stereotype of heavy, high-alcohol reds.
🍾 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
Gamay Noir
🍷 Alcohol By Volume (ABV)
11.5-12%