James Berry Vineyard Red Wine
⏳ Drinking Window
2005 - 2015
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
roasted lamb chops, slow-braised beef short ribs, grilled wild game
✨ Technical Specifications
Sourced from the legendary James Berry Vineyard in the Willow Creek District of Paso Robles, this wine represents a historic collaboration between pioneer Pax Mahle and the Smith family. Known for its fossil-rich, calcareous limestone soils and cooling marine breezes drawing through the Templeton Gap, the vineyard provides a dramatic terroir. Pax's approach brings a northern Rhône-inspired sensibility to this iconic Central Coast site, utilizing whole-cluster fermentation and neutral oak aging. This creates a fascinating dialogue between the naturally opulent, intense fruit of Paso Robles and Pax's signature focus on savory complexity, structure, and vibrant acidity.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 2000 by Pax and Pam Mahle, Pax Wines emerged as an influential champion of cool-climate California viticulture, initially earning renown for single-vineyard expressions of Syrah. Operating out of an urban winery and tasting cellar in Sebastopol's Barlow district, the domaine collaborates closely with growers across coastal Sonoma County, Mendocino, and the Sierra Foothills. Viticulture centers on organically and sustainably farmed heritage plots, frequently anchored in fractured shale, marine sandstone, and decomposed granite. While early vintages leaned rich and assertive, Pax evolved toward an uncompromising low-intervention ethos characterized by whole-cluster foot stomping, spontaneous fermentations driven by ambient yeasts, neutral French oak aging, and minimal sulfur. Beyond benchmark Syrah bottlings such as Alder Springs, Griffin's Lair, and Castelli-Knight Ranch, the portfolio explores esoteric and heritage white varieties, notably old-vine Chenin Blanc, Vermentino, and Pinot Blanc, celebrated for their tensile acidity, savory transparency, and mineral cut.
🍇 Grapes
Syrah