Syrah Alder Springs The Emerald Pool
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed 5–15 years from vintage release.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted rosemary lamb chops, grilled venison, wild mushroom stew
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the rugged, high-altitude wilderness of northern Mendocino County, the Alder Springs Vineyard is legendary for its extreme viticulture. 'The Emerald Pool' cuvée is named after a pristine, deep-green swimming hole along the Eel River bordering this remote property. Pax Mahle crafts this cool-climate Syrah with a nod to the Northern Rhône, utilizing whole-cluster fermentation and aging in neutral French oak and concrete to preserve the vineyard's intense, wild character. The terroir yields a wine defined by cracked black pepper, smoked meats, black olives, and a distinct forest-floor herbaceousness, showcasing the dramatic, windswept nature of its origin.
🍾 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