Syrah Alder Springs The Terraces
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed 5–15 years from the vintage release, as its dense structure and high acidity evolve beautifully over time.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Grilled lamb chops, roasted duck, wild mushroom ragout
✨ Technical Specifications
Perched in the rugged, remote wilderness of northern Mendocino County, the Alder Springs Vineyard is a testament to extreme viticulture, pioneered by Stu Bewley in the late 1990s. Within this legendary site, 'The Terraces' represents some of the steepest, most challenging blocks, carved directly into decomposed sandstone soils at high elevations. Pax Mahle harnesses this dramatic terroir to craft a Syrah of striking intensity and Northern Rhône-like complexity. By employing traditional whole-cluster fermentation and aging in neutral French oak and concrete, the wine preserves the raw, wild character of the vineyard. It is celebrated for its savory profile, marked by cracked black pepper, cured meats, olive tapenade, and a profound mineral core, representing the pinnacle of California's cool-climate Syrah movement.
🍾 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
🍷 ABV
12.5-13.5%