Syrah Alder Springs
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed 5–15 years from vintage release.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted lamb with rosemary, grilled venison, wild mushroom stew
✨ Technical Specifications
Perched in the rugged, wild terrain of northern Mendocino County, the Alder Springs Vineyard is a testament to extreme viticulture. Founded by Stuart Bewley in the late 1990s, this legendary site features steep, sandstone-rich slopes rising up to 2,700 feet above sea level, where cool Pacific breezes clash with intense high-altitude sunlight. Pax Mahle harnesses this dramatic terroir to craft a Syrah of exceptional tension and complexity. Embracing traditional, minimalist winemaking, the fruit undergoes whole-cluster fermentation with native yeasts and is aged in neutral French oak. The resulting wine is celebrated for its signature cool-climate profile, balancing dark, brambly fruit with savory notes of cracked black pepper, cured meat, and wild chaparral.
🍾 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
Syrah