Syrah Cuvee Christine
⏳ Drinking Window
2005 - 2012
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted duck, grilled lamb chops, wild mushroom ragout
✨ Technical Specifications
Pax Mahles Cuvee Christine is a flagship Syrah that represents a masterful selection of the finest cool-climate vineyards across Sonoma County. Named in honor of Paxs mother, Christine, this cuvee is crafted to showcase the elegant, savory, and Northern Rhone-inspired side of California winemaking. Sourced from premier, wind-swept sites influenced by the Pacific Ocean, the fruit undergoes traditional whole-cluster fermentation with native yeasts, followed by aging in neutral French oak puncheons and concrete. This minimal-intervention approach coaxes out classic cool-climate Syrah signatures: cracked black pepper, smoked meats, dark olive, and vibrant blue fruit, backed by a spine of fresh acidity and fine-grained tannins.
🍾 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%