Testa Vineyard Carignan
⏳ Drinking Window
2005 - 2010
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted pork, grilled lamb chops, wild mushroom tart
✨ Technical Specifications
The Testa Vineyard, located in the Calpella area of Mendocino County, is a historic gem of California viticulture, originally cleared and planted in 1912 by Italian immigrants Gaetano and Maria Testa. Today, the fifth generation of the family still farms these historic soils. Pax Mahle crafts this Carignan from the vineyard's dry-farmed, head-trained old vines, which dig deep into the gravelly loam soils. Embracing a minimalist winemaking philosophy, Pax utilizes whole-cluster fermentation and neutral French oak aging to preserve the vibrant, heritage-driven character of the fruit. The resulting wine is a beautiful homage to California's early winemaking history, showcasing a perfect balance of bright, wild berry fruit, rustic earthiness, and savory complexity.
🍾 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
Carignan