The Vicar
⏳ Drinking Window
2005 - 2012
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted duck, grilled lamb chops, wild mushroom tart
✨ Technical Specifications
Pax's 'The Vicar' is a compelling, cool-climate expression of California Grenache, crafted as an elegant alternative to the historically heavy and highly extracted styles of the state. Named with a touch of clerical whimsy, this cuvée pays homage to the traditional, food-friendly wines of the Southern Rhône Valley while remaining deeply expressive of Sonoma County's unique coastal terroirs. Sourced from meticulously farmed, wind-swept vineyards, the winemaking employs whole-cluster fermentation and native yeasts, followed by aging in neutral French oak and concrete vessels. This low-intervention philosophy coaxes out the grape's bright, aromatic potential, yielding a wine celebrated for its vibrant red fruit, savory cracked pepper, and wild herb characteristics.
🍾 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
Grenache