Saxum Vineyards 2021 'Broken Stones' Paso Robles

Item Number: 20045

UPC: None

Country: USA
Region: California
Sub Region: Central Coast
Appellation/AVA: Paso Robles
Estate Grown Wine: No
Vintage: 2021
Grape(s): 54% Syrah / 24% Mataro / 20% Graciano / 2% Petite Sirah
Type: Wine - Red
Bottle Size: 750 ml
Pack: 12
Closure: Cork
Alc by Vol(%): 15.5
Viticulture: Practicing Organic
Case Production: 1,199

Notes from Justin: "I’m really excited about this version of Broken Stones. It seems fairly typical. It is Syrah dominated, and was mainly raised in small 225L barriques, about 75% of which were new. However, this is the first year our new Syrah planting up in the Santa Lucia Mountains made its way into the blend. (What we are now calling Old Creek Vineyard, formerly referred to as Cayucos Ridge.). The new Syrah only makes up around 11%, but it definitely brings a bit of black pepper spice to the game. The rest is the usual sources, with James Berry Vineyard making up the bulk, a sprinkling of G2, Heart Stone, and a splash of Dusi. It’s a show stopper. Rich in texture, aromas of black fruits and spices, and our characteristic brightness that is always there thanks to our limestone soils. Oh yeah, and the finish goes on and on and on and on…This wine is a pleaser."

Vintage Notes: 2021 was a relatively cool year in Paso. Not quite as cool as 2010 or 2011, but definitely the mildest season the region has seen in awhile. What makes this vintage interesting is that it was a dry season which gave the wines a different profile than the wetter years like 2019 or 2017. The 2021 Broken Stones is fresh, lifted, and focused like one would expect in a cooler year, but has great concentration and texture from the dry weather.

Winemaking Notes: Upon entering the winery, grapes are fermented as whole berries or clusters without sulfur additions. Fermentation lasts around three weeks, beginning naturally and pragmatically inoculated if necessary, and are typically no warmer than 85 degrees Fahrenheit. All red wines are basket pressed, with the free-run and press fractions combined and aged on their lees between 20 to 32 months without racking. The wines see their first sulfur additions after malolactic fermentation is complete. Combinations of aging vessels vary considerably between cuvées but include 300-liter and 600-liter barrels, used foudre and concrete amphora, with smaller 225-liter barrels used for more tannic bottlings. Saxum wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Back to Producer Saxum Vineyards

Reviews

Vinous
Rating: 95 (7/25/2024)
A whiff of savory herbs and earth tones, black olives, and musky currant smolders up from the 2021 Broken Stones. It is silky and round with supple red berry fruits complemented by cedary spices and rosy inner florals. The 2021 keeps the energy high while finishing staining and long with a liquid floral concentration, steeped plums and pleasantly bitter tinge. While lovely today, this possesses the balance to age beautifully. This is the first vintage of Broken Stones that contains some of the new plantings of San Luis Obispo coast Syrah from Saxum's new vineyards.
The Wine Advocate
Rating: 95 (6/27/2024)
Always a non-vineyard designated Syrah blend, the 2021 Broken Stones combines 54% Syrah, 24% Mataro, 20% Graciano and 2% Petite Sirah. It was fermented with 30% stems and aged 22 months in 75% new 225-liter barrique, the highest portion of smaller barrels used in the Saxum roster due to its tannic levels. The nose opens with a lavish floral perfume and savory, polished, opaque fruit aromas. The palate is full-bodied and concentrated before catapulting into a clean, lifted, juicy finish of crushed stones and fine yet persistent, swelling tannins framed with pleasingly rounded new-oak influence. This reacted quickly to aeration and gained substantial length from the first pour, suggesting it is best left to unwind a few years in the cellar.