2010 Pax The Vicar

(made with 100% whole clusters and entirely in neutral oak): Deep red. Exotic, expansive aromas of raspberry and cherry compote, potpourri and woodsmoke, with strong spicy lift. Lush and deeply pitched but energetic, offering intense red fruit and Asian spice flavors and showing no rough edges. Finishes sappy and long, echoing the red fruit notes and showing very suave, harmonious tannins. Already approachable, especially for fruit freaks. This wine is made of 50% grenache, which was drawn from the Castelli-Knight and Alder Springs vineyards, 30% mourvedre from the Bedrock vineyard and 20% syrah from Griffin's Lair and Castelli-Knight.

A Grenache/Mourvedre/Syrah blend, the 2010 The Vicar is a Rhone blend of another big wine bursting with fruit. Tar, licorice and smoke all emerge over time, but the tannins never lose an element of edginess that detracts from the wine’s otherwise solid balance. Mahle used 100% whole clusters and aged the 2010 in puncheons for 18 months. In 2010 the Vicar is sourced from Castelli-Knight, Bedrock, Griffins Lair and Alder Springs. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2018. These are the first new releases from Pax Mahle’s Pax Wine Cellars label following Mahle’s separation from Joe Donelan a few years back. Mahle describes 2010 and 2011 as both challenging, but the difference, he notes, is mostly that in 2011 growers were better prepared, as they had the experience of dealing with the cool, damp conditions from 2010. That keen observation may explain why the two 2011s I tasted were clearly more interesting than the 2010s. Tel. (707) 591-0782