2007 Broken Stones

Justin Smith's home vineyard is one of the most sought-after fruit sources by many of California's most quality-conscious producers: Sashi Moorman, Pax Mahle and Wells Guthrie from the north and many of Smith's Paso Robles colleagues produce some of their top wines from James Berry grapes. Smith's own wines continue to evolve toward "a more expressive and energetic style," as he put it. The wines now undergo extended aging in large casks "to help smooth out the tannins and make the texture more silky." Smith is also keen on emphasizing "the unique character that we get from this piece of dirt," which is almost completely white calcareous limestone. This soil no doubt contributes to the vibrancy that runs through even the richest Saxum wines. Sunglasses are a necessity when walking through this steep, elevated site as the glare off of the ground is almost blinding. The site is an ancient seabed, raised up by an earthquake eons ago, and it recently yielded a rare, complete whale fossil that a paleontologist estimates to be 15 million years old, according to Smith.