2013 Broken Stones

Justin Smith has just begun settling into his new, expansive cellar, a series on connected tunnels burrowed out of the hill beneath his old winery and home that is equipped with a variety of concrete and wooden vats and barrels of varying sizes. Smith told me that he’s now able to adapt his winemaking to whatever conditions nature hands him. Unsurprisingly, this was one of the finest sets of wines that I tasted during my trip this summer. A look through barrels and tanks of Smith’s soon-to-be bottled 2014s and infant 2015s indicates that Saxum’s winning streak shows no sign of letting up. Too bad that there simply won’t be much wine to go around. Incidentally, while these will never be inexpensive wines, I find that prices are extremely fair given the sheer quality of the wines and the fact that they are among California’s most sought-after bottlings.

According to Justin Smith, "while the 2012s were showing some pretty serious tannins and structure early on, they're staring to calm down and the fruit is coming up fast." As to 2013, Smith likes the cool character of the newer crop of wines and thinks that people will underestimate them "because they're not massive beasts." The final touches were being put on Smith's new cave at the foot of his hillside James Berry vineyard, and it will be ready for the 2015 harvest. The Smith family's vineyard work is legendary in the region; beyond what Justin accomplishes with his fruit at Saxum one need only look at what other winemakers achieve with James Berry fruit at their own wineries. I almost hesitate to say, again, that this winery is the gold standard for the region, not least because it has been said many times before but, selfishly, because I've been on the waiting list for the wines since 2010 and I don't want any more company.