Located in the Willow Creek District of Paso Robles (just southwest of the town), James Berry Vineyard is a complex site consisting of steep slopes representing a variety of altitudes and aspects. The clay-loam topsoil sits over an ancient limestone-rich seabed that includes fossilized shells. Singular parts of these rocky hillsides have inspired the isolation of two separate single-block labels. The Bone Rock block of Saxum’s James Berry estate vineyard gets its name from the fossilized whale bones uncovered at the site while trying to break through the rocky soil. This was the first James Berry block planted and still possesses 30-years+ head-trained Syrah vines. Rocket Block is winemaker/owner Justin Smith’s favorite Grenache block within the vineyard. It’s on a precipitous, northeast-facing slope and is usually the last block to ripen.

Justin creates blends based mainly on Grenache and Syrah. Mourvèdre also plays a role in most of the wines, but Justin prefers the name Mataro. “It was called Mataro here in America for the last 100 years or so,” he told me. “Our oldest vines here are real Mataro clone.” In addition to these Rhône varieties, he also likes to work with California classics—Zinfandel and Petite Sirah—and the Spanish varieties that have become popular around this area, Graciano and Tempranillo.

There is one white wine in the Saxum range. “We wanted to offer a white, so I started doing this wine in 2017,” said Justin. “I wanted the wine to have freshness, so it has Grenache Blanc and some Chenin Blanc in here. There’s a splash of Chardonnay too, but it’s not on the label. Burgundy is my muse—the winemaking here is very Burgundian even if that grapes aren’t.”

In August this year, I tasted at Saxum with Justin and his son Colin, who has joined the cellar team full-time. The tasting was a mix of the bottled wines from the 2021 and 2022 vintages.

“2022 was a warm year, but it was nice that the whites came off before the heat,” said Justin. “Mataro totally held up to the heat, but the Grenache started to desiccate. We pulled a lot of it in before it got too hot. We co-fermented this with Mataro, and this worked well. What wasn’t ripe had to weather the heat, so afterward, we sent the team out with sheers to cut away the dried berries, and what was left was great. 2021 was a cooler, drier year with nice freshness. The wines are not as exuberant as the 2022s.”

Two new wines are in this latest set of new releases: 2019 Somnus and 2021 Cayucos Ridge.

The 2019 Somnus slumbered for nearly four years in barrels.

“Somnus is the Greek goddess of sleep,” said Justin. “We wanted to call it E Pluribus Unum but couldn’t use that as the name because it was taken, so we put it on the back label. In 2019, we did a big co-ferment with the Petite Sirah, and we didn’t want to blend it away. The blend is 33% Petite Sirah, 33% Syrah, 17% Graciano, 13% Touriga Nacional, and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. Most of the fruit comes from James Berry Vineyard, with a little from Heartstone. It has about 16% stem inclusion and spent 44 months in barrel.”

The big news is the Smith family’s purchase of two new vineyards: Cayucos Ridge and V2.

Cayucos Ridge Vineyard

Justin and I journeyed over to his new vineyard, which is not in Paso Robles but lies just within the San Luis Obispo border. It is located at 1600-1700 feet on a ridgeline and offers a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean. Both the elevation and the exposure to the ocean mean this is a far cooler site than the vineyards Justin works with in Paso Robles.

“You can see the cool shale on these hills from the road, so I’ve always had my eye on this area,” said Justin. “I knew there was potential. This land wasn’t for sale, so we jumped when I saw the ‘For Sale’ sign go up a few years ago. Eleven acres of the land were open and clear, ready for planting. I’d like to plant more land, but it’s hella steep. But it’s on the list for future expansion!”

Comprised of 160 acres of virgin land, Saxum’s new Cayucas Ridge Vineyard was purchased in 2017.

In 2018, eleven acres (all calcareous soils) were planted entirely to Syrah and all of it is the Estrella Clone, which is the first Syrah that came to California and has been selected in this region over generations. Most of the Syrah Justin has planted here is own-rooted, which is a brave move with potentially exciting results. Justin is confident that they should be able to keep Phylloxera away from this remote location. The now established vines are near enough dry-grown.

“We didn’t have to irrigate at all in 2024,” said Justin. “We get good rainfall here. About 36 inches on average.”

The first vintage produced of the Cayucas Ridge Vineyard Syrah is 2021, and what a remarkable, bright, fresh debut!

V2 Vineyard

The Smith family more recently purchased a 300-acre piece of land in the York Mountain AVA. This is another high-elevation site, rising to nearly 2000 feet. In 2023, they planted 14 acres, mainly to Grenache, with a few other varieties, including Cabernet Sauvignon and Gouais Blanc (the parent variety of Chardonnay and many other modern-day classics). The plantings will be starting to come on board from next year (2025). 

The vineyard is named “V2” after the two Victorias who used to live on the property. One was a pilot. She went to the UK in WWII, but because of her gender couldn’t be a fighter pilot. So, she helped to deliver planes and fly damaged aircraft back to base. She fell in love in the UK with a woman also named Victoria, and the couple came back to Paso Robles after the war to live together.

With Saxum edging closer to using only estate fruit, 2023 will be the last vintage they do Paderewski, Heart Stone, and 4Hearts. 

“I’m hoping to do something similar to the 4Hearts Cabernet Sauvignon blend with the V2 Vineyard, where we have a little Cabernet planted,” Justin said.

This year (2024), they will still make wine from G2, but less of it. 

Otherwise, this year’s 2021 and 2022 releases are a rock-solid line-up, revealing Saxum’s classic iron fist in a velvet glove style that fans will love.