The Hermit Syrah

Very spicy and savory. Fruit components turn darker with more air. Tannins are tight and grainy.

Burger juice! Extremely ripe and fruit forward for a Pax wine. Something to do with the vintage? This bottle definitely has more rose petal, graphite characteristics to it vs the smoked meat, olive tapenade characteristics that I usually get with Rhône style wines. While those kind of notes are never extremely pronounced with Pax’s wines, I’m missing them completely with this bottle. Expected a little more out of this wine, but still a pleasure to drink a bottle from one of my favorite California producers.

Good wine

Delicious wine

These Pax and Wind Gap wines are a departure for me given their origins. Definitely old world in style. A puckering acidity keeps the mouthwatering, begging for food. Can stand alone but it did well with dinner tonight.

Great nose of flowers, dark tart fruit, an herbaceous quality too. I love smelling this as it evolves. Palate is tart cherries with some raspberry jam, leather, and tannins. Excellent syrah.

Decanted for 30 minutes. Smells like a diabetic attack waiting to happen. Sweet Tart candy aromas that my 2 and 4 yr olds are jealous of haha. On the palate, raspberries, and pomegranate with some bright acidity and balanced tannins. Very enjoyable.

Color of cloudy purple, dark red, and brown. Nose is plenty with ripe dark fruits, plum, coffee, flowering note. Taste is also dense and saturated, with notes like dates, plum, prune, juicy raisin, vanilla, and mixed with oak, and spice. Powerful flavors plus acidity to hide her alcohol strength. Slight sweetness, cedar or maple wood aftertaste, some oak, dried strawberries, juicy grapes, and just enough tannins, are all present and keep coming after a few sips. Very good one.

Smooth and polished dark fruits abound early but the finish trails off unexpectedly. That said, enjoyable and restrained at 13.9 abv. 100% syrah.

Dense fruit front and center...Silky tannins ride through the finish.