Inspiration.

On a trip to the Rhone Valley, after an incredibly extensive tasting of great vintages from the cellar of Raymond Trollat, Pax expressed his interest in creating a wine label designed as an ode to the iconic French winemaker. Raymond immediately got up and left the room, returning shortly, and to everyones surprise handed Pax a roll of unused labels from his own wines. Fortunately, someone more fluent in French quickly explained the miscommunication, and with that the label for the Sonoma Hillsides Syrah was decided.

In 2016 we finally felt that we had created a wine worthy of the label. Inspired by the flamboyant wines of St. Joseph, this 100% Sonoma County Syrah is one of the most exciting and compelling wines we have ever put into bottle. Just like in St. Joseph, we pulled this blend together from multiple sites and utilized the expositions of these hillside vineyards that show the freshness and vibrancy that Syrah can only achieve on cool-climate hillside slopes. This wine is decadent, delicious and all hyperbole aside, will probably be one of your favorite Syrahs after just one taste. It is without any doubt, one of our finest creations.

Composition.

When all the pieces of the puzzle fit seamlessly together, the result is greater than the sum of its parts. This is what we strive for with the Sonoma Hillsides Syrah, a harmony in integration that transcends the limits of the individual.

Vineyards

Classic winemaking begins first and foremost in the vineyard. The sites we select for the Sonoma Hillsides blend feature blocks with intriguing hillside expositions and cool climates influenced by the coastal wind gaps of Sonoma County. These vineyards are farmed using organic, sustainable and/or biodynamic methods and are among the most heralded sites of this region for growing Syrah. This blend typically includes wines vinified from Walker Vine Hill, Castelli-Knight Ranch, Griffins, Felix, Nellessen Vineyards, and perhaps others. The health of these vineyards allows us to use indigenous yeast for fermentation.

Whole Cluster

Stems are what separates a classically styled Syrah from a modern Syrah. We ferment all our Syrahs 100% Whole-Cluster. In wet vintages (2010 & 2011) or a vintage with a very poor set (2013) is the last time we were forced to destem a few small lots. Leaving the grapes on the clusters and gently crushing these whole clusters by foot creates a wine loaded with aromas and flavors achievable only by using these methods. These old school methods bring us one step closer to our goal of vinifying classically styled Syrahs from our new world terroirs.

Carbonic Maceration

The process of carbonic maceration adds another dimension that elevates the Sonoma Hillsides Syrah. This anaerobic fermentation process (fermentation without oxygen contact) is known for producing bright fruity flavors in wines, resulting in a certain vibrancy that harkens back to the Old World. We only use carbonic maceration on certain blocks from certain sites for this wine.

Concrete

We blend the components of the Sonoma Hillsides Syrah early in the year into a large concrete cubic tank. This allows the components to harmonize in a vessel that breathes less than an oak barrel and more than a stainless steel tank. This practice enables the wine to evolve slowly as all its parts synchronize to become a seamless expression of pure, vibrant Syrah from the cool-climate, hillside vineyard blocks of Sonoma County that we love.

Reception.

As soon as the very first vintage of this wine was released in 2017 it began making waves in the wine community and we were honored by a 100 point score by Antonio Galloni of Vinous in January 2018. As the vintages have come and gone, this blend is becoming a reference point of its own for Syrah in the New World. Each harvest brings its own unique challenges and in 2020, plagued by wildfire smoke, we were not able to put this wine into bottle. The following vintages have redeemed this disappointment in every way.

As of January 2025, we are on the cusp of the release of 2023 vintage and have been honored by a glowing 98 point review by critic Antonio Galloni.

2023 featured a long, cool growing season where, as we watched the summer days grow ever shorter, we wondered whether some of our Syrah vineyards would ever fully ripen. Mild, even temperatures all throughout the California harvest are rare, and the heat spikes we normally see in August and September that bring up sugar levels simply never materialized. Much of our cool-climate Syrah continued to hang on the vine into November, eking out every last iota of phenolics (flavor compounds) during the long season. The results so far have been nothing short of spectacular, deeply layered and nuanced wines that must be tasted to be believed.

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