2015 Saxum Heart Stone Vineyard

Composed of 38% Syrah, 38% Grenache and 24% Mourvèdre, the 2015 Heart Stone Vineyard has a medium to deep garnet-purple color and beautiful scents of roses and kirsch plus nuances of salami, spice cake, tar, new leather and earth. Full-bodied, concentrated and full-on seductive, it has lovely rich fruit and spice layers, framed by rounded tannins and finishing with a lovely herbal lift.

Another perfumed, ethereally textured 2015, the 2015 Heart Stone Vineyard checks in as 38% Syrah, 38% Grenache and 24% Mourvèdre. It offers lots of cranberry, kirsch, dried herbs and even a hint of dried flowers to go with a full-bodied, lightly textured, elegant style on the palate. I suspect it will gain a touch of weight over the coming 2-3 years and drink nicely through 2027. I’ve raved so much about the wines from Saxum’s Justin Smith, I feel like a broken record every new vintage. Nevertheless, these latest vintages are all stellar, and certainly the move to the new cellar hasn’t affect or changed the quality here. The 2014s show the richer, more fleshy style of the vintage, yet still carry the slightly more streamlined/elegant style that Smith has chosen over the past few years. The 2015s play even more in that realm, which is very much the vintage, and are lively and elegant, with pretty, perfumed characters – and plenty of fruit. The 2015s share a lot of similarities to the 2011s (which shined for their aromatics), yet have more fruit and power. It’s worth noting that the majority had just been recently bottled, which makes these showings even more impressive. A vintage that really excites me is the 2016s, which appear to be a return to a more bombastic style, with beautiful fruit and texture.