2005 Pax The Terraces

Drinking at home.

2005 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard The Terraces - started drinking 20 minutes after decanting. Very fragrant with mint and eucalyptus, lots of cedar, coconut, with a hint of sharp alcohol on the nose. Half an hour in this was so, sooo nice, with so much fruit but now has the acidity with complexity and softness from 20 years' of maturity.

2004 Pax Emerald Pool

Drinking at home.

2004 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard The Emerald Pool - started drinking 30 minutes after decanting. Still pretty alcoholic on the nose. With the first sip this was smoother on the palate now, after 20 years. Showing sweet fruit like plums, and so sweet it was almost jammy. Still woodsy on the nose, though. The palate, though, seemed a little one-dimensional and not as lively as expected. Second pour 20 minutes later showed fragrant potpourri on the nose, with more of that sweet fruit. Now there was a little honeydew melon and banana. Another 10 minutes later and there was a little pepper. The palate improved after 1½ hours in the decanter.

Bought from the winery for USD 75 plus tax and shipping.

04 Pax

Drinking at home.

2004 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard - decanted 50 minutes after opening and served. Notes of blueberries and blackberries were really fragrant, and woodsy notes like cedar were well-integrated. Very ripe and almost jammy fruit. It's amazing that tannins were still here after 20 years. About 2½ there was plenty of mint and eucalyptus, and this was still fragrant more than 3 hours after opening, with a smoky nose showing grilled meats and leather. Drinking really well.

Bought from the winery for USD 50 plus tax and shipping.

Pax Emerald Pool

Drinking at home.

2004 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard The Emerald Pool - started drinking right after decanting. Ripe and jammy on the nose, this was really fragrant, with eucalyptus notes. Definitely leathery on the palate. After 30 minutes the wine was more metallic on the nose, with more bacon fat. This was much drier on the palate than expected. Still going strong after an hour in the decanter, with metallic nose and jammy fruit like blueberries and figs, then still got the leather saddle. It's amazing how concentrated this wine was after 20 years. After 1½ hours the wine was still as nice as 30 minutes ago, and the classic Rhône profile started coming out, with plenty of dried herbs now.

Bought from the winery for USD 75 plus tax.

2005 Pax Terraces

Drinking at home.

2005 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard The Terraces - drank 1 hour after decanting. Nice and fragrant, woodsy fragrance, almost sandalwood. Very fruity, blackcurrant, nice leather, a little floral and soapy on the finish. So beautiful another half hour later with grilled meats, definitely like Côte-Rôtie now, sweet, caramel. Still pretty good after 2½ hours in the decanter.

05 Pax Terraces

Drinking at home.

2005 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard The Terraces - decanted before serving. Nice fruit on the nose but initially there was more acidity on the palate, close to being like Chinese sour plum soup. But a little dusty and chalky on the nose, which went away about 45 minutes after decanting. Palate was still not great but at least it improved.

05 Pax Terraces

Drinking at home.

2005 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard The Terraces - drank more than 1 hour after decanting. Big nose where the alcohol was still a little sharp. Lots of plum, cassis, very meaty like grilled meats, and a little leather. After about 2 hours in the decanter, this became more sweet on the nose.

03 Pax Terraces

Dinner at Nikushou.

2003 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard The Terraces - showed lots of jammy fruit when decanting. Good acidity on the palate, and first sips showed more plum and some leather. Cassis showed up some 20 minutes later, with a little woodsy notes. This remained the case for the rest of the evening, where the wine showed its maturity without being the fruit bomb that it was in its youth.

Full post on dinner is here.

Pax, Noguchi, Laherte

Dinner at Sheung Hei.

Noguchi Naohiko Yamahai Omachi Muroka Nama (農口尚彦 山廃雄町 無濾過生原酒), 2020 - rich notes of starchy rice on the nose. Dry on the palate.

2005 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard 'The Terraces' - drank 1½ hours after double-decanting. Really sweet and jammy at first. Notes of eucalyptus and a little leather. Still got tannins.

Drinking at home.

Laherte Rosé de Meunier, dégorgée en mars 2022 - lots of strawberries, so fruity and happy.

03 Pax Terraces

Drinking at home.

2003 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard The Terraces - nose showed tons of ripe fruits while decanting, and was sweet and jammy. Drank after 1 hour in decanter. Showed potpourri on the nose, ripe and sweet on the palate, and definitely high levels of alcohol. Ten minutes later the nose was beautiful with fragrant cedar notes. Half an hour after the first pour the wine showed more leather notes.

05 Pax Terraces

Drinking at home.

2005 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard The Terraces - drank 45 minutes after decanting. Still kinda tannic, with leather, violet, lavender notes. Improved some 1½ hours after decanting when chilled, with lots of eucalyptus, also got ripe and jammy with blackcurrants.

Santorini, Pax, and Foillard

Dinner at home.

2020 Sigalas Assyrtiko Santorini - very ripe. Acidity from the salad dressing made this taste really sweet. Very oily and smoky on the nose.

2005 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard The Terraces - drank 30 minutes after decanting. Pretty sweet on the nose, really woodsy and fragrant. Drinking very well, as expected.

2013 Jean Foillard Morgon Cuvée 3.14 - ripe with bacon fat and some toast on the nose. A little floral, too.

2005 Pax The Terraces

Drinking at home.

2005 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard The Terraces - first pour 25 minutes after decanting. Initially pretty alcoholic, very ripe, but surprisingly high in acidity and not too sweet on the palate. Showing smoke, wood, and a little perfumed. More than 1 hour after decanting this was more floral and almost soapy, and the palate was deteriorating. Two hours after decanting the nose got a more fragrant with cedar notes. Palate was OK, improved a little.

Pax The Terraces

Dinner at Neighborhood.

2002 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard 'The Terraces' - at almost 17 years old, the wine was softer now but still concentrated.  Nose of ripe fruits but also dried herbs and stewed prunes.  A bit bitter on the palate.  Was kinda hoping for a little better.

Full post on dinner is here.

Pax, Ruinart, and white Burg

Dinner at Neighborhood.

Ruinart Blanc de Blancs - riper and sweeter on the palate than expected.  Toasty nose.

2008 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame - corked.

2013 Château de Puligny-Montrachet Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly - lots of toasty oak in the nose, and fairly dry on the attack.

2005 Pax Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard The Terraces, from magnum - very sweet on the nose with cedar and minty notes.  A little jammy after 2 hours.  Later on showed floral and almost 'soapy' notes.

Full post on dinner is here.

Comte de Champagne + Cali Pinot

Dinner at On Lot 10.

1999 Tattinger Comte de Champagne - I could smell the yeasty nose from across the table, as it was poured into the flutes. Toasty with a bit of caramel on the nose. Medium acidity on the palate but finished rather dry.

2002 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Ferrington Vineyard - Oops! This was so... Californian! I couldn't have found a more "Californian" bottle if I tried. Nose was really sweet, almost bubble gum-like, with pine needle, a bit of chalk and vanilla. Very sweet on the palate, which later turned to be hot and orange on the finish. With additional aeration, coffee and coconut butter notes emerged. I might as well have been drinking a bottle of Pride Cabernet! After a week drinking some of the best Burgundy reds, even I couldn't bear to drink much of this wine.

Full post on dinner is here.

Hot and alcoholic wines

Dinner at Nino's Cozinha.

2001 Marcel Deiss Mambourg - this is a very interesting wine as it is a blend of all Pinot varietals: Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Pinot Beurot and Pinot Meunier. At 13.5% alcohol it tasted spicy and ripe on the palate, and was a bit fizzy on the tongue with a long finish. The nose was initially very muted, belying the complexity of the wine, but showed minerals and a hint of sweetness coming from ripe pears. A very tasty wine, and I'd love to get my hands on some of this.

2000 Turley Zinfandel Hayne Vineyard - the star of the evening, and at 16.7% alcohol packs quite a big punch. The wine was very sweet on the palate, but a bit spicy on the tip of my tongue. Nose was classic Turley sweet red fruits, but with some marmalade and a hint of acetone.

2002 Pax Syrah Alder Springs 'the Terraces' - I double-decanted the wine at home because of my last experience with Pax wines. These wines need lots of time to breathe. Unfortunately the result was that at dinner, the nose of the wine was initially muted without a lot of fruit. There may have even been a hint of TCA. But the nose did eventually come out about 3 1/2 hours after opening, with iron, cotton candy, marmalade and red fruits. The tannins were firm and chewy, and the wine was spicy on the palate. A bit disappointing, but maybe it's just bottle variation. 15.2% alcohol.

Full post on dinner is here.