2016 Saxum Hexe

A perfect wine, the 2016 Hexe comes mostly from the estate James Berry Vineyard yet has a little bit of G2 fruit as well. Made from lots showing the most structure and power, it tastes like an old vine Grenache from the La Crau lieu-dit in Châteauneuf du Pape with its huge bouquet of black raspberries, cassis, garrigue, ground pepper, and melted licorice. Full-bodied, ripe, and sexy on the palate, with awesome concentration, it has enough structure to warrant 2-3 years of bottle age, but good luck keeping your hands off this beauty. Saxum’s Justin Smith has hit a home run with these recent vintages, and his 2015s, 2016s, 2017s, and 2018s all have singular styles, with the quality remaining sky-high. The 2018s show the slightly more pure, fresh, yet concentrated style of the vintage nicely. While not yet bottled, these will offer pleasure in their youth as well as benefit from short term cellaring. The 2017s are more pretty, perfumed wines that don’t quite have the density of the 2016s yet certainly don’t lack for fruit. Most are already drinking nicely today, yet as with all great wines, they’re going to evolve gracefully. Lastly, the 2016s are some of the greatest wines I’ve tasted from this estate, and they offer massive, layered, yet impeccably balanced profiles that are a joy to drink today; they’ll also be a joy to drink in 10-15 years as well. As I’ve written more than once, there are few mailing lists worth being one, but without a doubt, this is one of them.