Tyler Thomas of Pax Wines was in town recently pouring a couple of his 2007s at the local Boulder, CO dinning destination, Frasca (www.frascafoodandwine.com). Basically unmatched with regards to dinning in Boulder, Frasca has few peers in Colorado…  unfortunately for savvy dinners, they’ve realize it and it’s hard to sneak out at under 100 bucks a head. Despite this, I believe that they deliver on all fronts and are still a relative bargain.

As of 2007, Tyler is the new winemaker (due to Pax Mahle leaving) and comes to Pax after working for multiple years with Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.  A fan of the existing Pax wines and a mailing list member prior to being the winemaker, Tyler expressed a desire to continue the Pax style of allowing each vineyard to dictate the style of the wine.  He bottled the ’07s but had complete control as of the ‘08 vintage.

2007 Pax Roussanne Venus (USA, California, North Coast, Bennett Valley)
Slightly reticent, the 2007 Pax Venus is a blend of 80% Roussanne, 20% viognier and sports a slightly cloudy, straw color along with lemon and citrus aromas mixed with buttery, yeasty notes. Medium to full bodied on the palate, this has a full, mouth filling texture, impressive richness to the fruit and a nice finish. (89 pts.)

2007 Pax Syrah Kobler Family Vineyard (USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley)
Sporting a very northern rhone’esk profile, the 2007 Pax Syrah Kobler Family Vineyard (a blend of 95% Syrah and 5% Viognier made with 100% stem inclusion) possesses a great aromatics of blackberry and cassis fruit intermixed with tapenade, peppered steak and mineral notes.  Bright, complex and lifted on the nose, it’s medium to full bodied on the palate with a deep, rich texture, crisp acids and a long finish. This wine sees very little new oak with ~35% being aged in Puncheons (500 L Barrels.) (91 pts.)

2007 Pax Syrah Cuvée Christine (USA, California, Sonoma County)
100% Syrah that comes from a selection of the best barrels from warmer vineyards and sees ~30% stem inclusion and 70% new oak, the 2007 Pax Syrah Cuvée Christine is richer and than the ‘07 Kobler Vineyard with decadent dark fruit, earth, spice and seamlessly integrated oak aromas. Full bodied in the mouth with exceptional purity and texture, this has nice edge and cut to go along with tons of fruit and a long finish. (93 pts.)

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