Saxum Vineyards

Founded in 2002, Saxum Vineyards has swiftly risen to become one of California's most respected producers of Grenache, Syrah and Mataro-based wines. Justin and Heather Smith started the winery vinifying fruit from a vineyard planted by Justin's father - James Berry Smith.

The focus is on Rhône Valley inspired blends from the Willow Creek District of Paso Robles. In the vineyard, the team aim for low yields and optimum ripeness while the cellar team exercise minimal intervention to preserve the purity of the fruit. Saxum use no chemical fertilisers, herbicides or pesticides and production is kept at around 8,000 cases per year across ten different wines. The flagship wine is the James Berry Vineyard Syrah, which regularly collects perfect scores from critics. These are big, bold, concentrated wines - inky and full with ripe fruit flavours overflowing from the glass.