Pax, Cuvee Moriah, Sonoma County

started drinking 10 minutes after decanting. Very ripe and jammy, lots of blackcurrant. A little alcoholic thanks to coming in at 15.9%. Plenty of vanilla oak and blueberry. Second pour after 1 hour in decanter, still going strong, very alcoholic on the nose now. Very sweet. It's amazing how I could still feel the tannins on my tongue after 20 years. Delicious.

2004 vintage

Dark fruit and earth

2004 vintage

In a nice place, ruby, grenache (88%), dark fruit, cherry, blackberry, spice, leather, integrated tannins, long finish

2006 vintage

Better on the second day as it took time for the fruit to come back alive. Suggest decanting. This is a big wine and can only imagine how ripe the fruit was a decade ago. While I had tried Pax then, I did not have the opportunity to taste this particular Pax at the time. Interesting history here...

2006 vintage

Starting to mature, showing quite old upon initiatially opening, but fleshed out nicely after 30 minutes. Dark fruit, medium bodied, and not really showing any heat.

2004 vintage

Tasty red fruit, nice tannins, even a bit tangy. Long finish. For a 2006 this GSM was nicely preserved and still quite full bodied, and 15.9% alcohol not so powerful.

2006 vintage

Very full bodied and still with lots of fruit and jammy. This still has a few more years left but drinking beautifully now

2006 vintage

Best consumed within an hour.

2006 vintage

Bright currants and spice...new world Rhonda with jammy fruit, floral, and spice....after 90 mins a strange bitterness came in then dissipated a bit later.

2006 vintage

This opened up a little odd and tight -- not a wine we liked. It didn't improve with a couple hours of decanting. Rust colored. Minimal fruit. This is just over the hill or perhaps stewed. This was recently purchased on the secondary market. Disappointing. Poured out the last of the bottle down the drain.

2006 vintage

New world expression of a Sourthern Rhone gem. Lively nose and exuberant finish. Thick kirsch liqueur, tart raspberry, white pepper, taught tannin, and a slight Band-Aid on the finish. Rich and sexy!

2004 vintage

This wine has really softened and is drinking like a mature CDP in my opinion. I know it is past the CT and Parker drinking windows but is right at my speed!

2004 vintage

Very concentrated and young grenache. Should properbly be given some more time in the cellar. Maybe not CdP but good in irs own right.

2006 vintage

Don't touch for four hours. Currant palate with short finish initially, lengthening with time and lamb. phenolic Pax aroma developing later

2006 vintage

Drank wonderfully on Xmas day. Not old skool Rhone, but definitely a fine example of the new world style. Very refined at this stage in its life with some residual sugar. I don't imagine it improving much more from here out. Drink them if you have em.

2004 vintage

My first Pax, and I'm really impressed. Of course, it's tasting much more like a California Rhone-blend than a Châteauneuf-du-Pape (which, according to the label, it's an ode to). 15.9% alcohol and still it's not hot on the finish! And holding up excellently for the first hour at least (after which there wasn't any more left, even though it was the second bottle of the night)!! Utterly quaffable, quite understandably so since it's ultimately a great distillation of a California-style …

2004 vintage

Wow, this is beautiful. Really in a good spot right now. Tannins fully integrated. Secondary flavors. Smoke, tar, black fruits. Complex and ready. My last one and I would drink these now.

2004 vintage

Nearly opaque garnet color with some brick to the edge and some color variation towards the edge. The smells are black fruit, minerals, rhubarb, raspberry tea, red licorice, eastern spice, cherry liquer, and herbs. The tastes are cherry, herbs, raspberry, rhubarb pie, and bell pepper notes. The tannins are sour course and dry with a nice finish.

2004 vintage

The alcohol in this one adds a boozy burn that's not so pleasant. Never the less, with so many of these unusual wine experiments, taken on it's own, this is quite enjoyable in terms of complexity of flavors. Comparing it to similarly priced CdP is strange, but I would take the CdP most any day. I'm actually considering this as a component in a cocktail at this point.

2006 vintage

My only bottle of this wine. Drinking very well at the moment. Dark fruit, complex earthy notes. Delicious.

2004 vintage

A bit disappointing. Has ok fruit left, but somewhat one dimensional with mostly savory flavors. Seems a little flabby and lacking in structure. Might just be past it's prime, or maybe would have been helped by decanting.

2004 vintage

I had two bottles of this and the first one was a let down. As a result the second bottle was a pop and pour. It was much better. I could really appreciate the. 88% Grenache. I agree with most others that this wine is on the down slope and I would drink up. The nose was nice and the finish was smooth.

2006 vintage

2006 Chateauneuf-du-Pape (Tasted Blind) (Rich & Peggy's House, Los Altos, CA) : Average nose. Weird palate. Didn't come up as a CdP. My #9, Group's #4 (48 pts). Tasted blind.

2006 vintage

Delicious blackberry, floral, and mineral notes on the nose and palate with a smooth texture, long finish, and old world balance. Drinking beautifully!

2006 vintage

Deep garnet color. Smoke, briar and cedar on the nose. Rich black cherry with sour notes and cassis wrapped in velvet tannins. Solid medium/full body wine with an extremely long finish.

2006 vintage

this was a real beast upon opening. Needs at least an hour in a decanter. Tamed down to a very nice bottle with a beautiful nose and flavors of earth and dark fruit. Quite the tannic backbone. This one should go many more years.

2004 vintage

This wine is on fire right now, in the good way. All of the components are coming together.

2004 vintage

Ruby red. Medium bodied. Strawberry jam, gingerbread.

2006 vintage

Lovely bottle with good balance and drinking well at the moment.

2006 vintage

This has come together nicely, a great bottle for after dinner,,,or with dinner!!

2006 vintage

Excellent, not sure how much more it will improve. Similar flavor profile as many entry-level CDP. Nice floral nose, raspberry, blackberry and spice-cake flavors dominate the palate. There is an interesting sweetness on the finish (not typical to CDP I've had). Tannins are silky and the wine had an excellent texture.

2006 vintage

Decanted for an hour before service, but needed more time. Tannins are no longer 'ferocious', as I described them in my previous note, but another year or two wouldn't hurt. Color is now beginning to shift towards garnet. Otherwise, consistent with previous tasting note.

2006 vintage

A little bitter and hot. No decanting but at this age it shouldn't need it, I would think.

2004 vintage

This bottle showed every bit of its 15.9% abv. Redeemed by the deep floral and blueberry quality of the nose and palate, this was still harsh and a tough pairing with food.

2006 vintage

An CA ode to CndP. Big for sure, but well crafted. Nice acid/tannin/fruit balance, with it's 15.9% ABV only peeking out at the tail end of a long finish. Really has a lot mourvedre sensibility on the nose, but the palate is dominated by extracted Grenache. This benefitted from some time in the decanter - both for a bit of sediment and to open up. Best at cooler cellar temps. While fun to drink, I'm surprised at how 'crafted' this …

2006 vintage

What a wonderful wine! Deep garnet color. Rich nose of briar, fig and smoke. Vibrant black cherry, cassis & rich blueberry notes intermingled with smoke and cedar wrapped in rich tannins. Rich mouthfeel for a full bodied wine that gave off an extremely long finish.

2006 vintage

Upon opening there is a nose with brett and sour cherry, reflected equally in the nose. Tannins are intense. After time syrah characteristics become more apparent but brett sourness continues.

2004 vintage

Darker and jammier than the last bottle 2 years ago, which is surprising. Lots of fig and blackberry, charcoal. Structure is holding up. Seems bigger than the last bottle. Delicious fruit, but a little jammy and simple.

2006 vintage

Better than last bottle a month or so ago. No bitterness at the end, just a lot different. Decanted 3 hours. Dark fruits, spice and smoke. Still a big wine, plenty of life ahead. Tannins still will allow for many years fortune wine. Nice CdP rendition with a Cali twist.

2004 vintage

Yummy.

2006 vintage

Was a little disappointed with this wine. Somewhat one dimensional, nose wasn't great. In mouth, initially decent red fruits, earth...attempting to a CdP but none of the classic elements I find there. Bitter at the end, needs food. Drink now. Not a good QPR.

2004 vintage

Great CdP rendition. Did not decant and drank over two days. This wine has tremendous depth, structure, body and the tannins to run the distance. Drinking really really well right now. A beautiful deep dark cherry color that is just hinting at being translucent on the edges. Beautiful notes of brett and forest floor buried in black & sour cherry, cedar spice and menthol anise. Fresh ripe cherry and black berry upfront rapped up in green and black pepper with …

2004 vintage

tasted alongside the 04 pax alder springs... less depth of color at the rim, red vs. purpe rim... aromatically the fruit is much more red in nature with kirsch, liquered cherries... minimal earthy aromas, some background barrique aromas... on the palate very low in acidity, almost flatish, a very lush and broad midpalate, low amount of tannins that are very ripe, very high ETOH. Quality wise this wine is poorly balanced with the soft elements greatly exceeding the hard elements …

2004 vintage

Tim's 40th Birthday Pax Tasting (Issaquah, Washington) : On the nose I got hints of huckleberry syrup and plum but there was definitely VA detected. On the palate the VA didn't appear to be a problem although some people found it noticeable. The wine showed notes of kirsch liqueur, dark violets and strawberry followed by meat juices, wild game and smoke. Finely integrated tannins.

2004 vintage

Still going strong, consistent with previous bottles.

2004 vintage

Drank with friends with a short decant and still a bit cool from the cellar. Even wile muted this wine was beautiful and earthly-fragrant. Leather, sweet berry, herbs, lightest smoke on the nose with same on palate. Balanced, with a medium finish. Great all purpose wine. Enjoyed more than the last bottle so perhaps room temperature releases too much of the bacon and meat notes for me. Paired with San Cristobal de La Habana.

2004 vintage

Great CdP rendition. Did not decant and drank over two days. This wine has tremendous depth, structure, body and the tannins to run the distance. Drinking really really well right now. A beautiful deep dark cherry color that is just hinting at being translucent on the edges. Beautiful notes of brett and forest floor buried in black & sour cherry, cedar spice and menthol anise. Fresh ripe cherry and black berry upfront rapped up in green and black pepper with …

2004 vintage

Dense color. Early fruit was bright but mellowed to tamer blueberry and raspberry. Minerals and earth with a strong bacon-meat note. Oak is there. Fungal maybe mushrooms. A not-unpleasant chemical note that I can't identify. Mild heat. Tannins are balanced with a medium finish. A great food wine. Rumacki or a hearty vegetarian dish DAY2 the fruit has faded somewhat but holding togther. Can't get past this meatiness on the nose or I'd score it higher.

2004 vintage

Great and interesting stuff. Similar notes as before. Balanced, sweet. Black current on the nose. Mineral. Yummy.

2004 vintage

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Pax, Cuvee Moriah, Sonoma County

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