Pax Sonoma-Hillsides Syrah 2023
Pax Sonoma-Hillsides Syrah 2023
#15 Vinous Top 100 of 2025
The 2023 Syrah Sonoma Hillsides is one of the most elegant, refined renditions of this wine I have tasted. Crushed rose petal, mint, lavender and dried herds soar out of the glass. The purity of flavors here is just remarkable. Vibrant and deep, with tremendous energy, the 2023 Sonoma Hillsides is showing exceptionally well today.
Antonio Galloni, Vinous, Jan 2026
98 points Vinous Media
Drinking Window 2026 - 2035
The 2023 Syrah Sonoma Hillsides is one of the greatest wines I have tasted from Pax Mahle. The Hillsides is a blend of the best sites in the range, fermented in cement with whole clusters and also aged in cement. The long growing season resulted in a rich, heady wine with intense fruit and perfectly ripe tannins. Magnificent. - By Antonio Galloni on January 2025
Pax Mahle presented a stellar set of new and future releases. I was quite simply blown away by what I tasted. The full lineup of 2023 Syrahs is just magnificent. In addition to current wines, Mahle also poured a few older Syrahs from his Wind Gap days, including wines from the period when he favored much heavier extraction and a stronger oak imprint. Even though those wines are miles apart from Mahle's stylistic preferences today, they have aged exceptionally well. There is no stronger endorsement for the quality of Sonoma's top sites than that. Mahle picks early for freshness. Wines are done in a minimalist style that includes a good bit of stem inclusion for the reds and aging in neutral oak and/or cement. These wines remain benchmarks for excellence in Sonoma. - By Antonio Galloni on January 2026
"When all the pieces of the puzzle fit seamlessly together, the result is greater than the sum of its parts. This is what we strive for with the Sonoma Hillsides Syrah, a harmony in integration that transcends the limits of the individual." - Pax
- 100% Syrah
- 100% Whole-Cluster
- Fermented entirely in concrete tanks
- Aged for 10 months in neutral 500L French Oak Puncheons
- 12.5% Alc by Vol
Winery: Inspired by the Syrah based wines chiseled from the slopes of St Joseph, this 100% Syrah is becoming a reference point of its own for Syrah in the new world. Just like in St Joseph, we pulled this blend together from multiple sites and utilized the most interesting expositions of these meticulously cared for vineyards. Hillsides that show the freshness and vibrancy that Syrah can only achieve on cool-climate slopes. Blended together in cubic concrete vats, this wine is the epitome of density, finesse, style and deliciousness. This wine eschews the standard run-of-the-mill Syrah tropes, shapeless with blubber, oak and extraction that many people wrongly confuse with quality. This is pure Syrah at its finest.
