2017 Saxum "The Hexe" Paso Robles Red Blend

Built around old, head-trained vines right outside the winery and 58% Grenache, 27% Mataro, 11% Petite Sirah, and the rest Tempranillo, the 2017 Hexe is another gorgeous, sexy 2017 that's a joy to drink. Offering loads of blackberries, chocolate, white pepper, black licorice, and bouquet garni-like aromas and flavors, it’s full-bodied, ultra-pure, seamless, and gorgeously put together.

Explosive red/blue fruit preserve, incense and floral aromas show superb clarity and complementary hints of smoky minerals, incense and exotic spices; a candied licorice note emerges with aeration. Juicy and impressively concentrated yet surprisingly lithe as well, offering alluringly sweet Chambord, blueberry, cherry pie and lavender pastille flavors and emphatic spiciness. The extremely long, energetic finish features insistent florality and smooth, rounded tannins that merge seamlessly with the wine's clinging fruit. (JR)