Saxum Bone Rock James Berry Vineyard Paso Robles 2018

100 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown (The Wine Independent): "...63% Syrah, 16% Mataro, 12% Grenache, 7% Graciano, and 2% Roussanne (co-fermented). The fermentation included “a good amount of whole cluster and stems,” according to winemaker/owner Justin Smith. It was aged for 33 months in hogsheads, 70% new hogsheads. Deep garnet-purple in color, it skips out of the glass with youthful, exuberant blueberry pie, blackberry preserves, and Morello cherries notes, followed by wafts of licorice, red roses, Sichuan pepper, and garrigue. The super-concentrated, super-intense palate is jam-packed with densely laden black and blue fruit flavors, supported by perfectly ripe, firm, layered tannins and fantastic tension, finishing very long, lifted, and perfumed. A masterpiece. 563 bottle cases and 55 cases of magnums were made. Alcohol 15.8%. Drink: 2024-2044. (8/10/22)"

98+ points Jeb Dunnuck: "Tons of ripe black fruits, licorice, graphite, and charcoal notes emerge from the 2018 Bone Rock, a blend of 63% Syrah, 16% Mataro, 12% Grenache, 7% Graciano, and a splash of Roussanne that spent 34 months in oak. Sporting an inky purple hue, it's full-bodied, brings a wealth of richness and depth, building tannins, and a monster of a finish. This powerful, meaty, impenetrable effort needs to be forgotten for 3-4 years and will keep for two decades or more.I was able to taste three vintages from Saxum, the late release 2019s from bottle, the majority of the 2020 lineup from barrel, and a handful of 2021 barrel samples. As I wrote last year, the 2019s are just brilliant, ripe, hedonistic, magical wines, and these late releases only reinforce that opinion. Looking at the 2020s, this is clearly a challenging vintage, with many wines having subtle smoky nuances and firmer yet still ripe tannins. Justin commented that the lab numbers regarding smoke taint were very low, so I think these are safe wines that will offer plenty of pleasure, although this is not a vintage to hide in the cellar. The 2021s that I was able to taste were terrific, and this will clearly be another terrific vintage here. In addition, they’ve planted a new vineyard located just four miles off the Pacific, the Cayucos Ridge Vineyard, and I expect we’ll see more releases from that site in the future. Drink: 2025-2046. (9/26/22)"

98 points Josh Raynolds (Vinous): "Dark violet. An assertively perfumed bouquet evokes ripe cherry, dark berry preserves, incense and exotic spices, and a peony topnote builds as the wine opens up. Palate-staining, alluringly sweet Chambord, cherry liqueur, vanilla, floral pastille and spicecake flavors deliver a compelling blend of depth and energy. Smooth, even tannins add shape an extremely long, spicy finish that leaves sappy blue fruit, floral and smoky mineral notes behind. Drinking Window: 2026-2036. (Jul 2022)"