I am pretty convinced that grapes touched by Todd Alexander turn to gold. Such alchemy can be found in the new exciting brand, Pášxa, a partnership between Todd and Carrie Alexander as well as Mike Martin of The Walls. A man needing little introduction, Todd Alexander has forged an illustrious winemaking career, crafting incredible wines for Bryant Family Vineyards, before partnering with Force Majeure Vineyards — and completely transforming the brand into a world-class wine program from fresh, beautifully textured and vibrant Viognier, to inky, deep and brooding Syrah. Todd is at the helm in crafting Rhone style Pášxa wines from The Rocks District of Milton- Freewater. The Pášxa team includes Owner Mike Martin, General Manager Carrie Alexander, Viticulturist Damon Lalonde and Vineyard Manager Serafin Saldana.
Todd Alexander has crafted a sensational inaugural set of releases.
Their inaugural 2018 wines are sourced from River Rock Vineyard, as well as a small amount of Syrah from the famed SJR Vineyard. There is quite an exciting future for Pasxa, as in 2020, this program transitioned to feature estate fruit from Mike Martin’s recently purchased ‘Rockgarden Vineyard.’ This will be a really exciting development moving forward and in addition to these holdings, Martin and Alexander began planting additional blocks at the estate ‘Petros Vineyard’ in the Rocks AVA which will eventually be added to this program.
I will fully admit that I adored the new Pášxa wines. I’ve obviously never tried any of these wines before and I tasted these wines over several hours and found that my notes were consistent from the retesting efforts. I was floored with the overall quality of these three wines. The wines from the ‘River Rock Vineyard’ are on par or eclipse anything I have ever tried from that site — and the same is true from their magnificent new 2018 ‘SJR Vineyard’ Syrah (OB, 97) a monumental wine that is seamless and elegant, yet generously textured, showing scintillating range. Learn more about this truly thrilling new project at pasxa.com Here are the downright killer new wines by Pášxa.
2018 Pášxa ‘River Rock Vineyard’ Grenache- Highly perfumed and fragrant, the 2018 Pášxa ‘River Rock Vineyard’ is a resounding achievement in this enticing vintage for red wines. Needing a one hour decant, once awoken, the wine shows off pretty ripe red currants and red cherry candy combine with shades of green olive, Umami, and a dusting of white pepper that complete the beautiful range of aromatics. The palate is soft and voluptuous with a velvety mouthfeel. The wine shows a seamless quality, effortlessly gliding across the mid-palate. Layers of guava puree, Kalamata olive, red raspberry cordial, red rose water and Mandarin orange rind flavors all brilliantly combine, with stony and salty undertones. After more air, this becomes more seamless — all leading to the brilliant red fruit, wet stone and citrus rind driven finish. A resounding success even in its youth, this gorgeous and very pretty new Grenache wine from The Rocks District, will provide drinking enjoyment for another decade. Be sure to give this beauty plenty of air if enjoying now. Drink 2021-2031- 95
2018 Pášxa ‘River Rock Vineyard’ Syrah- Inky and deep once in the glass, the 2018 Pášxa ‘River Rock Vineyard’ Syrah is another gorgeous effort from this exciting inaugural release. Given an hour of air in the decanter, the Syrah opens with bright violet tones that deftly combine with shades of Hoisin sauce, beef drippings, and aromas of Black Forest Cake, with stony undertones on this beautiful nose. The heady aromatics bring you back to the glass for more enjoyment. The palate reveals a sinfully good texture and downright voluptuous mouthfeel — clearly Todd Alexander’s genius at work. You are immediately greeted with a great range of black fruits (huckleberry, boysenberry, black raspberry) alongside smoldering stones, Umami, Spanish green olive and shades of bacon fat on the palate. The combination of richness, range and acidity here is just gorgeous. Sensational to savor in its youth, this will cellar well for at least another decade. Drink 2021-2031- 96
2018 Pášxa ‘SJR Vineyard’ Syrah- Pášxa is one of the few wineries that sources from the illustrious ‘SJR Vineyard’ owned by Steve Robertson and located in the Walla Walla Rocks AVA. Initially aromatically reticent, this is really needing more than an hour in the decanter to be fully awoken. The nose is well-worth the wait, as black pepper dusted venison and Umami aromatics are woven together with blackberry jelly, black tea, white truffle shavings and exotic spices that all take shape in the glass. The palate is soft and plush with a seamless texture that effortlessly glides. The flavor range is seriously good with bulls blood and nori tones that mingle with blood orange zest, peat moss, wild blackberry and Earl Grey tea flavors. The combination of texture, length, sour fruits and Umami character makes this unmistakably Rocks. The oak integration here is also gorgeous, as this generous yet pillowy Syrah will provide drinking enjoyment over the next ten plus years. Drink 2021-2031- 97