Up to 98 Points for “Utterly Captivating” New Releases from Pax Mahle!
Working with old vines in Northern California, Pax Mahle is bottling some of the best Syrah in the world. He recently visited our Elston Avenue store and poured us his new releases. Our. Minds. Were. Blown!
“These wines find Pax Mahle at the very top of his game. I can’t recommend them highly enough.”
- Antonio Galloni, January 2025
Among the absolute great Syrahs of the world, his 2023 Sonoma-Hillsides (98 Points, $56.99) is a prodigious wine with an exotic collection of flavors and an energized sensual quality that induces awe from the very first sip. Galloni calls it one of the best wines that Pax has ever produced, and we agree!
Intended for sale by the glass at top restaurants, Pax's 2022 El Dorado County is pleasure-packed and filled with authentic juicy goodness and an impressive structure that was still developing three days after we opened the bottle. At $22.79, it also happens to be one of the best Syrah deals in all of California.
Today, we bring you BOTH of these limited production beauties. Scroll down to read more, then move quickly to the Big Green Button to get dibs!
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2022 Pax Syrah
El Dorado County, California
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As a former wine retailer, Pax Mahle is a kindred spirit. Not only do Pax's wines seriously blow our hair back, his prices remain incredibly fair. (We like to think that’s his retail background!)
Coming from east of Sacramento in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, this El Dorado County bottling was intended to be poured exclusively by the glass at top restaurants. (It is currently available at some seriously high end Chicago spots!) We loved it so much that we asked if we could buy half a pallet. Pax agreed and, while this is sold out at the winery, he secured a supply for us to bring you today!
Juicy light black fruits on this foot-crushed wine are complicated by hints of pepper, olive, flowers, black rock minerals, soft tannins, bright acidity and plenty of grippy, gritty, playful soul.
Raised in large, used French oak barrels for seven months and bottled at a modest 12.5% ABV without fining/filtration and very little sulfur, this drinks like a really good Northern Rhône bottling. As far as we're concerned, it is just about perfect.
“Made with 100% whole cluster and all foot-crushed, the 2022 Syrah El Dorado County is a transparent purple/ruby color and is lifted with notes of graphite, pepper, and fresh plum. Medium-bodied, it has a good, stemmy texture, with a light poppy feel on the palate and great acidity. It’s made to be a by-the-glass wine.”
- 91 Points, Jeb Dunnuck (6/7/2024)
We award a very strong 91+ Points and are probably being stingy. We can’t think of another sub-$25 Rhône-style American red we’d rather drink.
Looking online we found just four listings for this retail rarity, with prices as high as $36. Our price on this super yummy red slides in below them all. This IS the Syrah you are looking for!
Vin Chicago Price: 22.79
2023 Pax "Sonoma-Hillsides” Syrah
Sonoma County, California
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This is Pax's flagship wine. Absolutely jam-packed with material and mouthfeel, it is one of the most thrilling bottles of American Syrah we have ever tasted.
“Inspired by the flamboyant wines of St. Joseph, this 100% Sonoma County Syrah is one of the most exciting and compelling wines we have ever put into bottle. Just like in St. Joseph, we pulled this blend together from multiple sites and utilized the expositions of these hillside vineyards that show the freshness and vibrancy that Syrah can only achieve on cool-climate hillside slopes. This wine is decadent, delicious and all hyperbole aside, will probably be one of your favorite Syrahs after just one taste. It is without any doubt, one of our finest creations.”
- Pax Mahle Wines
Loaded with classic old world Syrah flavors, immense complexity, tremendous freshness, and absolutely profound yumminess, this sublime wine is fantastically delicious in fruit and superbly sophisticated in structure.
As with the El Dorado County bottling, this clocks in at 12.5% ABV, which is mindblowing for a a wine with this much power, flavor and character. Awarding a full-throated 98 Points, Antonio Galloni writes...
“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. Drinking Window: 2026 - 2035.”
- 98 Points, Vinous - Antonio Galloni (1/2025)
A 98-Point California red for under sixty bucks? The value here is bonkers! We look to be the first to get our hands on this thrilling 2023 bottling. Grab a few bottles while our supply lasts and drink anytime over the coming decade!
Vin Chicago Price: 56.99
