Pax is Back ... And This Time It's Personal

In the spring of 2008 I learned that the winemaking prodigy behind Pax Wine Cellars, monsieur Pax Mahle, was leaving the eponymously named venture and striking out on his own, once again. Rumor had it that disagreements with co-owner(?) and world renowned collector Joe Donelan led to the (what may be termed in retrospect) inevitable split. Emails for more information went unreturned.

This presented a problem for me -- the consumer: should I keep buying the wines, even though Pax was no longer making them? I felt like the friend of a divorcing couple who met the pair as a pair. I was in a state of limbo - not sure who to trust. The divorcing couple revealed nothing about their troubles, which always means the worst. When the time came, I found myself still buying a couple bottles of one of my favorite Pax Cellars Wine, the Kobler Family Vineyard Russian River Valley Syrah, thinking it would be the last time.

Then, just this Monday night I received an email from Pax and Pam ("Punky") Mahle introducing their new venture, Wind Gap Wines. Pax had surprisingly gentle words for his former partner's venture, saying, "The Concept at Pax Wine Cellars was a complete immersion in and study of Syrah—using the same grape and largely the same appellation with a focus on specific sites with differing soils and climates to make the wines unique. With the help of a dedicated team of growers (and countless hours of spent in the vineyards) we produced some remarkable wines and learned a great deal. Wind Gap is the culmination of all we have learned from working so diligently with Syrah." As a side note, Pax has retained his relationships with some former growers and will be releasing their wines under his name label.

The current release includes:

2007 Sonoma County Chardonnay
2007 Russian River Valley Pinot Gris
2007 Brousseau Vineyard Chardonnay
2006 Booker Vineyard Paso Robles Grenache (mmmm....Grenache....)
and a 2006 Sonoma Coast Syrah

Prices range from $32 to $45, about 30% less than Pax Wine Cellars. Future releases will include:

2007 Grenache, James Berry Vineyard, Paso Robles
2007 Syrah, Castelli-Knight Ranch, Russian River Valley
2007 Syrah, Griffins Lair Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
2008 Chardonnay, James Berry Vineyard, Paso Robles
2008 Pinot Noir, Woodruff Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains
2008 Alder Springs Rhone White Blend, Mendocino County

Not to be outdone, I received an email from Pax Wine Cellars just last night. Pax is now a "100% family owned winery" (albeit by the Donelans, not the Mahles,) and their "compass is pointed towards bringing you a select number of single vineyard syrah wines ... along with preeminent Rhône inspired blends." Pax Wine Cellars has scaled back the number of its releases, all of which are now pure thoroughbreds:

2007 Nepenthe (a full throttle blend of white Rhône varietals)
2007 Cuvee Moriah (a Chateauneuf du Pape GSM blend)
2007 Walker Vine Hill Vineyard Syrah Russian River Valley (a former RP 95 wine)
2007 Obsidian Syrah Knights Valley

To toast Joe and Pax's new ventures, last night I opened a bottle of 2004 Pax Wine Cellars Kobler Family Vineyards Syrah Russian River Valley *** (previously reviewed) a deep blackberry colored wine, with outstanding crushed black pepper, mellow blackberry notes and dark cocoa on the long finish. I wish both Wind Gap and Pax Wine Cellars success in their new ventures. These are two owners who know exactly what they want and how to get it: high quality wines.