By Mira Honeycutt
“I’ve had my eye on this particular spot — knew what I wanted — for 15-plus years,” said Justin Smith of his newest vineyard in Cayucos. He smiled: “I’d drive and sneak around, didn’t have permission from owners, to steal chantrelles.”
The mushroom pincher is also the renowned winemaker and owner of the storied Saxum Vineyards, home to Paso’s original cult wines, tucked in the Willow Creek District. Consistently gathering 100-point scores from wine critics, Saxum’s bold and structured Rhône-centric blends are available by allocation only with a long wait list.
With his new spot, Smith has added a sibling to Saxum’s portfolio, wines from Cayucos Ridge, located in the San Luis Obispo (SLO) Coast AVA.
On a clear January afternoon, Smith drove me to Cayucos Ridge to visit his vineyard planted in 2018. As he turned onto Old Creek Road, he recalled that he was drawn to the area’s calcareous shale and marine deposits.
“It’s in this one little spot and there’s all this open land,” he enthused. “I always thought there’s a potential for growing grapes here.”
That untapped spot is the 160-acre ranch that Smith acquired in 2017. It is perched at 1,700 feet elevation along the ridge line of the Santa Lucia Mountain range.
As he drove along the Old Creek Road, flanked by a forest of oak, bay, madrone and maple trees, the Paso Robles native expounded on the area’s historical background. A wagon trail once came through here from Cambria to Templeton. There was a way station and a spring for passing travelers and their horses. In this virgin, never-logged land, a road was eventually built.
“They put in an oil pipeline which runs through the properties of Tablas Creek and Halter Ranch vineyards up to San Ardo,” said Smith.
Smith kept his eye on the property, so when it came on the market, “I jumped on it,” he said. The 600-acre property was divided into four parcels, three of which were for sale. However, the fourth parcel, the one Smith wanted was not. Smith was persistent, though, and finally made an offer the seller couldn’t resist.
From the gated entry at 1,300 feet elevation, a one-mile drive brought us to the hilltop with a spectacular coastline below us. The Instagrammable spot offered a sweeping view from Morro Rock and Edna Valley’s Santa Lucia range to Cambria.
Pointing to the 12-acre own-rooted Syrah vineyard planted to Estrella clone, Smith continued: “One side of the vineyard is tapered toward Cayucos and the other side into Templeton. We are in the middle of the Templeton Gap. You can imagine the wind going in both ways. It’s pretty extreme.”
Extreme is the keyword for vineyards planted on a wind-blown hilltop 4.5 miles from the ocean. “When we first planted we didn’t know what it was going to be,” Smith recalled. The unpredictable 60-miles-per-hour wind can blow in anytime of the day (or night).
While fierce wind is a challenging factor, the upside is milder temperatures and substantial rainfall.
In this cool climate, slow fruit ripening allows for more hang time and the alcohol level is lower than the wines from Willow Creek. Although not certified, Smith and his vineyard team follow organic and regenerative practices, among them no till or pesticides.
Back in the Willow Creek District, we found ourselves at the deep end of the Saxum winery cave backed by a dramatic wall of exposed fractured rock.
We were ready to savor 2021 vintages of Cayucos Ridge 100% Syrah from SLO Coast AVA alongside two of Saxum’s Syrah-driven wines from Willow Creek District AVA.
“There’s not a night or day difference,” Smith commented on the distance between the two vineyards. “One is more spice-driven and the other more fruit-forward.”
Indeed, distinctive savory notes and black pepper embrace the powerfully structured Cayucos Ridge Syrah, influenced by the aromas of the surrounding chaparral. Commenting on the inky-dark color, Smith mused: “We’ve never seen anything like it. It was so black when we harvested it.”
From Willow Creek AVA’s prized James Berry vineyard planted in 1990 and sought after by many local winemakers, we tasted two Syrah-dominant wines. Bottled as 82% Syrah, Bone Rock showed more structure with a hint of spice, while Broken Stones, with 54% Syrah, was more red fruit-froward, with a touch more new oak. Varieties such as Mataro, Graciano, Grenache and Petite Sirah are typical companions in Saxum blends.
Saxum’s 2024 annual production is targeted at 8,000 cases. “In 2023, it was 11,000 cases, but we want it to be more like 8,000,” Smith noted. “We’ve dropped some of our purchased fruit. Moving forward, we’ll be one hundred percent estate.”
Saxum’s estate vineyards now have extended from Willow Creek District and SLO Coast to the recent addition of York Mountain.
Feature Image: Justin Smith at Cayucos Ridge Vineyards in San Luis Obispo (SLO) Coast AVA. Photo by Mira Honeycutt
