Pax Mahle Syrah The Bench Vineyard Clements Hills 2023

Pax Mahle is a Californian wine producer of downtown Sebastopol, founded by husband-and-wife team Pax and Pam Mahle in 2000. It produces a Syrah-based portfolio of wines that also includes lesser-known varieties such as Mission and Trousseau Gris.

Pax Mahle source grapes are sourced from multiple cool-climate sites throughout the Sonoma and Mendocino counties. The flagship Sonoma Hillside Syrah is blended from organic or biodynamically farmed vineyards that are cooled by the coastal winds of Sonoma County. 

Clements Hills is an AVA in the southeast of the larger Lodi AVA. It is bisected by the Mokelumne River, which runs through Lodi from the Sierra Nevada mountains. The Sierra Foothills are found to the east, and the town of Lodi lies to the northwest. The total area is 85,400 acres (34,560 hectares) of which 21,700 acres (8,781 hectares) are under vine. 

The warm climate and poor-quality soils here are well suited to the production of wines made from Spanish grape varieties such as Tempranillo, Grenache (Garnacha) and Albarino. Clements Hills shares the Mediterranean climate that is enjoyed by much of Lodi, although this AVA is slightly warmer and wetter than those on the western side of Lodi. Intense sunlight is tempered by cooling breezes from the Golden Gate Gap, extending the growing season and ensuring balance in the wines of Clements Hills.