Pax Mahle is considered to be an ultratraditionalist. “We take a very pure approach,” explains Mahle, “one that was more commonplace 100 years ago in France than it is today.” That approach includes organic farming, foot-crushing the grapes, natural fermentations and absolutely no fining or filtering.

As widely reported and detailed in a recent Wine Spectator article, Pax Mahle was recently fired as winemaker from Pax, and replaced by a new winemaker, Tyler Thomas. Thomas previously was the assistant winemaker at Hyde Vineyards.

The change comes as Mahle, his wife, Pamela Schaab, and Pax’s majority owner, Joe Donelan, are locked in a legal battle over the winery. Neither Mahle nor Donelan have made public comments on the current situation. But it is said that there have been ongoing disagreements over the allocation of winery funds as well as winemaking and management decisions. Mahle had expressed a desire for a buyout or outright dissolution of the brand, but it seems as though that was not an acceptable outcome for Donelan. After an attempt at arbitration to resolve the issues was unsuccessful, Donelan rejected a buyout offer and filed a suit against the couple.

Mahle has moved on and is now in the process of building a winery in Forestville, California. He plans to make a variety of wines, including a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, an old-vine Chardonnay from Paso Robles, a Nebbiolo and a Syrah (possibly from some of the same vineyards currently sourcing grapes to the Pax label). Meanwhile, Donelan said he intends to continue the Pax label, “we will continue to make Rhône varietal wines, principally vineyard-designated Syrahs.”

I certainly am not close enough to the situation to have any insights. I do know that many people speak well of the Donelan’s — and Pax Mahle is certainly a talented winemaker — so recent events seem to unfortunate for all involved, including those that liked the wines. Obviously there will be some changes and it remains to be seen if it will be a seamless transition, an improvement, or a negative (even if only a short-term negative).

The 2006 Sonoma Hillsides is 100% Syrah. Dark, inky purple in color. Dark cherry, cassis and smoke on the nose. On the palate, blueberry, plum, and currants with graphite, tobacco, and some earthy components. Substantial tannins, a bit austere and not showing a lot of fruit (it might with more time in the bottle). None of which are intended as a negative, but the wine didn’t really win me over, at least for me on this occasion. Pax wines are expensive and with higher prices come higher expectations. This was a very good wine, but I can get that at $20 a bottle.

In my opinion, Pax has better Syrahs in their portfolio. There are also better Syrahs and certainly better values than the Pax Hillsides. I would opt for a number of French examples at half the price even given the strength of the euro. I will put the rest down for 3-5 years and hope (and expect) it will improve with age. 775 cases produced and 14.59 % alcohol.

I know Pax is known for their Syrahs, but in the 3 wines of Pax I have tasted this year, my favorite was their Marsanne/Roussanne/Viognier, Nepenthe, Alder Springs Vineyard, Mendocino County, 2006.