Beckmen Vineyards 2009 Estate Syrah Santa Ynez Valley

Name of wine:  Beckmen Vineyards 2009 Estate Syrah Santa Ynez Valley (100% Syrah, Santa Ynez Valley AVA, 1800 cases made)

Price paid:  $20

Where purchased:  KL Wines, San Francisco, California

Tasting Notes and my Comments:  I love this wine!   This one you could enjoy on its own after work.  Beckmen is very reliable and really delivered in the 2009 vintage.  It was biodynamically farmed as well.  It is layered, deep, and concentrated.  Santa Ynez Valley AVA, which is part of the Central Coast AVA, includes Purisma hills and was the shooting location of the movie Sideways.   100% estate grown, produced, and bottled.  1800 cases produced.

Color:  Red garnet hue.

Nose:  Fruit forward and fragrant spice.  Slight olive scent.

Palate:  Sharp tannins. Smooth and light mouth feel.  Plum skin notes.  Noticeable acidity.

Food:  A lighter body Syrah, great with pizza, spaghetti with red sauce or hearty cheeses.

Winemakers notes:  (From beckmenvineyards.com)

• 100% estate grapes from our biodynamically farmed Purisima Mountain Vineyard
• Made from 11 individual lots consisting of eight different clones of Syrah, with 2-4 rootstock possibilities, depending on soil composition, to achieve multiple layers of flavor
• Individual vineyard lots were destemmed and hand sorted whole-berry for greater purity of flavor
• Grapes were gently crushed and cold-soaked for 2-5 days to extract color and taste-enhancing phenolics
• Fermentation took place with native yeast in open tops for a period of 5-10 days, depending on the lot
• The caps were punched down by hand three times daily
• Grapes were gently basket-pressed
• The wine underwent spontaneous native malolactic fermentation in-barrel to integrate fruit and oak character
• The wine was barrel aged for 10 months in 35% new French oak

What is your favorite Rhone Varietal?

About Peter Trapasso

Peter Trapasso, also known as “Vino Pete” is the founder of VinoPete.com. Subscribe and visit us weekly for our latest wine review. Now writing for Examiner.com

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Tagged as: Beckmen Vineyards, California, Central Coast, Los Olivos, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Valley, Syrah, Wine Reviews