Bekkers Tasting

I only knew Bekkers from one glowing report. This was my first tasting from this boutique winery. Toby and Emmanuelle Bekkers are highly experienced viticulturalists and winemakers and they do everything themselves. The fruit comes mostly from Blewitt Springs and Clarendon, grown on bleached sand and sandy clay. Maturation takes place in 500-600L puncheons, old casks for Grenache, 40% new for Shiraz.

 

The 2017 Grenache comes from three vineyards in Blewitt Springs, Kangarilla (near Clarendon) and the Onkaparinga Hills area north of the river. This is an amazingly fragrant and elegant wine. It dances on your tongue, but the fruit is ripe. The raspberry flavours are not sweet. The wine has great energy and a very long finish (96 points). 

The 2017 Syrah Grenache is darker and has more fruit weight, no doubt due to the 58% Shiraz component. But again, it is an elegant wine with great length, perhaps a bit more main stream (94 points).

When I first heard about the main wine called 'Syrah', I was balking at this, as Syrah is sort of reserved for cool climate. However, the 2016 Syrah is also a delicate wine, female, the French would say, very silky. The blackberry fruit coats the mouth most elegantly (95 points).

Emmanuelle also makes a premier cru in Chablis each year. She gets this fruit as long as she only sells this wine in Australia. The wine I tasted was good, but a bit broad and not a standout. 

The red wines from Bekkers were a revelation. They are well rounded and a perfect example of how to make these varieties very enjoyable and drinkable.