Winemaker Notes
The wine leads with enticing pomegranate, grenadine, licorice and anise aromatics before revealing voluptuous elements of cherry, chocolate and spice box.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is an outstanding example of Grenache from the Santa Ynez Valley. Beautiful kirsch liqueur, lavender, spice box, and sweet black currants jump from the glass of this deep ruby/plum-colored wine. In the mouth, raspberries make an appearance in a rich, full-bodied, silky textured wine that is both hedonistic and intellectually pleasing. This is a super example of Grenache that should drink nicely for another 4-6 years.
Two of the finest bargains year in and year out from California’s Central Coast are Beckman’s red Cuvee Le Bec and their more recent white, Le Bec Blanc. Both can probably be found for under $18 at discounters. I tasted four Syrahs from Beckman Vineyards, all of them meriting an outstanding score. This corroborates past performances over the last decade that Beckman is one of the best producers from Santa Ynez.
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Wine Enthusiast
The combination of very high alcohol and what tastes like residual sugar gives this Grenache an excessively sweet, glyceriney taste. It’s fabulously rich in raspberry cream, blackberry jam, mocha, vanilla and cinnamon spice flavors. Very flamboyant and delicious, but really more of a dessert wine than a dry table wine.
Grenache thrives in any warm, Mediterranean climate where ample sunlight allows its clusters to achieve full phenolic ripeness. While Grenache's birthplace is Spain (there called Garnacha), today it is more recognized as the key player in the red blends of the Southern Rhône, namely Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône and its villages. Somm Secret—The Italian island of Sardinia produces bold, rustic, single varietal Grenache (there called Cannonau). California, Washington and Australia have achieved found success with Grenache, both flying solo and in blends.
The largest and perhaps most varied of California’s wine-growing regions, the Central Coast produces a good majority of the state's wine. This vast California wine district stretches from San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara along the coast, and reaches inland nearly all the way to the Central Valley.
Encompassing an extremely diverse array of climates, soil types and wine styles, it contains many smaller sub-AVAs, including San Francisco Bay, Monterey, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley.
While the Central Coast California wine region could probably support almost any major grape varietiy, it is famous for a few Central Coast reds and whites. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are among the major ones. The Central Coast is home to many of the state's small, artisanal wineries crafting unique, high-quality wines, as well as larger producers also making exceptional wines.