Bekkers McLaren Vale Syrah 2012
“No finished wine tasted during my trip characterises the region’s new-found confidence and energy better than Bekkers McLaren Vale Syrah 2012. Made by viticulturist Toby Bekkers and his French winemaking wife Emmanuelle, this relative newcomer has raised a few eyebrows with its $110 price tag. It shouldn’t have. At 14.5 per cent alcohol and matured in a mixture of new and older French 500-litre puncheons, it doesn’t forgo the ripe fruit and concentration that one associates with McLaren Vale, but there is a complexity and balance you don’t often taste. Superb.”
Tasting note:
Bekkers Syrah 2012 $110 Made with a blend of fruit from the Hickinbotham and Connor’s vineyards, this superb example of McLaren Vale shiraz had 15 per cent whole bunches added to the fermenter and was matured in new and older 500-litre French oak puncheons.
Fragrant, spicy, concentrated and long, it can be enjoyed now or cellared for up to 10 years.
Philip Rich
Australian Financial Review Magazine