2018 Toby Bekkers Syrah

Community Tasting Notes (5) Avg Score: 95.2 points

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  12/28/2023 - peter.mancell@mfg.com.au Likes this wine: 95 Points

  Truly excellent MV shiraz.
  Wonderful fruit, beautiful texture and long spicy finish!

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  11/24/2023 - jmcmchi Likes this wine: 95 Points

  Two hours decanting makes a difference

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  9/24/2023 - jmcmchi Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Over two nights
  
  Only outdone by the 18 grenache, so a matter of personal taste….and timing. The order could reversein five yearsor so
  
  Elegant tannins, a little tar and garrigue in dark berries. Restraint and control with beautiful fruit

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  11/12/2022 - SirJ Likes this wine: 96 Points

  Wine tasting Friday 11/11
  [Apologies for the long post]
  A wonderful evening where I held a tasting for a total of 6 people. Two interesting flights with slightly different themes, where all wines were tried blindly. This was the first time we tried these wines, so extra exciting.
  
  Flight No. 1
  
  Tenuta di Nozole Il Pareto Toscana IGT 1996
  Tenuta di Nozole Il Pareto Toscana IGT 2006
  Tenuta di Nozole Il Pareto Toscana IGT 2017
  
  Results
  
  Incredibly interesting to try the same wine with about 10 years between vintages. Everyone took whichever wine was the oldest, but not as easy to distinguish between 2006 and 2017. Vintage 1996 showed some great fruit, but the tannins had begun to subside, still some power but it has past its peak.
  Very nice tannin structure in 2006 and 2017, what revealed in 2017 was an imbalance regarding alcohol, everything is not quite in place yet. But classic Cabernet Sauvignon fruit, black currants, blackberries, cigar box and liquorice stones.
  2006 is a clear winner around the table, in the middle of the drinking window right now, just to congratulate you who have this wine in the cellar.
  
  Flight No. 2
  
  Bekkers Wine - McLaren Vale Grenache 2018
  Bekkers Wine - McLaren Vale Syrah Grenache 2018
  Bekkers Wine - McLaren Vale Syrah 2018
  
  Results
  
  These are really incredibly good wines, what permeates all the wines is an incredible clarity and sharpness. No doubt what is in each bottle, Grenache 2018 shows a freshness and a very clear fruit. The blend Syrah/Grenache (c:a 65 / 35%), shows a little more weight thanks to the Syrah but the element of Grenache creates a very nice harmony, this was one of the favorites during the evening. Bekker's flagship wine is their Syrah, what fruit, you find all the elements typical of Syrah. This is fully comparable to the best from the northern Rhone Valley. Best wine of the evening. All these wines were given 3 – 4 hours in the decanter before tasting, and that is really needed.
  
  Food and more wine…
  
  A slightly more luxurious Bolognese on prime rib and rimmed flank pork that was left for 3-4 hours before being served with fresh pasta, garnished with grated parmesan and fresh basil, incredibly good with the following wines:
  
  5Stelle Sfursat Nino Negri 2016
  Brunello di Montalcino Pieve Santa Restituta Gaja 2011
  Burzi Capalot Barolo 2016
  
  All three incredibly good, many people's favorite was 5Stelle from Nino Negri. A powerhouse of dry Nebbiolo, personally I found this wine to be a bit too much for food, but as a pleasure wine this is a favourite. Both BdM and Barolon were fantastic, really like BdM with a bit of age, the acidity has subsided a bit and it's so good, Burzi Capalot stands out as one of my big favorites from Piedmont, this is young with brilliance!
  
  At last...
  
  As a final wine of the evening we drank The Standish Wine Co The Relic 2009. Hard to see how it can get any better for Shiraz, this wine is right in the window, dark fruit velvety on the palate, salted licorice fudge from Haupt (ShutTheFudgeUp) was perfect match. A good end to one of the best wine evenings ever.

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  8/27/2021 - Rote Kappelle Likes this wine: 96 Points

  French wine maker, native son vigneron from McLaren Vale and a fantastic site. I'm listening to Robin Trower, whose textural guitar work matches the textural focus of this wine.
  
  The wine has a functional seal (i.e. Stelvin) and this note is made after about 2 hours open and decanted. The points score is using the Cellar tracker scale, combined with my reluctance to use the highest bracket. I could easily have scored this wine 98 and i think it will end up there as it opens up in years to come.
  
  Colour is medium dark cherry heading towards purple-red, minimal fading to rim as you tilt the glass. Promising power and elegance. The colour is quite bright - suggests fresh acid and maybe some aromatic lift to come?
  
  The nose is still evolving as I make this note. There is some smoke and a hint of bacon, presumably from oak and, maybe, yeast. There is a potent aroma of plum and a hint of blackberry, as well as a lifted perfume element. There is a lot happening here.
  
  The palate is still pretty tightly wound, fresh and very intense. The finish is extremely long. There are firm but ripe tannins and they are fine. At the same time there is an almost creamy, multi-layered texture - again, I think some very clever work with oak that draws in the lush fruit characters (blackberry seems more prominent in the mouth, but definitely not blackberry jam). I think this is a wine that will release the fruit over a long time in the cellar. I want to emphasise that oak is not dominant here - there's no vanilla, or coconut and the texture isn't the thick, gelatinous mass you sometimes see from crude use of wood. The oak is working in harmony with the fruit and this is a wine that could be quite mind blowing in 10 years, or maybe a little more.
  
  This is a world class Shiraz that invites the kind of contemplation that I usually only experience from Barolo or Cabernet. Every time you look at it, you will find a different element.
  
  I am torn between wanting to beg you to try this wine and wanting you not to, so there will be more for me. It is a lovely winery to visit and the Bekkers and staff are great hosts.

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