Santa Barbara Winemakers.

Beckmen Vineyards, 2004 Cuvee Le Bec, grenache 40%, syrah 32%, mourvedre 17%, counoise 11%. Santa Ynez Valley. Alc 14.2%.

There was a time when the land that is now Beckmen was owned by Houtz. Those old enough to have tried the wines in those days will at first stop as if in a trance, then stare wildly, then laugh, then fill your ears with too many derogatory remarks to mention here.
There was a time, not long ago when we'd do the odd blind tasting and ask people not to bring any Beckmen wines over because they were too easy to identify. I should point out immediately that this was not seen as derogatory, it was just that there was something about the Beckmen line that was identifiable with Beckmen, be it the Atelier, their syrah and the much loved counoise, it was like knowing all of the tracks from the Joshua Tree, you knew U2, you knew Beckmen.
Not any more, or at least not the style that gave the wines a new following. Now we have gone into a new arena. We are humming and rattling to a new tune.
I opened this wine last night to give a breathing. Tonight it still needs air, still needs a constant swirl, tomorrow I'll get back to it and consider the changes, then on it will go until the bottle is depleted if necessary (that is if it makes it through the night).
The new Beckmen is nothing short of revolutionary, without doubt I have seen an amazing transformation. Fans of the older Cuvees Le Bec will surely have noticed these changes. The older Rhone blends had a lightness, a softness, a fruitiness that many said reminded them of maybe a 2000 Arabesque from Bridlewood for instance. Not any more. What I wouldn't have given to be at the table when Steve and Tom decided to go bold, brave, biodynamic and big. The past two or three vintages have proven many things, not least that Steve Beckmen has earned his stripes, fought the temptations most weak minded may have settled for and pushed the boundaries in Santa Ynez many still believe isn't entirely possible. This is fighting talk I know but a serious study in what is going on over there will simply drag you into the 21st century and I stand beside my words. I recently asked over a dozen or so winemakers of high reputation here in the Valley whose wines they like (apart from their own), almost all said Steve Beckmen, three said Beckmen's immediately without thinking (curiously Joey Tensley, a former Beckmen assistant winemaker, was included in their list too). Is Beckmen becoming the new training ground like Zaca Mesa? I'd like to think so.
When I get clients looking for big reds, good cabs or something full bodied, there are really not many places to go from the list of what is available here, top is Beckmen though. Tonight's offering is in that column. The '04 is plush velvet curtains, a leather writing desk, walnut panelling, thick carpets, a board room, a Masonic Lodge, a Chesterfield by a log fire with a hard back first edition, hand made Italian shoes. Don't reference the leather, reference the high quality of the workmanship, the luxury items, the implied wealth. The Le Bec is not fruit forward or jammy, I'd go more of something like relish or chutney, something spicy done with fruit, maybe New Orleans' muscadine jelly, or something from Major Grey, I see the Duke of Bougainville pouring this for Napoleon's generals. Historical complexity rather than botanist complexity. There is a supple creaminess, bolstered by firm tanins, a berried freshness and a roof of mouth dryness that cleanses and moisturises if you like. To retain the "Frenchness" of this wine, I'd suggest old Montreal or maybe Quebec with an emphasis on Bec. There are many fantastic old cuisine style restaurants in the French Canadian cities where this wine should be the only wine on the list. Arcadian seems to sum it up.
Take a read of this link about Arcadia, this is where my stream of conscious ends. Arcadia becomes corrupted to Cajun, time will tell if this wine becomes a classic, so I could suggest keeping a few bottles for your grand children, it is likely to age that long.


Cheers

April 10, 2006