Bekkers

Written By Angus Hughson

2026 Bekkers Release (V24)

The soon-to-be released Bekkers Grenache and Bekkers Syrah Grenache are a masterful example of wine growing – where the custodians are intimately connected with the land and the grapes they grow. Toby and Emmanuelle Bekkers represent a perfect viticulture-winemaking team where the nuances of vintage are translated seamlessly in the cellar.

Although it was a cool growing season and challenges were encountered, the wet weather over summer was followed by a hot spell allowing tannins to develop to maturity.  Meanwhile colour and flavour development were exemplary resulting in highly perfumed aromatics and generous fruit. As mentioned in previous dispatches, I believe Emmanuelle Bekkers is brilliantly intuitive in the way her wines are matured through to bottling. Fruit complexity and freshness have been preserved through meticulous attention and timely bottling. These are delicious evocative wines that offer the rewards of genuine craftsmanship and technical skill.

2024 Bekkers Grenache, McLaren Vale – South Australia

Medium crimson. Attractive cherry cola, musky plum, strawberry aromas with roasted walnut notes. Supple and silky textured with ample red berry fruits, very good mid plate volume, some chinotto/ bittersweet notes and underlying fresh acidity. Crunchy and juicy at the finish. A marquee style showing meticulous attention, especially during maturation. Absolutely delicious. Blewitt Springs, Kangarilla and Onkaparinga Hills. Drink now or keep for a while. 14% alc. 95+ points

2024 Bekkers Syrah Grenache, McLaren Vale – South Australia

Deep crimson. Intense blackberry, brambly aromas with hints of dark chocolate and bush garrigue. Expressive, ripe and juicy with plentiful blackberry pastille, musky plum fruits, fine slinky, slight al dente tannins, superb volume/ density, underlying roasted nut notes. Builds chocolaty and crisp. Lovely energy, tensile and flow. Drinking well now but another year’s bottle age will bring it into equilibrium. Clarendon & Seaview (shiraz) Blewitt Springs. 68% shiraz 32% grenache. Drink 2027 – 2034. 14% alc. 96 points

2025 Bekkers Release (V23)

2023 Bekkers Clarendon Syrah, Mclaren Vale – South Australia

Deep colour. Pure blackberry pastille aromas with black pepper spice notes. A cooler spectrum of flavours, but pristine and animated with ample blackberry, dark chocolate, black pepper flavours, fine grippy but sinuous tannins. Lovely mid-palate generosity and underlying roasted chestnut notes. All the elements are beautifully offset for further bottle aging. 2023 will not be remembered as a great year but this is a memorable wine; a masterclass in winemaking and élevage, while highlighting the modern potential of an historic vineyard site. Drink 2027- 2038 14% alc 96+ points

2023 Bekkers Grenache, McLaren Vale – South Australia

Medium crimson. Fragrant strawberry, plum, hint mocha aromas with violet/ peppery notes. Well-concentrated with lovely pure strawberry, red plum fruits, fine slinky tannins, attractive mid-palate viscosity and linear fresh acidity. Finishes peppery and crunchy at the finish. A masterfully vinified and ‘elévaged’ early drinking grenache that captures the essence of vintage while reflecting meticulous attention to detail in the vineyards. 14% alc Drink now – 2030 95 points

2023 Bekkers Syrah Grenache, McLaren Vale – South Australia

Medium deep crimson. Fresh blackberry, raspberry black pepper aromas with violet notes. Medium powered wine with black and red berry fruits, peppery nuances, fine loose knit bittersweet tannins and underlying roasted walnut notes. Finishes chalky and minerally. An expressive palate with very good volume and vitality. 14% alc Drink now – 2030 94 points

2024 Bekkers Release

Emmanuelle and Toby Bekkers have forged an impressive mark on the McLaren Vale landscape through their highly skilled vineyarding and winemaking. Rather than going down the alternative grape variety route, they have harnessed the region’s magnificent heritage to build a reputation for their Bekkers brand. Their attention to detail, especially during the maturation phase, brings an extra resonance to the wines. This masterful Stradivarius-like touch is what makes these wines so graceful and special.

2022 Bekkers Grenache, McLaren Vale – South Australia

Medium deep colour. Pure dark plum, musky, dark cherry, raspberry, strawberry aromas with violet, Turkish delight notes. Supple and fleshy with lovely pure fruit flavours, slinky textures, very good mid-palate viscosity and plenty of mineral length. A sweet-fruited finish with a touch of aniseed. Classical and delicious. Drink now – 2028 15% alc 95 points

2022 Bekkers Syrah Grenache, McLaren Vale – South Australia

Deep crimson. Inky, chinotto dark plum, elderberry, blackberry aromas with hint marzipan, praline note. The palate is beautifully concentrated, with plentiful dark berry, roasted chestnut, marzipan, slightly dark chocolaty flavours, and fine slinky yet sinuous textures. Finishes chalky and minerally with chinotto notes. A superb wine. 75% Syrah 25% Grenache. Drink now – 2028 14.8% alc 96 points

2022 Bekkers Tome Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon Grenache, McLaren Vale – South Australia

Deep crimson. Intense dark plum, blackberry pastille, dark cherry, dark chocolate, hint marzipan aromas. Classical, generous and round with dark plum, dark cherry fruits, fresh chalky/ hint grippy textures and underlying marzipan vanilla oak notes. Lovely weight, texture and flow with a crispy finish. Delicious to drink now. 63% Syrah, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon 17% Grenache Drink now – 2028 14.2% alc 95 points

2022 Bekkers Syrah, McLaren Vale – South Australia

Deep colour. Impressive dark chocolate, blackberry, panforte aromas with roasted chestnut, hint marzipan notes. Generously concentrated palate with ample raspberry, blackberry confit, praline, hint Parma violet notes and supple gravelly/ chocolaty textures. Finishes firm and minerally with seductive dark berry fruits and tang of acidity. Masterful winemaking and cellar work with the oak perfectly matched to the fruit and textures.  Delicious to drink but best to keep for a year or so – 2035+ 14.2% alc 97 points

2023 Bekkers

Bekkers has become one of McLaren Vale’s star performers in recent years reflecting the perfectionism of both Toby and Emmanuelle Bekkers in their chosen fields (viticulture and winemaking respectively). Their first ‘Single Selection Release’ is a masterclass in precision and collaboration. This exceptional wine is based on a two-tonne parcel of exceptional fruit from the 1990s-planted Trueman Vineyard, a site well known for producing high quality wine. The 2021 Clarendon Syrah was partially destemmed and whole bunch- fermented to promote aromatic complexity and the character the terroir.

2021 Bekkers Clarendon Syrah foreshadows the commercialisation of another single vineyard wine. In the not-too-distant future the historic steep-sloped Clarendon Estate Vineyard, currently being reconstituted by Toby Bekkers, will once again become a feature of McLaren Vale’s fine wine scene. In the meantime, this medium-bodied and classical style is a wonderful start in the Bekkers’ quest to make prized single vineyard wines. Released at $900 per 3-bottle case.

2021 Bekkers Clarendon Syrah, McLaren Vale – South Australia

Medium deep crimson. Fragrant raspberry pastille, blueberry aromas with hints of marzipan and nougat. Graceful wine with lovely raspberry, red and black cherries, blueberry fruits, fine bittersweet/ lacy textures, superb mid-palate viscosity/ silkiness and well-integrated roasted almond, vanilla notes. Finishes al dente firm with seductive chinotto/pure fruits and long mineral/ quartz acidity. Understated yet beautifully balanced wine with impressive complexity, gentle vigour/ vinosity and flawless oak maturation. Refined and exacting wine highlighting the craft of winemaking and the longer growing season of the Clarendon sub-region of McLaren Vale. Drink 2024 – 2035+ 14.5% 97 points

Angus Hughson
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