Antonio Galloni’s 2018 Vinous Reviews

The Sep­tem­ber reviews from Anto­nio Gal­loni, the founder of the online wine pub­li­ca­tion Vinous, have arrived! We are hon­ored to share his thoughts of our wines and their respec­tive scores.

2015 Purisima Mountain Vineyard Block Six Syrah

Rat­ing: 95
Drink Date: 2020 — 2030
Date Tast­ed: Sep­tem­ber 2018

The 2015 Syrah Block Six Purisi­ma Moun­tain Vine­yard con­tin­ues a theme of stel­lar 2015 Syrahs from Steve Beck­men. Rich and explo­sive, with tremen­dous depth, the 2015 is all class. Inky blue/​purplish berry fruit, laven­der, grav­el, smoke and game abound in this unc­tu­ous, beau­ti­ful­ly res­o­nant Syrah. The 60% new oak is near­ly buried by the wine’s sheer density.

2016 Purisima Mountain Vineyard Syrah Clone #1

Rat­ing: 94
Drink Date: 2020 — 2028
Date Tast­ed: Sep­tem­ber 2018

The 2016 Syrah Clone #1 Purisi­ma Moun­tain Vine­yard emerges from two blocks on the prop­er­ty. Tast­ed next to the oth­er wines in the range, the Block #1 is dis­tin­guished by its ampli­tude and vol­ume. Blue/​purplish stone fruits, licorice, spice, leather and men­thol all fill out the wine’s frame effort­less­ly. The Clone #1 is a big wine, but its bal­ance is impec­ca­ble. Here, too, the 60% new oak is well judged.

2016 TLB

Rat­ing: 94
Drink Date: 2020 — 2031
Date Tast­ed: Sep­tem­ber 2018

The 2016 TLB Red Wine, Beck­men’s Caber­net Sauvignon/​Syrah blend, cap­tures the per­son­al­i­ty and char­ac­ter of Los Olivos dis­trict to great effect. One of the more overt­ly ripe, unc­tu­ous wines in the range, the Red Wine has a lot to offer. The blend is 85% Caber­net Sauvi­gnon and 15% Syrah.

2016 Barrel Select Cuvee

Rat­ing: 93
Drink Date: 2019 — 2024
Date Tast­ed: Sep­tem­ber 2018

The 2016 Bar­rel Select Cuvée is suc­cu­lent, pli­ant and expres­sive. The Bar­rel Select is marked by its dis­tinc­tive red fruit pro­file. Racy and pli­ant with good fresh­ness there is a lot to like in this racy yet also under­stat­ed wine. Soft, plush tan­nins add to the wine’s imme­di­a­cy and appeal.

2016 Purisima Mountain Vineyard Syrah

Rat­ing: 93
Drink Date: 2020 — 2028
Date Tast­ed: Sep­tem­ber 2018

The 2016 Syrah Purisi­ma Moun­tain Vine­yard is a blend of all the blocks on the prop­er­ty. Pow­er­ful and deep, the 2016 has quite a bit of tan­nic clout behind all the fruit. Today, the 2016 is nat­u­ral­ly very pri­ma­ry, but it should be ter­rif­ic with anoth­er few years in bot­tle. All of the ele­ments are in place for that to happen.

2016 Santa Ynez Valley Grenache

Rat­ing: 90
Drink Date: 2019 — 2024
Date Tast­ed: Sep­tem­ber 2018

The 2016 Grenache offers love­ly bright­ness and inten­si­ty. Flo­ral over­tones and a host of red berry fruit fla­vors give the 2016 its viva­cious per­son­al­i­ty. Light on its feet, yet sur­pris­ing­ly deep, the 2016 has a lot to offer. Aging in neu­tral oak allows the puri­ty of the fruit to shine through nicely.

2017 Purisima Mountain Vineyard Viognier

Rat­ing: 90
Drink Date: 2018 — 2023
Date Tast­ed: Sep­tem­ber 2018

The 2017 Viog­nier Purisi­ma Moun­tain Vine­yard is done in a style that empha­sizes fresh­ness and per­fume. Aging most­ly in steel brings out the wine’s vivac­i­ty. Jas­mine, mint and light stone fruit notes add nuance throughout.

2016 Cuvee le Bec

Rat­ing: 90
Drink Date: 2019 — 2024
Date Tast­ed: Sep­tem­ber 2018

Beck­men’s 2016 Cuvée Le Bec is gor­geous. Racy, pli­ant and invit­ing, the 2016 is beau­ti­ful­ly done. Suc­cu­lent dark cher­ry, tobac­co, licorice and earthy notes all devel­op in this gra­cious, res­o­nant wine. The 2016 fin­ish­es with notable den­si­ty and pow­er. Anoth­er year in bot­tle will help the tan­nins soft­en. The 2016 has a bit more rich­ness than is often the case, but that is not a bad thing at all.