Beckmen's Cuvee Le Bec

While we didn't actually taste Beckmen's wine during the last trip, I thought I would still review the 07 Cuvee Le Bec that I had with dinner over the last two evenings. The Cuvee Le Bec is a blend of mostly Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre ("GSM"), similar to France's (much more expensive) Chateauneuf du Papes and Australia's nice GSMs. The wine was paired with whole fresh citrus garlic fish, quinoa salad with roasted beets, avocados, almonds, raisins, roasted curried kabocha squash and broccoli, young garlic shoots sauteed with Chinese sausage, butternut squash soup, and a kale and ricotta salata salad. I thought it was only ok; the wine did not have the fun liveliness that I usually associate with GSMs; it was a little dark, heavy and not very fruitforward. While it didn't combat the flavors of the food (which was quite heavily seasoned), it also did not enhance the food. I remember liking the wine a lot more when I tasted it at the vineyard about a year ago (but it was also at the end of a long tasting day).