Brecon was initially considered Barking Mad for hanging their hats on an Albarino. The wine of course is nothing but serious. Particularly after a previous vintage scored 96 points twice in two days. Aromatically it jumps from the glass with hints of elderflower and lily blossom. The palate is varietally true, being all citreen, with crisp fresh limes dominating. So refreshing. The finish is surprisingly structured with a softness and biscuity toastiness reminiscent of a good champagne.

Gold. Central Coast Wine Competition, June 2018

Editors Choice. Wine Enthusiast

93 Pts. purely domestic wine report, July 2018.

Fronk as it is affectionately known to its friends also suffers from such blatant stereotyping but of a more sexual nature. Indeed it is hard to find asexual descriptors particularly in French, no surprise there I suppose! Fully ripe examples, as we have here, are considered to have a lovely lightness of touch, be subtly fragrant and gently flirtatious; softer than the more masculine Cabernet Sauvignon. Strangely it still pairs remarkably well with a tender juicy steak particularly on heady summer evenings.

94pts. Doug Wilder. purely domestic wine report. Dec 2019

Trying hard to work the Anglo-Saxon, rather brooding phrase, “Malbecian Hoard” into the tasting note but apparently it's not in the latest Webster's Dic. Perhaps someone has been mainlining too much G.O.T or craving their own secret Hobbit hole. That aside, this is a bright exciting clone of Malbec, Just imported into the USA. We combine it with our “ye olde vine” Cabernet. Not I might add, the stuff of Arthurian legend, but pretty wizened. It creates something really quite smooth, surprisingly complex and with that signature Malbecian fruit brightness shining through.

90pts. Jeb Dunnuck. November 2019

Gold Medal. San Fransisco Chronicle Wine Competition Jan 2020

When in barrel, the most apt descriptor I heard was- to quote a rather loud bonnie lass, “it’s a weee little beastie that”. Strangely that’s exactly what we strived for in a young bordeaux. However I suspect we will need to give this 8-9 months bottle age prior to release to get this supple enough for those Southern Softie Sassenachs that occasionally frequent these parts. Now don’t get me wrong, with the underlying smoothness of 50% “ye olde vine” Brecon Cabernet and the opulent dark forest fruit from the Petit Verdot. We suspect this will meld into something remarkably long lived.

Best of Class. Platinum. 94pts. Monterey International Wine Competition March 2020

Best of Varietal. Best of Class. Gold. New World International Wine Competition March 2020

Gold. San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition Jan 2020

91pts. purely domestic wine report. Oct. 2020

91pts. Jeb Dunnuck. Sept 2020

Gold. 91pts. Critics Challenge International Wine Competition. July 2020

Here you get the crisp refreshing approachability of a super premium Grenache Blanc deftly melded with a trio of stylistically disparate Viogniers. Somehow that works superbly. Don’t ask how, must be the magic of the craft. In time expect stone fruit flavors to dominate, such as nectarines and peaches, while clean citrus characters currently shine through. Wonderfully layered aromatics, rich golden straw color and a very intriguing palate. It's the consummate al fresco food wine. A veritable salad bowl of citrus and stone fruit characters.

Less than 17 bottles remaining!

Coined during some civil unrest and was one of the first terms in the UK to go viral. Brecon loves how it rolls off the tongue and of course imagines its wine a tad on the riotous side! It all kind of fits, as we use two varieties traditionally excluded from the nobel variety club. Petite Sirah and Zinfandel. When properly nurtured in Paso Robles they can truly be world class.  We finally put one proverbial finger up at the conventions of a class system by bottling it in our single vineyard reserve program. By the way, it’s a big structured cooler climate Petite Sirah/Zinfandel blend with bags of character and layers of hidden pepper and spice. BTW none of our team was involved in said riots!

Best in Class/Gold. New World International Wine Competition. March 2020

92pts. Jeb Dunnuck. November 2019

92pts. Josh Raynolds, Vinous. February 2020

90pts. Wine Enthusiast.

Think Exotic. Gewurz, as it is known to its friends, tends to shy away from the traditional French cuisine end of town. Head down the side street and be a lot more experimental from the pairing point of view. Think Ginger, Madras and Cloves. It's intense floral aromatics are a treasure and much like the aromatics on a peaty Islay Malt you can absolutely lose yourself in the nose. Only needing to occasionally come up for air and take a sip. For the record the obvious Lychee and Pineapple will be complex in time adding more nutty almond overtones.

We suppose imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Brecon has actually had to go all inky dark on you regarding our vineyard sourcing. Our English winemaker is feeling “A little miffed” bordering on “It’s a bit pesky” due to a spate of attempted vineyard contract thefts. BTW, the last time the British collectively had such a feeling was in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out during the blitz. Either way the majority of grapes are from Brecon old vines. Meaning it has our signature broad spectrum of flavors including, ironically, a subtle hint of Assam from the Cab Franc. The forest and earthy aroma interplay between varietals is very nuanced again a Brecon Meritage hallmark.

Made to the tune of Simple Minds “Up on the Catwalk”. Which is kind of ironic really as there were no catwalks on these open top fermenters. Indeed, it was easy to fall into a simple mind state at three in the morning punching down these babies, the room would fill with violets and this wonderful purple froth arose from the cap. Some of these primary colors and aromatics made it through to the final wine along with a myriad of complex oak and maturation characters. The super silkiness only really manifested itself after a full forteen months in barrel.

93pts. Jeb Dunnuck. November 2019

91pts. Wine Enthusiast. 

Less than 10 bottles remaining!

Soooo I am thinking I just met one of the more interesting people I’ve had the opportunity to interact with. His style was a strong blend of 19th century cowboy with modern skater and he, strangely, pulled it off! Wine can be so like this. Consider the youthful but laid back brightness of this dashing Syrah. Yet there are leathery, smoky, meaty overtones too and perhaps, deep down, a somewhat rugged heart. The combination must have so enamored the Sunset International Judges that they felt it was necessary to award this wine Best of Class a full two months before its official release.

94pts. Jeb Dunnuck. November 2019

94pts. Best of Class. Sunset International Wine Competition. June 2019.

93pts. Josh Raynolds, Vinous. February 2020

93pts. purely domestic wine report. December 2019

92pts. Wine Enthusiast.

Strangely a “Furlong Firkin Fortnight” is pretty close to a case of wine! This humorous, nerdy system based on old fashioned impractical units illustrates the difficulty in finding suitable language to describe this little beauty. It is probably best to think of it as a Crossfit Syrah. There is a certain firmness of tone, a more solid well kept frame if you like. A definite inner confidence, head held high kind of wine that comes from a little maturity and a defined six pack.

92pts. purely domestic wine report. Oct. 2020

91pts. Jeb Dunnuck. Sept. 2020

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A Viognier with one “trench” foot in each camp. Don’t get us wrong we love the crispness of a cool climate Viognier. Also, we just love the mid palate viscosity combined with tropical aromatics of a more sunblessed version. But have you ever tried the combination! Truly the best of both worlds.

The riper stone fruit flavors, think peaches and nectarines, are dictated by sun drenched blocks  high on the slopes above Adelaida road. While clean citrus characters and floral notes shine through from Paragons fog prone vineyard in the heart of Old Edna.

Mandarin skin is the classic descriptor for a Syrah/Viognier co-ferment. It’s certainly detectable on the finish of this spectacular example. Perhaps it leans a little more towards overtones of orange peel than your liddle cuties! From a food perspective we are assuredly safe in speculating that it pairs remarkably well with the Scottish national dish. Since 1971, Haggis has actually been banned in the USA. Consequently you would have to jump on a plane with your “bonnie wee lassie” and a bottle of Brecon to test the said theorem. The name actually hales from the discovery of a particularly tight, gnarly cave passage under the Brecon Beacons National park. Imagination is a wonderful thing!

94pts. purely domestic wine report. December 2019

93pts. Josh Raynolds, Vinous. February 2020

92pts. Jeb Dunnuck.