Featured Winery: Beauregard Vineyards
Ryan Beauregard recently wrote to me about the challenges of 2020. He is a fourth-generation winegrower in
the Santa Cruz Mountains who founded his winery in 2000 at the tender age of 25. Ryan developed a love for
winegrowing at a young age, growing up on the Beauregard Ranch (the original vineyard purchased by his
great-grandfather in 1949) playing among the vines as a child. Today, 105 vineyard acres under the
Beauregard Vineyards label are maintained by Ryan’s father, Jim, supplying the grapes for the Beauregard
Vineyards label. I first met Ryan years ago at Pinot Paradise in the Santa Cruz Mountains and have always
admired his winemaking acumen.
Here is what Ryan told me. “Here at Beauregard Vineyards I am feeling heaps of gratitude. The majority of our
mountains have burned. The CZU Lightning Complex fire consumed 87,000 acres and came very close to our
homes and winery. My gratitude stems from the fact that our family still has our homes and winery. Many of my
close friends are displaced and the scars left behind in our community and natural landscape will take a
generation to recover. Some of the reason that we still have our homes is that renegade fire brigades were
formed in our community. There were many winery fermentation bins in the back of pickup trucks filled with
water moving through the neighborhood putting out spot fires. Cal Fire was over taxed and could not get to us
for four days. This is an experience I hope to never relive.”
He also noted the following. “The crop of 2020 is a loss, and the outcome equates to a year’s loss of revenue
in the future when we will feel the pain of the lost crop. In the grand scheme of things, however, our damage is
minimal. So far this year we have been closed for three months due to COVID-19 and the fire. I am grateful
that our customers supported us by purchasing so much wine online. I hope that the remainder of 2020 will
bring us good news. As for me, I am looking forward to the moment I can fill the last barrel of the vintage, cover
crop the vineyard and then leave on a distant vacation with my wife and daughters to reconnect with our
children and reassure their young souls them that the world is not always this crazy.”
I believe this heartfelt missive reflects the hardships that many in the wine industry are experiencing in 2020 as
a result of COVID-19, the economic slowdown and the fires.
The 2017 and 2018 Beauregard Vineyards Estate Pinot Noirs are reviewed here. The 2018 vintage was a
picture perfect vintage and Ryan is proud of the resulting wines. In 2018, he elevated the quality of the barrels
and allowed just a little more barrel time than in years past.
The Beauregard Ranch sits at an elevation of 1,700-1,850 feet on a southwest-facing slope exposed to
Monterey Bay influences. Four acres of Pinot Noir (Pommard, 667 and 115) are planted in well-draining sandy
loam soil. Coast Grade Vineyard is located in Bonny Doon in the Ben Lomond Mountain region of the Santa
Cruz Mountains. The 17-acre vineyard was planted in 2008 at an elevation of 1,238-1,350 feet on a southwestfacing
slope. Sandy loam soils provide excellent drainage.
Visit www.beauregardvineyards.com for more information and to purchase wines. A well-regarded tasting
experience is available at the winery tasting room at 10 Pine Flat Road in the Bonny Doon area of Santa Cruz.
2017 Beauregard Vineyards Coast Grade Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir
12.7% alc., 500
cases, $60. Native yeast fermented. 15% whole cluster. Aged in 20% new French oak barrels.
·
Moderately dark
garnet color in the glass. The nose offers an array of aromas including black cherry, forest floor, peppery spice
and oak. Somewhat hardy in a mid-weight plus style, with flavors of black cherry and blackberry fruit, spice and
seasoned oak. Soothing in texture, with integrated tannins and some, but not extraordinary length on the finish.
Score: 91
2018 Beauregard Vineyards Coast Grade Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir
12.5%, 509 cases,
$60. Native yeast fermented. 15% whole cluster. Aged in 20% new French oak barrels.
·
Moderate garnet color
in the glass. The aromas of muddled dark fruits are slow to arrive and noticeably better when the wine was
sampled the day after opening. A tad lighter in weight compared to the 2017 vintage, but the dark cherry and
black raspberry fruit is more flavorful and charming. Elegant, with faint tannins, some finishing persistence and
absent of any oak attribute.
Score: 92
2017 Beauregard Vineyards Beauregard Ranch Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir
13.5% alc., 410 cases,
$60. Native yeast fermented. 15% whole cluster. Aged in 20% new French oak barrels.
·
Moderately light garnet
color in the glass. Effusive aromas of red currant and cherry with a compliment of toasty oak. Brimming with
succulent dark red fruits that fan out with impressive length on the finish. Freshness is driven by a lively acid
spine and there is overall satisfying harmony. The oak is well-integrated and the finish goes on and on.
Score: 93
2018 Beauregard Vineyards Beauregard Ranch Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir
12.5% alc., 410 cases, $60, Native yeast
fermented. 15% whole cluster. Aged in 20% new French oak barrels.
·
Moderately light garnet color in the glass. Aromas of black cherry, black
raspberry, sandalwood and sweet pipe smoke are slow to develop and
are considerably more effusive when the wine was sampled a day after
opening. Lavish black cherry, black raspberry and spice flavors greet
the palate with expansive power and richness. A dancing Pinot Noir
with the perfect balance of ripe fruit, vital acidity and refined tannin. The
finish seems endless.
Score: 95
