MAHA Estate 2020 'Backlit' Paso Robles

Item Number: 19585

UPC: None

Country: USA
Region: California
Sub Region: Central Coast
Appellation/AVA: Paso Robles
Estate Grown Wine: Yes
Vineyard Designation: MAHA Estate Vineyard
Vintage: 2020
Grape(s): 33% Syrah / 26% Petite Sirah / 18% Mourvedre / 16% Carignan / 7% Grenache
Type: Wine - Red
Bottle Size: 750 ml
Pack: 12
Closure: Cork
Alc by Vol(%): 14.8
Viticulture: Certified Biodynamic

Winery Notes: This is the first time Syrah has been the lead character in Backlit. The MAHA Syrah is showing great promise. Its rich, complex palate is like an everlasting gobstopper of flavors and texture. It's a unique medley of old world aromatics with a new world palate. Blended with the other varieties, you get a wine with unreal balance and umami. A sultry shade of oxblood entices you into a stunning nose of black fruits, violets, cardamom and asphalt. A medley of macerated plums with tamari, kissed with a fresh Shiso leaf, create a palate of elegance and power. The finish is pure, taught and vibrant signaling that a few years of cellaring would be beneficial. In the near term, decanting several hours prior to enjoying, should suffice.

About the label: Above surface of the earth, exist innumerable earthly elements that make up our ecosystem. Humans, plants, animals, insects, rodents, etc. This image represents all of them: tree trunks, flower stems, muscles and whatever the viewer sees. Encaustic monotype on rice paper by JoAnn Cherry.

Winemaking Notes: Native yeast fermented in concrete with a variety of pump overs and punch downs depending on desired extraction for 20-36 days. Basket pressed into a selection of French barriques and puncheons (33% new). 15% whole clusters. Aged for 20 months.

Back to Producer MAHA Estate

Reviews

Vinous
Rating: 95 (3/10/2023)
The 2020 Backlit is elegant from the start, blending ripe blackberry, sweet herbs and blue flowers. Silky-smooth yet energetic in feel, this flows across the palate with ease, slowly drenching the senses in youthful concentration. There is simply so much going on here, finishing tremendously long and full of tension, with building tannins that clamp down hard. Yet through it all, a redeeming note of Violette Pastille lingers on. This is the first vintage of Backlit where Syrah takes the lead, balancing out as a blend of 33% Syrah, 26% Carignan, 18% Mourvedre, 16% Petite Sirah and 7% Grenache.
Jeb Dunnuck
Rating: 96 (8/30/2023)

The 2020 Backlit is another killer bottle of wine offering remarkable purity and vibrancy in its darker berry fruits, pepper, violets, and gamey, meaty, iron-laced aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, concentrated, and powerful, it nevertheless stays flawlessly balanced and has gorgeous tannins as well as a great finish. It's another one of the gems in the vintage and is a shockingly good 2020.