2011 Halcon Vineyards Syrah Alturas, USA, California, Mendocino, Wine Review

Halcon is making great wines just north of Napa in the Yorkville Highlands. The wines are stunning values and everyone should sign up for their mailing list and e-mails. This is a cooler climate Syrah and 2011 was even a bit cooler than typical. Purple in color. The nose has black raspberries, slight bacon fat, grilled herbs and a floral note. There is concentrated fruit but this is more about the minerality. Complex, this is not yet at peak but getting close. On the palate, this is medium bodied with some tannins. Black raspberry fruit. Sinewy texture. Great acidity. Nice finish. Should continue to develop and improve for a few years. Very food friendly.

Grade:

A-

Score:

Vintage:

2011

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I tend to taste and drink a lot of wine over the course of a year. I am in a few tasting groups, sometimes the wines are consumed at various local wine store tastings and a number drunk with friends and family.

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The Rhone Report: About Rhone and Rhone-Style Wines and Winemakers is part of an ongoing series. Last month we discussed the white Rhone style wines offered at the 2008 Rhone Rangers tasting event at Fort Mason in San Francisco on March 18. This month we turn to the reds, of which we tasted 50. Among those we tasted were some old favorites and some wineries or bottlings with which we were not yet familiar. We don’t pretend that we tasted a representative group of wines, because our sample was skewed to wines we have loved in the past and others about which we have heard positive comments.

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2008 Hospice du Rhone Events: Highs & Lows of American Rhone-style Wines Tasted

The Rhone Report: About Rhone and Rhone-Style Wines and Winemakers is part of an ongoing series. The 16th annual Hospice du Rhone events in Paso Robles, California from May 1 to 3, 2008 was an opportunity to consider Rhone-style wines from a fresh perspective. Unlike most tasting opportunities, these events included Rhone-style wines from the Rhone Valley itself (51 wineries), elsewhere in France (4 wineries) as well as from Spain (4 wineries), Australia (17 wineries), South Africa (6 wineries), Chile (2 wineries), Argentina (1 winery) and the United States. The American wines were mostly from California (144 wineries), but a few examples from Arizona (2 wineries) and Washington State (5 wineries) were also included. While this is a California-dominated event, and while many of the Rhone Valley’s best producers aren’t represented, there is still sufficient European and other entries to make for interesting comparisons and contrasts. The events included two general tastings and a series of focused seminars.

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2016 Halcon Vineyards Syrah Alturas, USA, California, Mendocino, Yorkville Highlands, Wine Review

Vintage:

2016

Score:

Grade:

Current Price:

$33.00USD

Halcon wines are some of the best values in California wine. They are top quality cooler climate Syrahs being made at lower alcohol levels in a deliberate style. At the same time, they are not short on fruit or deliciousness. They really do take some time to develop though and cellaring or air is highly recommended. Purple in color, ruby at the rim. The nose has boysenberries, slight black pepper, slight fried bacon, and a bit of charred earth. On the palate, this has a medium body. Tightly layered, it unwinds in the glass. Nice boysenberry fruit with an underlying minerality. It s

2011 Halcon Vineyards Syrah Alturas, USA, California, Mendocino, Wine Review

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2016 Halcon Vineyards Syrah Alturas, USA, California, Mendocino, Yorkville Highlands, Wine Review