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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2018 and 2021 (based on 7 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.8 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 84 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by joesi16 on 2/17/2024: Was a perfect match with loin Lamb chops. Interestingly my bottle was stored upright since June 2015 and had no sediment in the wine but had all the sediment stuck to the bottom of the bottle (174 views) | | | Tasted by Maphill01 on 2/2/2024: Decanted off sediment. First of five bought at auction. Perfect cork. In a delightful spot. blackberry and blueberry, some white pepper. The fruit is perfectly ripe, yet elegant, and well balanced with notes of black olive. Fresh acidity, but not crunchy. Tannins fully resolved. I expect this will last another 5-10 years, probably at peak for me. (214 views) | | | Tasted by maxmanx on 8/26/2023: PnP. Classic Syrah. Plenty of life left. (335 views) | | | Tasted by Rich S on 8/8/2023 & rated 92 points: Popped and poured but should have decanted for sediment. Medium dark crimson color. Really nice nose right out of the gate with a mix of ripe blackberry and blueberry, violet and some black pepper. The purity of the fruit really comes through nicely on the palate as well with a ripe yet juicy blackberry note with a bit of peppery spice on the finish. More fruity than savory at this point which was a bit of a surprise but the wine is drinking very well overall. Medium acid and mostly resolved tannin at this point so I am not sure how much of a long term drinker this is but should hold for a few more years easy. (372 views) | | | Tasted by ekorn on 4/3/2023: Decanted for sediment, then enjoyed from a Grassl 1855 over the next 3.5 hours. Started at cellar temp. Initially, blackberry, quite a bit of black olive tapenade, and black pepper. Some game that went seamlessly with rack of lamb. At the end of the night, this evolved on the palate towards tart plum.
I think this is in a good place now, and it was a great match with lamb. (519 views) | | | Tasted by ekorn on 5/1/2022: Very good from pop and pour. Pepper, plum, and blue and blackberries. (824 views) | | | Tasted by danielito on 1/15/2022 & rated 92 points: Delicious, balanced mid-weight syrah. Second-to-last (and best) bottle of the case that winemaker/grower Paul Gordon graciously delivered to our door many years ago when we lived in Mountain View. Thanks Paul! (1027 views) | | | Tasted by klezman on 9/17/2021: Drinking very well, as expected. Not as meaty as my notes from the previous bottle suggest, but in a great place. (2045 views) | | | Tasted by Rich S on 9/6/2021 & rated 90 points: Popped and poured. Medium garnet color, slightly cloudy. A bit tight at first on the nose but after about an hour, showed some juicy blueberry and black plums with a light touch of black olive and violet. More fruit than secondary notes at this point. Medium+ acid, medium tannin and body. Very nice syrah but expected a bit more at this point. Drank better with food than on its own and paired great with grilled lamb kofta. (1145 views) | | | Tasted by andtheodor on 8/28/2020 & rated 90 points: Drunk straight out of the bottle at 11,000 feet after a dip in the lake. With foil potatoes and rosemary grilled beef. (1545 views) | | | Tasted by Broch6833 on 6/19/2020 & rated 91 points: Really nice. Blue fruit, medium high acidity, moderate tannins, pleasant finish. (1261 views) | | | Tasted by rama on 5/3/2020: Reminiscent of many of my favorite wines, this has ripe fruit yet still plenty of acid and an ABV that's in check. Blue fruited, quite bright, and modest tannin. Delicious. (1369 views) | | | Tasted by bg3034 on 4/13/2020 & rated 91 points: PnP through Nuance Wine Finer. Deep plum color. Dark cherry and plum on the nose. Nice balance on the palate, moderate tannins, long finish. Tart berries, and a little dirt. 91pts. Aloha! (1337 views) | | | Tasted by thalver on 10/21/2019: Drinking well, blue fruits and some emerging savory notes ..enough structure for at least mid term cellaring (1573 views) | | | Tasted by alanr on 10/15/2019 & rated 94 points: Wow. Not sure when I last drank a bottle of 12, but this is reaching a new level. Tremendous depth and intensity, with dark blackberry and boysenberry fruit, mouthwatering acidity, plenty of structure, but nothing crunchy enough to make this too backward to enjoy right now. Depth, flavor, complexity, this is great Syrah, world class. (1785 views) | | | Tasted by wino121 on 6/13/2019 & rated 90 points: True to it’s terroir, this is blue fruit wine, fridge acidity from high elevation vines, and cooler temps.
That said, vinturied and decanted over several hours, this wine was too acidic on the backend to make to the
next level, cellaring might calm it down.
Just not ripe enough for my palate.
But certainly worth a try.
Drink through 2024 (1699 views) | | | Tasted by Mjurgaitis on 1/30/2019 & rated 92 points: Drinking well now. Excellent. (1967 views) | | | Tasted by David_T on 1/26/2019: Another year, continuing to drink well and again unchanged from my 2016 note. (1781 views) | | | Tasted by blakel on 1/11/2019 & rated 91 points: Note to self: save your last three of these until at least 2023. This is good now but still has a long way to go. (1709 views) | | | Tasted by klezman on 11/3/2018: Took a while to open up but was earth like its older companions. (2796 views) | | | Tasted by thalver on 10/20/2018: This is drinking quite well, nice balance of acid, tannin and savory fruit. After a few hours open, the tannin did come to the fore. Fine now, and for my tastes, probably better in a few years. (1688 views) | | | Tasted by slulkin on 7/6/2018 & rated 92 points: Similar impressions to the bottle we had about two years ago. Opaque almost black in the glass; nose of dark red fruits, cherries and herbs. On the palate cool, rich and lush, mouth filling, with red fruits and minerality. Finishes very balanced with both juicy acidity and tannin. Highly enjoyable and still so fresh and young. No rush at all on these.
Need to find more. (2070 views) | | | Tasted by td1836 on 1/6/2018 & rated 91 points: Tasted as part of a 6 vintage Halcon Alturas tasting (2010-2015). This was my #4, and the group #5. We noticed a change in the nose starting with the 2012 with more perfume notes coming through, presumably due to the addition of the 3% Viognier in this vintage. This was good, typical Alturas for me (similar to the 2014) with some blue fruit, raspberry, pepper, and moderate acidity. (2221 views) | | | Tasted by merryberry on 1/5/2018 & rated 90 points: Very dark, almost Petite Sirah dark, with a few flashes of ruby. Blueberry, baking spice, and warm peppercorn nose. Medium bodied, plums, black cherries, well integrated tannins, good acid, and a medium to long finish. Very smooth and tasty. (2123 views) | | | Tasted by David_T on 12/29/2017: Tasted alongside the '13 Alturas and '12/13 SonkinCellars Unmasked. Completely unchanged from my 5/2016 note. (2010 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By John Gilman
View From the Cellar, Jul/Aug 2014, Issue #52, This Summer’s Fine Lineup of Old School and Neo-Classical American Wines
(Halcón “Alturas” Syrah (Yorkville Highlands) Mendocino) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Josh Raynolds
Vinous, May/June 2014, IWC Issue #174
(Halcon Vineyards Syrah Alturas Yorkville Highlands) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (12/20/2013)
(Halcon Vineyards Syrah Alturas) Barrel sample - very dark red violet color; tar, smoke, tart berry, black fruit nose; rich, baked black fruit, baked berry, tart berry syrup, smoke palate; long finish 92-94 points 92 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of View From the Cellar and Vinous and RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Halcon Vineyards Producer website2012 Halcon Vineyards Syrah AlturasThe 2012 Halcón Alturas comprises 97% Syrah and 3% co-fermented Viognier from a selection of the soils and
exposures of Halcón Vineyards. We are pleased to report that this wine, just like the 2009 through 2011 vintages,
was fermented with natural yeasts and there were no adjustments to acid or alcohol. We utilized 20% new French
oak puncheons and it was bottled unfined, unfiltered.
The small berries in 2012 gave the Alturas the most saturated color since the 2009 vintage. The long hang time, and
perhaps the maturing vines, have provided a polish to the tannin and depth to the fruit. The Viognier adds a distinct
floral edge. It is a wine that will be accessible fairly early in its life, though have the material to reward extended
cellaring.
pH: 3.76 T.A.: 0.66 g/100mL Alcohol: 13.5% Cases Produced: 325
Syrah Varietal article (Wikipedia) | (Wines Northwest)
Note that some producers in the Northern Rhone distinguish between simply Syrah and "Serine", the latter described as ‘an ancient clone of Syrah, the berries of which are more oval-shaped and less deeply pigmented than Syrah’ by producer Tardieu-Laurent. USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson North CoastThe North Coast American Viticultural Area (AVA) in California, covering more than three million acres, includes Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties, and portions of Marin and Solano counties. (see The Wine Institute for more information) |
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