Consistent with previous bottle. Nice mix of tart red fruits with a bit of sweet baking spice notes. Smooth mouthfeel and finish with an overall delicate profile. Delicious bottle of Cali pinot.
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Pale ruby color. Very fruit forward on the nose with notes of strawberry, cherry, cranberry, some floral notes and a little bit of vanilla from the oak. Juicy and fruity but still balanced by good acidity and not being over oaked. Very easy drinking and enjoyable Cali pinot.
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Purple red and transparent. Much like other Bearwallow Pinots I have tasted, this presents pure, rich red fruit on nose and palate with good balance. It is a good drink for sure, yet remains the least interesting wine I’ve had from Halcon. Cerise, Wentzel, and Oppenlander have all delivered more substance to me, and the Rhône varieties from Halcon are superior in my view
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Light strawberry, cherry, raspberry and maybe a touch of cranberry. A tiny bit sweet and tart, but much better with food. Some floral notes, pine as well. I expected this to have a darker taste but it remained light.
The best pairing was with our jerk chicken seasoning (ginger, ancho chilli, garlic, paprika, cumin), which really improved the pinot noir, adding spice and more complexity and getting rid of any sweetness. Not nearly as good with the roast, herbal chicken.
We had this over several days (thanks Coravin) but it never got darker.
It was interesting but I am not rushing out to buy more. Maybe better with some bottle age? Great with pinot-friendly spices.
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Initially just like my last note. Sweet strawberry with a note of pine. Light bodied. The second night this showed a more classic, darker expression. Not as sweet flavored. Not pure strawberry anymore. Lightly tannic and almost mineral at the finish. Nice. Maybe more rest will let it become more classic and subtle out of the gate. Pretty good in any case.
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A very light-bodied red wine--think "heavy" rosé. Red fruit--cherry, raspberry. Very lean. This is difficult because I like this winery, but I just don't get a lot of satisfaction from this wine. The good news is that there is nothing offensive about it. However, there is no complexity or subtlety, either.
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This is a wine of light touches. Almost too light but not quite. Sweet strawberry and touches of piney stems on the nose. More of the same on the palate. But the build is really light here. Just enough expression and body to keep you coming back for more. It's quite a surprising wine actually. I've had some light bodied Pinots from California that were only that and nothing more. Nothing interesting about them. This one has something going on. The generous acidity, tannin and lower alcohol likely help. Now there isn't a ton going on here but this is a terrific wine for those who tire of bigger, tart, higher alc Pinots. Nicely priced as well.
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Discounted one off ($24.99) from the big box wine store about 8 months ago. Opened for 2 hours without decanting per winemaker's suggestion that this bottling at this point is still benefitting from air. Fairly muted nose led by earthy minerality, with forest floor, some florals, and light tones of tart cherry and raspberry. Similar on the palate with light tannins, medium body and medium legs. Lightish tannins, powerful acidity, no heat (12.7%). Lithe, well-focused, moderately complex and supremely food-friendly, a great match with stuffed pasilla chilis. Acidity integrated well on day 2, and notes of strawberry and blood orange peeked out. High acidity should keep this drinking well for at least 5 years with possible upside. Perhaps even more than the recently reviewed Piro, this wine has about 9 of its 10 toes in Burgundy; if you insist plushness in pinots most definitively found in KBs, Lynmars and Martinellis, you may find yourself echoing Walter Mondale to Gary Hart in the '84 primaries. But if you can enjoy a lean but by no means dull, crazy well-priced and well-crafted wine, whether you like bigger styles as well (as I do), run don't walk to anyplace selling this wine for any price close to what I paid for it. N.B. The first tasting note mentions Rhys's bottling from this vineyard, which is a really fine wine, but I'm not sure it's any better than this, and it's twice the price. N.B. 2: Halcon's subsequent released pinot is from another good Mendocino vineyard, Oppenlander, which is primarily used, to the best of my knowledge, by the also high quality Phillips Hill. I tasted this at an event Paul did about 9 months ago, but can't now say how that compared to this or if Paul will go back to Bearwallow in the future. 91-92
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Very redolent of Burgundy--reminded me of a Chambolle style approach. Floral, tart red fruit, with a nice spice-driven oak background. Not 100% integrated yet, but will likely get there in a year or two.
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Winemaker note - starting to open up and drink reasonably well as a pop and pour. A half consumed bottle, corked and stored in the fridge overnight was even better, showing some beautiful intense red fruit.
Has a cranberry and purple hue. Would like to compare with the Rhys version for giggles. Light bodied and elegant. Hint of cherry and then Raspberry rhubarb. Light pepper note at finish. Well done for Syrah guys. LOL
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1/21/2024 - Rich S Likes this wine: 91 Points
Consistent with previous bottle. Nice mix of tart red fruits with a bit of sweet baking spice notes. Smooth mouthfeel and finish with an overall delicate profile. Delicious bottle of Cali pinot.
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11/22/2023 - klezman wrote:
Still doing well, not markedly older in character. Crunchy red fruit. A bit of earth. Medium finish.
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5/14/2023 - Rich S Likes this wine: 91 Points
Pale ruby color. Very fruit forward on the nose with notes of strawberry, cherry, cranberry, some floral notes and a little bit of vanilla from the oak. Juicy and fruity but still balanced by good acidity and not being over oaked. Very easy drinking and enjoyable Cali pinot.
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2/10/2023 - CPSchoeff Likes this wine: 90 Points
Purple red and transparent. Much like other Bearwallow Pinots I have tasted, this presents pure, rich red fruit on nose and palate with good balance. It is a good drink for sure, yet remains the least interesting wine I’ve had from Halcon. Cerise, Wentzel, and Oppenlander have all delivered more substance to me, and the Rhône varieties from Halcon are superior in my view
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1/16/2022 - wirelesswine wrote: 91 Points
Absolutely delicious pinot - light and bright with red fruits, very elegant overall.
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11/1/2021 - klezman wrote:
This was good. Perhaps a bit shut down? Not as dynamic as my prior notes suggest.
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10/19/2021 - TashNYC wrote: 90 Points
Light strawberry, cherry, raspberry and maybe a touch of cranberry. A tiny bit sweet and tart, but much better with food. Some floral notes, pine as well.
I expected this to have a darker taste but it remained light.
The best pairing was with our jerk chicken seasoning (ginger, ancho chilli, garlic, paprika, cumin), which really improved the pinot noir, adding spice and more complexity and getting rid of any sweetness. Not nearly as good with the roast, herbal chicken.
We had this over several days (thanks Coravin) but it never got darker.
It was interesting but I am not rushing out to buy more. Maybe better with some bottle age? Great with pinot-friendly spices.
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2/5/2021 - WetRock wrote:
Initially just like my last note. Sweet strawberry with a note of pine. Light bodied. The second night this showed a more classic, darker expression. Not as sweet flavored. Not pure strawberry anymore. Lightly tannic and almost mineral at the finish. Nice. Maybe more rest will let it become more classic and subtle out of the gate. Pretty good in any case.
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4/16/2020 - EMark wrote:
A very light-bodied red wine--think "heavy" rosé. Red fruit--cherry, raspberry. Very lean. This is difficult because I like this winery, but I just don't get a lot of satisfaction from this wine. The good news is that there is nothing offensive about it. However, there is no complexity or subtlety, either.
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2/29/2020 - WetRock wrote:
This is a wine of light touches. Almost too light but not quite. Sweet strawberry and touches of piney stems on the nose. More of the same on the palate. But the build is really light here. Just enough expression and body to keep you coming back for more. It's quite a surprising wine actually. I've had some light bodied Pinots from California that were only that and nothing more. Nothing interesting about them. This one has something going on. The generous acidity, tannin and lower alcohol likely help. Now there isn't a ton going on here but this is a terrific wine for those who tire of bigger, tart, higher alc Pinots. Nicely priced as well.
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2/14/2020 - sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Discounted one off ($24.99) from the big box wine store about 8 months ago. Opened for 2 hours without decanting per winemaker's suggestion that this bottling at this point is still benefitting from air. Fairly muted nose led by earthy minerality, with forest floor, some florals, and light tones of tart cherry and raspberry. Similar on the palate with light tannins, medium body and medium legs. Lightish tannins, powerful acidity, no heat (12.7%). Lithe, well-focused, moderately complex and supremely food-friendly, a great match with stuffed pasilla chilis. Acidity integrated well on day 2, and notes of strawberry and blood orange peeked out. High acidity should keep this drinking well for at least 5 years with possible upside. Perhaps even more than the recently reviewed Piro, this wine has about 9 of its 10 toes in Burgundy; if you insist plushness in pinots most definitively found in KBs, Lynmars and Martinellis, you may find yourself echoing Walter Mondale to Gary Hart in the '84 primaries. But if you can enjoy a lean but by no means dull, crazy well-priced and well-crafted wine, whether you like bigger styles as well (as I do), run don't walk to anyplace selling this wine for any price close to what I paid for it. N.B. The first tasting note mentions Rhys's bottling from this vineyard, which is a really fine wine, but I'm not sure it's any better than this, and it's twice the price. N.B. 2: Halcon's subsequent released pinot is from another good Mendocino vineyard, Oppenlander, which is primarily used, to the best of my knowledge, by the also high quality Phillips Hill. I tasted this at an event Paul did about 9 months ago, but can't now say how that compared to this or if Paul will go back to Bearwallow in the future. 91-92
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7/10/2019 - billynorris Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very redolent of Burgundy--reminded me of a Chambolle style approach. Floral, tart red fruit, with a nice spice-driven oak background. Not 100% integrated yet, but will likely get there in a year or two.
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5/31/2019 - pgordon62 wrote:
Winemaker note - starting to open up and drink reasonably well as a pop and pour. A half consumed bottle, corked and stored in the fridge overnight was even better, showing some beautiful intense red fruit.
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4/6/2019 - klezman wrote:
Delicious - cranberry and earth all the way.
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2/17/2018 - brigcampbell wrote:
Has a cranberry and purple hue. Would like to compare with the Rhys version for giggles. Light bodied and elegant. Hint of cherry and then Raspberry rhubarb. Light pepper note at finish. Well done for Syrah guys. LOL
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