From 75cl, opened but not decanted 9 hours. Still presenting with some CO2 spritz, this feels quite primary, the fine dark bramble fruit still a bit sweet and hefty for its—otherwise—apparently delicate frame. Others at the table enjoyed this wine more than I did, so I'll withhold judgement, gladly confirm that it has plenty of substance for 5-10 years, and hope to meet it again sometime after 2029. I note that John Gilman recommends leaving this until 2031, and think that in this case, the View From the Cellar is clear-sighted. NR
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Primary but showing its wares. Terrific nose of fresh cracked black pepper, black cherries and a soupçon of garrigue, a bouquet that harkens to both the earthiness of the Old World and the richness of the New. The palate is less ready, showing a little spritz on the pop and pour, but it pulls together quickly with some air. Aside from some tongue tightening tannin and grip, this is drinking well, with layers of sappy lavender, iodine, cloves and some heady fruit. Flashy yet balanced, rich enough to enjoy on its own but I bet this pairs well with fowl or stew. Drink now if you’ve got a stash or hold one for another 5 years to try when it’s relaxed a little. Excellent and a great QPR at release pricing.
2yrs from my last bottle and I don't think this has moved much. Big violet florals and white pepper nose. Fresh purple fruit attack—but remains narrow on the palate and turns rather austere on the complex but dry finish. Could use some more time to soften.
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Gifted this one by the DQ 2.5 years ago......pnp, then enjoyed over 4 hours during and after dinner with the kids. Doesn't really need any decant time but does improve a point or two over a few hours. Savory is the word here.....dark fruited, and very savory without the obtrusiveness of the Wash St Syrahs. No barnyard here, just a smooth fruited, spicy, meaty wine that probably gets 1-2 pts better over the next few years. Very well balanced. Thanks, DQ!
It's been 2 years since I opened one of these and I was having some Italian food last night and thought man I could use a glass of Syrah so I went and grabbed one of my bottles of inventory and what a beauty this thing is. This version continues to just be a wonderful glass of syrah. It's full of white pepper and purple flower, with dark fruit although there's plenty of red fruit in here too, and a spicy rosemary kind of driven note that extends well into a long finish. The acidity is fresh and the wine has a nice medium weight to it and I just wish I had a whole case of this to drink over the next 5 to 10 years. What a beauty.
Intense blueberry. White pepper. Violets. Slightly closed compared to a year ago. I bought four of these and have now drunk three. I will try and save the last bottle until the 2030s, but I don't know if I have the discipline.
This bottle is consistently a solid performer, and this vintage is no different. Still very young, but shows nice depth of fruit, smoked meat and olives.
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Absolutely love the beautiful nose of bacon, violets, olives, pepper, crushed berries, and lavender. However, it was muted and overtly stern on the palate this time. Didn't give anywhere close to as much as it did on release.
-- decanted approx. 1.25 hrs. before initial taste -- -- tasted non-blind over approx. 2 - 3 hrs. --
NOSE: raspberry jam and that exotic green pepper/briney/savoriness that I love in cool climate Syrah; seems open and expressive; with a couple hours open, the pepper turned to black pepper and the fruit tones moved towards the darker end of the spectrum.
BODY: medium-light to medium bodied.
TASTE: high acidity; spiky tannins; very savory, with purple fruits (plum and light blackberry); not gloppy/thick; alc. well-hidden; would greatly benefit from a year or two in the cellar.
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Big crunchy vibrant Syrah. Has huge white pepper notes on the nose and palate. Crunchy palate, grapefruit notes highlight the freshness. Highly structured with some slightly bitter tannins on the back end. Very youthful and vibrant. Great stuff. Best to hold a few years.
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A fair bit of dissolved CO2 right on opening. A good shake in the decanter and a couple hours later, this was ready to go but continued to improve throughout the evening. Quite generously fruited at this stage but with plenty of olive, pepper, and earth - the latter with plenty of air. An outstanding wine that will need quite some time to fill out to its full potential.
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This wine was ready to go. Aromatically open with a classical Northern Rhone profile. Ripe fruits that would make you think about 2015/16. The tannins on this bottle were relatively soft and did not distract. I’m glad to have a case of these to put away and forget about for a decade
95% Syrah with 5% Viognier. 50% whole cluster and just neutral wood. Love this stuff. Dried purple flowers/potpourri and ground black pepper aromatics, even a little bacon fat too. With no aeration this drinks super. Some plushness that is framed by blackberry, cherry and a bunch of tar, creosote and garrigue. Finishes with black licorice and a moderate kick of acidity. In contrast to the 2018, I suspect the 2019 will be attractive to a bigger audience. I like both vintages but the striking aromatics of the 2018 still haunt me. I wish Jackie and Paul Gordon the best, as they sold the vineyard and are going back to the UK. You guys made some of the best syrah in California and it will always hold a special place in the palates of many of the wine dorks, including me.
Day 1: quick note. Moderate aromas/flavors. Medium body, ripe but fresh sappy dark fruits, with hints of pepper and licorice. Clearly showing ripe California fruit, but it was so fresh that it would be hard to peg this. Very drinkable. Saved one glass. Recorked. Day 3: still fresh, lost some depth, and showed a bit jammy
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Excellent CA Syrah, licorice, tar, black berry, cracked pepper, some brett, dark and brooding but with lift, not heavy; almost a ringer for a good Cornas. WooHyanWoo orean BBQ from Greg
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Somehow my first bottle of this didn't blow my socks off. I had very high expectations. I found nothing wrong with the wine in the bottle or flawed. It did improve slightly over the 3-4 days open (stored at cellar temp). I wonder if the bottle, just rattled from a trip from the bay area suffered or is in an awkward phase? I'm not too worried for the other half-dozen bottles I have resting sideways now.
Deeply pitched with olive tapenade, cracked black pepper, hint of lavender and bloody game. This could be nothing other than a pure old world syrah expression. Red wines are not often described as crystalline, but this one is so definitively true to the variety that the word comes to mind. A bone dry finish that lingers and begs for food. These wines will develop beautifully with age in my opinion.
I might serve with a Caesar salad and flank steak with a warm nicoise on top
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This is definitely the best QPR of any red wine I've had. Can't believe how inexpensive this stuff is. Gorgeous nose of white pepper, lavender, violets, olive, and bright fruit. Palate comes across as extremely young, but full of structure, balance, and enough acid to go the long haul. It somehow totally scratches the Northern Rhone itch, even though the wine was made from a pretty unglamorous part of California. Utter brilliance.
Super excited to have ordered more. This is world class, plain and simple.
Dark garnet, nearly opaque. The nose! Just screams great Syrah, beautifully floral, spicy, crushed fruit in the background; dark, slightly brooding blackberry fruit, firm, somewhat chalky/grippy tannins, spice is there, though somewhat subsumed by the deep, dark, slightly rustic fruit. Blind, there is little here to say California, you’d have to guess St. Joseph, and a top quality version at that. Outstanding.
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Tasted blind. Textbook old school Syrah nose of olives, dark fruit, and spices. Just lovely. Very savory on the palate with brine, lots of tannins, dark fruit, and more olives. Great finish. Obviously very young and in need of 5-10 years. This will be amazing some day. 94++
Wow, this is a much larger scaled Syrah than I was expecting. Dunno why I was expecting something St Joseph or finer-boned Cote-Rotie-like, but this is a dead-ringer for Hermitage (not that I’ve had many). Deep and rich, but a bit uncompromising and austere at first. Burly tannins, ferrous earth, and briny mineral form a heavy curtain around a tightly wound core of deep black fruit. By day 2, it’s showing a beguiling perfume of dried flowers and dried blood, a hint of what’s to come, but I’m guessing this will need 15+ years to yield its core treasures. This is some obscenely high QPR for N. Rhone fans. 91 for enjoyment now, but with another 3-5 points of upside in time.
Maybe it was a long day with many glasses preceding this bottle. I found it a bit nondescript and linear in comparison to the Halcon Pinot and Petite Syrah. It was solid but there was not anything that grabbed my attention or made me take notice. I do defer to other CT reviewers who were thoroughly impressed by this. I admittedly had it late in the day on a fairly hedonistic day of consumption.
blind: guessed Halcon syrah but was initially leaning toward model farm.
This is cool climate cali syrah at its best. Really surprised how approachable the wine is at this age. Olive, tons of chalk and charcoal, with 240 grit tannins.
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First bottle of the 2019. WINNER! I opened this about 11am, we started drinking it around 2PM at an outdoor temp of about 68f, which was perfect. Initially, this showed white pepper but with time and more air, the pepper evolved to smell like the 2018 from last month, full of crushed black pepper. In addition, grilled meat and purple flower notes, too. And early on, I remarked to my buddy that the palate wasn't keeping up with the beauty of the aromatics but after 4 hours of air, the palate caught up big time. A lot of gorgeous blue fruit, with some touches of red, seeming a bit primary early on but then gaining tar, and charcoal, the fruit becoming just gorgeous. In total, this is just a banging bottle of syrah, and as much as I gushed about the 2018 last month in my note, I think I like the 2019 even more. A wow wine, without a doubt.
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Goaded into opening this because of comments regarding another Halcon wine on-line, and I am glad that I have no willpower. There’s a juiciness to the black fruit, but also a restraint, as the fruit never goes super ripe or jammy. White pepper, meat and purple flowers (well, flowers, but I like purple flowers) bring the savory elements, and then on the back end the tannins kick in, and the pepper hangs like a fog rolling in from the sea. I like the balance and depth of this wine for significant cellaring, so I am glad I bought six. Maybe a bottle every two to three years might be about right.
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Same experience as my Feb note. I have never had a syrah that was so good so young. The fruit is so pure juicy and the tannins are almost crunchy—I feel like I am eating this wine not drinking it. Some savory notes poking through. A bit of a zing from the CO2. Great on PnP, gets a bit more astringent tannic over a few hours time but still amazing. This time I saved half the bottle in a 375 to try again in a few days.
Edit: 3 days later and really noticed the astringency and greenness much more. It isn’t pyrazine-like, more plant-like, even hemp or something illegal in some states-lol. More intellectually interesting than fun to drink at this point. At this you age I think drink after opening. Otherwise they need a long rest in the cellar
I made the mistake of opening this before checking Paul's notes posted below and also opening it immediately upon delivery. In short, the profile is similar to 2018, but with increased concentration across the board. Blackberries, minerals, savory, pepper, herbs, just a lovely wine. Decanted for a couple hours and it was no where near enough time. Bracing tannins that refused to let up throughout the couple hours of consumption.
I saved half the bottle and left it in the fridge until day 2, poured a tiny sample, same result as the day prior. Waited until the 4th day and the wine still had plenty of life left, so we finish the bottle off.
I can see this living a very long life ahead and I would recommend forgetting about these for a few years. The 2018s, on the other hand, are drinking better younger, in my opinion. If you have both and need to drink one, drink the 2018 and stow away the 2019.
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Intense blueberry pie nose on opening. Didn't notice the CO2 that others have mentioned. Powerful tannins, but not unpleasant. Concentrated berries and violets on the palate.
I love the Alturas when it's young, and this vintage is no exception. A wonderful wine.
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Persistent notes of florals, dark berries, and toasted nutty goodness. Super aromatic and intoxicating. Tannins are unyielding at this time, reminding me of drinking from the barrel, but the depth and potential is all there. Enjoyed the 17, preferred the 18, but the 19 takes it up a notch. Need to buy a ton of this.
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Winemaker note - with all our wines, within the first year or so in bottle there is a slight spritz from trapped CO2. This is a great preservative and allows for a low SO2 regime. If sensitive to this I suggest an aggressive decant or better, wait until 2022 to open. This wine, and all the 2019s, have tightening up the last few weeks and would really benefit from air or a little age. Paul
I don’t usually pnp but after reading the notes decided to try and then keep a glass or two for 48 hrs as discussed in other notes. Well, this was too good to save and drank well over 2 or 3 hours for us. So precise and complex. Layers of flavor, fruit, garrigue, white and black pepper, spice including cinnamon—in fact there was a texture of cinnamon as well. Blackberries and their leaves. Chalky mineral aromas and tannins. Very fresh and bright with a bit of undissolved CO2 giving it some effervescence. Unbelievably good and we will need more!! I really like my Syrah with a bit of age on it, but the freshness on this is so special, I am not sure whether I would prefer it now or at maturity.
Deeply structured Syrah, old world style--not due to any rusticity, but rather the pure, direct winemaking approach. Needed decanting to loosen up and release a bit of dissolved CO2, this was all about wilted violets for me, less so the feral aromas others have noted. Concentrated core of black fruits, lovely inner aromas. A good bit of grip, chew and chalkiness to the tannins. Low to zero oak influence.
In total, elegant almost pretty primary character, juxtaposed with muscular structure. Needs 5-10 years, this is one for the cellar.
This is the second Halcon I've tried (2018 Esquisto the other)--if these are representative, the house style is that of underlying structure, concentration and unadorned fruit character without excess fat or roasted qualities.
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Phenomenal wine and the best I’ve had from my 2021 beserker day purchases so far. I’ve had a number of syrahs from CA and this one is very smooth with low alchohol similar to the region this wine was inspired by. The wine was great right out of the bottle without any decanting and has one of the best aromas of any wine I’ve had during the pandemic.
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Who needs patience? Had to pop one to see how this was looking. Very showy aromatics right now, with lavender, olive brine, rosemary, raspberry, charred orange zest, black balsam, and some Touriga-like violets all right there out front. Great balance on the palate, and while the tannins are still a little rough around the edges (it is a 2019, not going to dock it for that), it’s delicious now. Drink now with a minimal or super-long decant for the youthful aromatics or wait until 2026, this closed up tight after a few hours and I'm guessing it'll be pretty tough for a few years. If you're the type who needs scores, I'd put this in the 92-94 range with upside beyond that.
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Not sure I can add anything to what Mr Kelley says. The '19 version of the Alturas is likely the best of them that I have tried. Lots of herby olive bursting out from dark purple fruits. Touches of pepper and stone. Fine grained tannin that is greenish. There is more palate weight than some of the other vintages. I guess it's that whopping 13.7 ABV. This is very expressive now. Certainly a bit of room for improvement if the edge comes off the tannin and the fruit opens a bit more. Consistent over two nights. Very good.
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The 2019 Halcon Vineyards Syrah Alturas is showing beautifully, unfurling in the glass with aromas of blackberries, tapenade, cracked black pepper, cassis and dried herbs. Medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, it's a layered, serious wine built around powdery, youthfully chalky tannins and lively acids. This is a fabulous young wine that would be indistinguishable in a line up of classical Northern Rhône Syrah—something to which I can personally testify.
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3/3/2024 - honest bob wrote:
From 75cl, opened but not decanted 9 hours. Still presenting with some CO2 spritz, this feels quite primary, the fine dark bramble fruit still a bit sweet and hefty for its—otherwise—apparently delicate frame. Others at the table enjoyed this wine more than I did, so I'll withhold judgement, gladly confirm that it has plenty of substance for 5-10 years, and hope to meet it again sometime after 2029. I note that John Gilman recommends leaving this until 2031, and think that in this case, the View From the Cellar is clear-sighted. NR
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3/2/2024 - blanquito wrote:
Primary but showing its wares. Terrific nose of fresh cracked black pepper, black cherries and a soupçon of garrigue, a bouquet that harkens to both the earthiness of the Old World and the richness of the New. The palate is less ready, showing a little spritz on the pop and pour, but it pulls together quickly with some air. Aside from some tongue tightening tannin and grip, this is drinking well, with layers of sappy lavender, iodine, cloves and some heady fruit. Flashy yet balanced, rich enough to enjoy on its own but I bet this pairs well with fowl or stew. Drink now if you’ve got a stash or hold one for another 5 years to try when it’s relaxed a little. Excellent and a great QPR at release pricing.
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2/29/2024 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 92 Points
2yrs from my last bottle and I don't think this has moved much. Big violet florals and white pepper nose. Fresh purple fruit attack—but remains narrow on the palate and turns rather austere on the complex but dry finish. Could use some more time to soften.
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1/19/2024 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 93 Points
Gifted this one by the DQ 2.5 years ago......pnp, then enjoyed over 4 hours during and after dinner with the kids. Doesn't really need any decant time but does improve a point or two over a few hours. Savory is the word here.....dark fruited, and very savory without the obtrusiveness of the Wash St Syrahs. No barnyard here, just a smooth fruited, spicy, meaty wine that probably gets 1-2 pts better over the next few years. Very well balanced. Thanks, DQ!
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1/17/2024 - Frank Murray III wrote:
It's been 2 years since I opened one of these and I was having some Italian food last night and thought man I could use a glass of Syrah so I went and grabbed one of my bottles of inventory and what a beauty this thing is. This version continues to just be a wonderful glass of syrah. It's full of white pepper and purple flower, with dark fruit although there's plenty of red fruit in here too, and a spicy rosemary kind of driven note that extends well into a long finish. The acidity is fresh and the wine has a nice medium weight to it and I just wish I had a whole case of this to drink over the next 5 to 10 years. What a beauty.
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4/27/2023 - blakel Likes this wine: 91 Points
Intense blueberry. White pepper. Violets. Slightly closed compared to a year ago. I bought four of these and have now drunk three. I will try and save the last bottle until the 2030s, but I don't know if I have the discipline.
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12/30/2022 - td1836 Likes this wine: 92 Points
This bottle is consistently a solid performer, and this vintage is no different. Still very young, but shows nice depth of fruit, smoked meat and olives.
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11/24/2022 - Renzloh Likes this wine: 92 Points
Great bouquet. Little bit of spice. Olive detected. Drank for Thanksgiving. Probably a bit young.
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10/15/2022 - adnorthup wrote:
4.5 hour decant. Pure Syrah, in such a No. Rhone style. Pepper, dark fruit, fat, drinks so incredibly well, such an amazing value.
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10/6/2022 - Satoshi Nakamoto wrote:
Absolutely love the beautiful nose of bacon, violets, olives, pepper, crushed berries, and lavender. However, it was muted and overtly stern on the palate this time. Didn't give anywhere close to as much as it did on release.
Gonna hold off on the rest.
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10/2/2022 - glou.sf Likes this wine:
No formal note. Consistent with previous bottle. Lovely stuff, but should be much better in 5-10 years.
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3/26/2022 - grafstrb wrote:
-- decanted approx. 1.25 hrs. before initial taste --
-- tasted non-blind over approx. 2 - 3 hrs. --
NOSE: raspberry jam and that exotic green pepper/briney/savoriness that I love in cool climate Syrah; seems open and expressive; with a couple hours open, the pepper turned to black pepper and the fruit tones moved towards the darker end of the spectrum.
BODY: medium-light to medium bodied.
TASTE: high acidity; spiky tannins; very savory, with purple fruits (plum and light blackberry); not gloppy/thick; alc. well-hidden; would greatly benefit from a year or two in the cellar.
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12/30/2021 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Big crunchy vibrant Syrah. Has huge white pepper notes on the nose and palate. Crunchy palate, grapefruit notes highlight the freshness. Highly structured with some slightly bitter tannins on the back end. Very youthful and vibrant. Great stuff. Best to hold a few years.
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12/24/2021 - Benj wrote:
A fair bit of dissolved CO2 right on opening. A good shake in the decanter and a couple hours later, this was ready to go but continued to improve throughout the evening. Quite generously fruited at this stage but with plenty of olive, pepper, and earth - the latter with plenty of air. An outstanding wine that will need quite some time to fill out to its full potential.
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12/19/2021 - jviz wrote: 92 Points
This wine was ready to go. Aromatically open with a classical Northern Rhone profile. Ripe fruits that would make you think about 2015/16. The tannins on this bottle were relatively soft and did not distract. I’m glad to have a case of these to put away and forget about for a decade
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12/9/2021 - Frank Murray III wrote:
95% Syrah with 5% Viognier. 50% whole cluster and just neutral wood. Love this stuff. Dried purple flowers/potpourri and ground black pepper aromatics, even a little bacon fat too. With no aeration this drinks super. Some plushness that is framed by blackberry, cherry and a bunch of tar, creosote and garrigue. Finishes with black licorice and a moderate kick of acidity. In contrast to the 2018, I suspect the 2019 will be attractive to a bigger audience. I like both vintages but the striking aromatics of the 2018 still haunt me. I wish Jackie and Paul Gordon the best, as they sold the vineyard and are going back to the UK. You guys made some of the best syrah in California and it will always hold a special place in the palates of many of the wine dorks, including me.
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12/6/2021 - Bathtub58 wrote: 90 Points
Day 1: quick note. Moderate aromas/flavors. Medium body, ripe but fresh sappy dark fruits, with hints of pepper and licorice. Clearly showing ripe California fruit, but it was so fresh that it would be hard to peg this. Very drinkable. Saved one glass. Recorked.
Day 3: still fresh, lost some depth, and showed a bit jammy
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12/5/2021 - Charlie Carnes wrote:
Super soft and easygoing, like the Esquisto.
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11/6/2021 - Gnieboer Likes this wine: 91 Points
Medium bodied, not overripe or jammy at all. Moderately complex and easy drinking.
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10/8/2021 - peternelson Likes this wine: 91 Points
Excellent CA Syrah, licorice, tar, black berry, cracked pepper, some brett, dark and brooding but with lift, not heavy; almost a ringer for a good Cornas. WooHyanWoo orean BBQ from Greg
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9/27/2021 - z_willus_d wrote:
Somehow my first bottle of this didn't blow my socks off. I had very high expectations. I found nothing wrong with the wine in the bottle or flawed. It did improve slightly over the 3-4 days open (stored at cellar temp). I wonder if the bottle, just rattled from a trip from the bay area suffered or is in an awkward phase? I'm not too worried for the other half-dozen bottles I have resting sideways now.
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9/3/2021 - jviz wrote: 92 Points
Deeply pitched with olive tapenade, cracked black pepper, hint of lavender and bloody game. This could be nothing other than a pure old world syrah expression. Red wines are not often described as crystalline, but this one is so definitively true to the variety that the word comes to mind. A bone dry finish that lingers and begs for food. These wines will develop beautifully with age in my opinion.
I might serve with a Caesar salad and flank steak with a warm nicoise on top
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8/3/2021 - Satoshi Nakamoto Likes this wine: 94 Points
This is definitely the best QPR of any red wine I've had. Can't believe how inexpensive this stuff is. Gorgeous nose of white pepper, lavender, violets, olive, and bright fruit. Palate comes across as extremely young, but full of structure, balance, and enough acid to go the long haul. It somehow totally scratches the Northern Rhone itch, even though the wine was made from a pretty unglamorous part of California. Utter brilliance.
Super excited to have ordered more. This is world class, plain and simple.
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7/13/2021 - alanr wrote: 93 Points
Dark garnet, nearly opaque. The nose! Just screams great Syrah, beautifully floral, spicy, crushed fruit in the background; dark, slightly brooding blackberry fruit, firm, somewhat chalky/grippy tannins, spice is there, though somewhat subsumed by the deep, dark, slightly rustic fruit. Blind, there is little here to say California, you’d have to guess St. Joseph, and a top quality version at that. Outstanding.
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7/12/2021 - glou.sf Likes this wine: 94 Points
Tasted blind. Textbook old school Syrah nose of olives, dark fruit, and spices. Just lovely. Very savory on the palate with brine, lots of tannins, dark fruit, and more olives. Great finish. Obviously very young and in need of 5-10 years. This will be amazing some day. 94++
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7/9/2021 - guillermo- Likes this wine: 93 Points
Needs at least two more years or a long decant. Good stuff.
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6/22/2021 - Renzloh Likes this wine: 93 Points
Quite interesting with a spicy finish.
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6/10/2021 - ohne_musik wrote: 91 Points
Wow, this is a much larger scaled Syrah than I was expecting. Dunno why I was expecting something St Joseph or finer-boned Cote-Rotie-like, but this is a dead-ringer for Hermitage (not that I’ve had many). Deep and rich, but a bit uncompromising and austere at first. Burly tannins, ferrous earth, and briny mineral form a heavy curtain around a tightly wound core of deep black fruit. By day 2, it’s showing a beguiling perfume of dried flowers and dried blood, a hint of what’s to come, but I’m guessing this will need 15+ years to yield its core treasures. This is some obscenely high QPR for N. Rhone fans. 91 for enjoyment now, but with another 3-5 points of upside in time.
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6/6/2021 - air guitar & pinot noir Likes this wine: 91 Points
Maybe it was a long day with many glasses preceding this bottle. I found it a bit nondescript and linear in comparison to the Halcon Pinot and Petite Syrah. It was solid but there was not anything that grabbed my attention or made me take notice. I do defer to other CT reviewers who were thoroughly impressed by this. I admittedly had it late in the day on a fairly hedonistic day of consumption.
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6/1/2021 - brigcampbell wrote:
blind: guessed Halcon syrah but was initially leaning toward model farm.
This is cool climate cali syrah at its best. Really surprised how approachable the wine is at this age. Olive, tons of chalk and charcoal, with 240 grit tannins.
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5/29/2021 - Frank Murray III wrote:
First bottle of the 2019. WINNER! I opened this about 11am, we started drinking it around 2PM at an outdoor temp of about 68f, which was perfect. Initially, this showed white pepper but with time and more air, the pepper evolved to smell like the 2018 from last month, full of crushed black pepper. In addition, grilled meat and purple flower notes, too. And early on, I remarked to my buddy that the palate wasn't keeping up with the beauty of the aromatics but after 4 hours of air, the palate caught up big time. A lot of gorgeous blue fruit, with some touches of red, seeming a bit primary early on but then gaining tar, and charcoal, the fruit becoming just gorgeous. In total, this is just a banging bottle of syrah, and as much as I gushed about the 2018 last month in my note, I think I like the 2019 even more. A wow wine, without a doubt.
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5/6/2021 - Rieslingfan wrote:
Goaded into opening this because of comments regarding another Halcon wine on-line, and I am glad that I have no willpower. There’s a juiciness to the black fruit, but also a restraint, as the fruit never goes super ripe or jammy. White pepper, meat and purple flowers (well, flowers, but I like purple flowers) bring the savory elements, and then on the back end the tannins kick in, and the pepper hangs like a fog rolling in from the sea. I like the balance and depth of this wine for significant cellaring, so I am glad I bought six. Maybe a bottle every two to three years might be about right.
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4/25/2021 - Decanting Queen Likes this wine:
Same experience as my Feb note. I have never had a syrah that was so good so young. The fruit is so pure juicy and the tannins are almost crunchy—I feel like I am eating this wine not drinking it. Some savory notes poking through. A bit of a zing from the CO2. Great on PnP, gets a bit more astringent tannic over a few hours time but still amazing. This time I saved half the bottle in a 375 to try again in a few days.
Edit: 3 days later and really noticed the astringency and greenness much more. It isn’t pyrazine-like, more plant-like, even hemp or something illegal in some states-lol. More intellectually interesting than fun to drink at this point. At this you age I think drink after opening. Otherwise they need a long rest in the cellar
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3/26/2021 - JLuch1 Likes this wine:
I made the mistake of opening this before checking Paul's notes posted below and also opening it immediately upon delivery. In short, the profile is similar to 2018, but with increased concentration across the board. Blackberries, minerals, savory, pepper, herbs, just a lovely wine. Decanted for a couple hours and it was no where near enough time. Bracing tannins that refused to let up throughout the couple hours of consumption.
I saved half the bottle and left it in the fridge until day 2, poured a tiny sample, same result as the day prior. Waited until the 4th day and the wine still had plenty of life left, so we finish the bottle off.
I can see this living a very long life ahead and I would recommend forgetting about these for a few years. The 2018s, on the other hand, are drinking better younger, in my opinion. If you have both and need to drink one, drink the 2018 and stow away the 2019.
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3/24/2021 - blakel Likes this wine: 93 Points
Intense blueberry pie nose on opening. Didn't notice the CO2 that others have mentioned. Powerful tannins, but not unpleasant. Concentrated berries and violets on the palate.
I love the Alturas when it's young, and this vintage is no exception. A wonderful wine.
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3/15/2021 - Satoshi Nakamoto Likes this wine: 94 Points
Is it Gonon? No. But is it damn delicious? Yes.
Persistent notes of florals, dark berries, and toasted nutty goodness. Super aromatic and intoxicating. Tannins are unyielding at this time, reminding me of drinking from the barrel, but the depth and potential is all there. Enjoyed the 17, preferred the 18, but the 19 takes it up a notch. Need to buy a ton of this.
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3/12/2021 - pgordon62 wrote:
Winemaker note - with all our wines, within the first year or so in bottle there is a slight spritz from trapped CO2. This is a great preservative and allows for a low SO2 regime. If sensitive to this I suggest an aggressive decant or better, wait until 2022 to open. This wine, and all the 2019s, have tightening up the last few weeks and would really benefit from air or a little age. Paul
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2/28/2021 - Decanting Queen Likes this wine: 94 Points
I don’t usually pnp but after reading the notes decided to try and then keep a glass or two for 48 hrs as discussed in other notes. Well, this was too good to save and drank well over 2 or 3 hours for us. So precise and complex. Layers of flavor, fruit, garrigue, white and black pepper, spice including cinnamon—in fact there was a texture of cinnamon as well. Blackberries and their leaves. Chalky mineral aromas and tannins. Very fresh and bright with a bit of undissolved CO2 giving it some effervescence. Unbelievably good and we will need more!! I really like my Syrah with a bit of age on it, but the freshness on this is so special, I am not sure whether I would prefer it now or at maturity.
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2/19/2021 - Cabfrancophile Likes this wine:
Deeply structured Syrah, old world style--not due to any rusticity, but rather the pure, direct winemaking approach. Needed decanting to loosen up and release a bit of dissolved CO2, this was all about wilted violets for me, less so the feral aromas others have noted. Concentrated core of black fruits, lovely inner aromas. A good bit of grip, chew and chalkiness to the tannins. Low to zero oak influence.
In total, elegant almost pretty primary character, juxtaposed with muscular structure. Needs 5-10 years, this is one for the cellar.
This is the second Halcon I've tried (2018 Esquisto the other)--if these are representative, the house style is that of underlying structure, concentration and unadorned fruit character without excess fat or roasted qualities.
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2/16/2021 - Deadish42 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Phenomenal wine and the best I’ve had from my 2021 beserker day purchases so far. I’ve had a number of syrahs from CA and this one is very smooth with low alchohol similar to the region this wine was inspired by. The wine was great right out of the bottle without any decanting and has one of the best aromas of any wine I’ve had during the pandemic.
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2/12/2021 - willschenk Likes this wine:
Who needs patience? Had to pop one to see how this was looking. Very showy aromatics right now, with lavender, olive brine, rosemary, raspberry, charred orange zest, black balsam, and some Touriga-like violets all right there out front. Great balance on the palate, and while the tannins are still a little rough around the edges (it is a 2019, not going to dock it for that), it’s delicious now. Drink now with a minimal or super-long decant for the youthful aromatics or wait until 2026, this closed up tight after a few hours and I'm guessing it'll be pretty tough for a few years. If you're the type who needs scores, I'd put this in the 92-94 range with upside beyond that.
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2/6/2021 - WetRock wrote:
Not sure I can add anything to what Mr Kelley says. The '19 version of the Alturas is likely the best of them that I have tried. Lots of herby olive bursting out from dark purple fruits. Touches of pepper and stone. Fine grained tannin that is greenish. There is more palate weight than some of the other vintages. I guess it's that whopping 13.7 ABV. This is very expressive now. Certainly a bit of room for improvement if the edge comes off the tannin and the fruit opens a bit more. Consistent over two nights. Very good.
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12/16/2020 - William Kelley Likes this wine:
The 2019 Halcon Vineyards Syrah Alturas is showing beautifully, unfurling in the glass with aromas of blackberries, tapenade, cracked black pepper, cassis and dried herbs. Medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, it's a layered, serious wine built around powdery, youthfully chalky tannins and lively acids. This is a fabulous young wine that would be indistinguishable in a line up of classical Northern Rhône Syrah—something to which I can personally testify.
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