Wow, this was awesome. I've loved what other producers (Copain, Rhys/Alesia) have done with fruit from this vineyard but this is the first time I've tried the Halcon version. Ringer for a Northern Rhone (maybe stylistically closest to Cornas or Hermitage) with abundant granite, smoke and game meat flavors. Good freshness and acidity keep it interesting.
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This feels much more open vs the 2018 a year ago. Lots of old school Syrah character - black olive, herbs de Provence, plum, violets. Medium acidity and a long finish. Really quite complex and wouldn’t be about of place among St Joseph’s and Cornas bottlings at 2-3x the price. Outstanding stuff.
Really, really good. Just explodes in the glass…and on the palate there’s a great combo of savory notes and CA fruit. I agree that there’s still a youthful green note—we’ll see if that dissipates over time.
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Unfortunately, this 3rd bottle of the '19 Halcon Elevacion did not live up to the prior two. One difference is this bottle came on a "close-out" from an online shop, vs. the other bottles direct from the winery. I couldn't say this was a factor, but the wine was less balanced, showing less depth of fruit, and it was not able to hide the harsh tannins (mainly for preceding reasons), making for an overall less pleasurable tasting experience. So, while this last bottle dropped a notch in my estimation, it was still quite good, better still with food. I certainly did find the bottle in need of time to settle whereas previous, while certain to be long lived, were more than delightful taking part in there infanticidal ritual. I was excited to juxtapose this wine to the excellent (and dare I write peerless for its realm) Drew Perli from the '18 vintage from the other night, but this bottle did not not provide for a well-matched comparison. In any event, I have no less than 15 more bottles of this wine to ponder on and investigate over the coming decades.
This is a very young Syrah that drank well over two days, but needs more time in the bottle for everything to come together. Purple in color and opaque in the glass
DAY 1: Aromas of blackberry, black licorice, tar, black pepper, and violets on the nose; tastes of blackberry, tar, and black pepper on the palate; full-bodied, medium acidity, and medium(+) tannins; slightly astringent finish
DAY 2: Aromas of blackberry, tar, iron, herbs, and violets on the nose; tastes of blackberry, herbs, and black pepper on the palate
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Young but already offering up plenty. Tight and carbonic on opening. 5 hours later it’s a dream - the whole group is beaming and singing its praises. Try another bottle in 1-2 years before too much of the brightness falls out.
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I found this more brooding than the Alturas is at the moment. Not closed but the fruit is in a bit of a tussle with the stem inclusion right now. There is a greenness to it that sticks up a bit, leaving a slight vegetal character. The tannin also gets a bit of an astringent character from this as well. None is anything a couple more years won't help. Its a lovely wine that just needs more integration and the smoothing out that time brings. Left about a half a glass for four nights in bottle. Nary a hint of oxidation. I think the window on this one is going to be longer and slower than the Alturas. A rest is also going to be more helpful. I love how easy these wines combine fruit expression and secondary sorts of characters. Its never a simple trick in California even from wineries I love. Alas, right when they have hit stride they are leaving for Europe!
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I drank this wine over three days and it "improved" on day-2 (held strong on day-3). I think this would be the finest Syrah from Halcon I've tried. The flavor density and fruit purity is off the chart, but the wine sacrifices nothing for these endowments -- no overt alcohol, over-weighted presence on the palate, lack of clarity, or imbalance. Structural components are in place here for a very long aging cycle. But, best of all, I felt this wine was alive and changeable in terms of its lovely bouquet and just how it presented on the palate through the glass pours. There's that X-factor that really pushes this into the Outstanding category, and I'm sure some bottles (some day) Extraordinary. A very fine "final" (?) effort.
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From a bottle opened yesterday: dark, nearly opaque garnet, medium body, not quite the density of its Alturas sibling. Wonderful nose, with floral crushed dark fruit, bit of spice, garrigue, dried herbs; deep, dark, somewhat brooding blackberry fruit on the palate, quite structured, with loads of complex spices, herbs, finishing with slightly chalky, grippy tannins. One of the most northern Rhone-like California Syrahs I can remember, a spectacular wine, in need of some years to really show its stuff.
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Lovely, fragrant nose with dark fruit, olives, and violets. On the palate, much less approachable than the Alturas. Very tannic and tight that makes it quite difficult to taste right now. Got a lot better with air and showed some darker berries, savory notes, and brine. I think this might need 10 years... 92-94+
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Great bottle. Classic Syrah notes of olive, meat, a little blood, lavender and some white pepper. Savory and compact, crunchy is an apt descriptor. Blind this would be hard not to call St. Joseph. Nothing at all to suggest Northern CA!
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I've been hearing great things about the Halcon syrahs so I was looking forward to this. Unfortunately this bottle at least did not live up to the hype.
Lactic on the nose, spirity and ripe on the palate. I was quite puzzled by the comparisons I've read to Gonon. I opened it as part of my monthly blind Zoom wine tasting group and everyone was surprised that I owned such a modern styled wine.
Tasted blind from small bottle. Nose of dripping blueberry - varnish, others say butterscotch. Nose has a lot of VA and is way over-extracted - just bad. Palate is the same - blueberry and oak. Nose - 3/6, Palate - 2/6, Finish - 2/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 0/2 = 7/20.
so day 4 on the Halcon but damn if it doesn't seem to be improving. it is nowhere near as burly and heavy as it was, and the fruit seems to be lightening - from that dripping blueberry to something more red-blue: raspberry and some florals seem to be coming out. I'm pretty shocked and confused - never seen a wine that felt/tasted like that actually pull together.
nose of violets, raspberry and blackberry, gingerbread. some spices. This has also lightened up on the palate somewhat - still a bit dense and purple, but it is heading in the right direction - the fruit is similar to the nose, with some snap, and there is a floral aspect. another day or two and this could actually be pretty good. right now it's: nose - 5/6, Palate - 4.5/6, Finish - 4.5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 15/20.
Day 4: now it seems to have gone back the other way - losing the freshness and the butterscotch heaviness is back. Oh well
From a bottle opened 3 days ago, kept mostly in the fridge. Dark garnet, near opaque, this has the deep violet spice on the nose I look for in great syrah, some garrigue, dried herbs, really beautiful; deep blackberry fruit, touches of boysenberry and a violet flourish, quite structured, the tannins are strong with this one on May the 4th, more underbrush inspired spice notes, excellent acidity. This has qualities of both Gonon and Allemand, and needs some years in the bottle. Put it away for a decade, and expect something very special on the other side.
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The 2019 Halcon Vineyards Syrah Elevacion is rather demonstrative, even after its recent bottling, bursting with aromas of lavender, plums, blackberries, rosemary, black pepper and raw cocoa. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and velvety, it's textural and concentrated, with a lively core of fruit and a penetrating, violet-infused finish.
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5/7/2024 - J To The Mo Likes this wine: 92 Points
Santa Rosa Plum. Sunchoke. Violets. Bright. Long finish. Still a lot of tannins as expected, but not heavy.
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3/13/2024 - GrapeScott wrote: 93 Points
Wow, this was awesome. I've loved what other producers (Copain, Rhys/Alesia) have done with fruit from this vineyard but this is the first time I've tried the Halcon version. Ringer for a Northern Rhone (maybe stylistically closest to Cornas or Hermitage) with abundant granite, smoke and game meat flavors. Good freshness and acidity keep it interesting.
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3/10/2024 - HFLED Likes this wine: 93 Points
This feels much more open vs the 2018 a year ago. Lots of old school Syrah character - black olive, herbs de Provence, plum, violets. Medium acidity and a long finish. Really quite complex and wouldn’t be about of place among St Joseph’s and Cornas bottlings at 2-3x the price. Outstanding stuff.
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10/1/2023 - smorris291 wrote: 93 Points
Consistent with bottle 1, maybe a bit more savory. Really delicious.
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6/1/2023 - smorris291 wrote: 92 Points
Really, really good. Just explodes in the glass…and on the palate there’s a great combo of savory notes and CA fruit. I agree that there’s still a youthful green note—we’ll see if that dissipates over time.
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9/26/2022 - z_willus_d wrote: 89 Points
Unfortunately, this 3rd bottle of the '19 Halcon Elevacion did not live up to the prior two. One difference is this bottle came on a "close-out" from an online shop, vs. the other bottles direct from the winery. I couldn't say this was a factor, but the wine was less balanced, showing less depth of fruit, and it was not able to hide the harsh tannins (mainly for preceding reasons), making for an overall less pleasurable tasting experience. So, while this last bottle dropped a notch in my estimation, it was still quite good, better still with food. I certainly did find the bottle in need of time to settle whereas previous, while certain to be long lived, were more than delightful taking part in there infanticidal ritual. I was excited to juxtapose this wine to the excellent (and dare I write peerless for its realm) Drew Perli from the '18 vintage from the other night, but this bottle did not not provide for a well-matched comparison. In any event, I have no less than 15 more bottles of this wine to ponder on and investigate over the coming decades.
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6/6/2022 - Stephen Rash Likes this wine:
This is a very young Syrah that drank well over two days, but needs more time in the bottle for everything to come together. Purple in color and opaque in the glass
DAY 1: Aromas of blackberry, black licorice, tar, black pepper, and violets on the nose; tastes of blackberry, tar, and black pepper on the palate; full-bodied, medium acidity, and medium(+) tannins; slightly astringent finish
DAY 2: Aromas of blackberry, tar, iron, herbs, and violets on the nose; tastes of blackberry, herbs, and black pepper on the palate
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6/5/2022 - Benj wrote:
Young but already offering up plenty. Tight and carbonic on opening. 5 hours later it’s a dream - the whole group is beaming and singing its praises. Try another bottle in 1-2 years before too much of the brightness falls out.
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10/12/2021 - WetRock wrote:
I found this more brooding than the Alturas is at the moment. Not closed but the fruit is in a bit of a tussle with the stem inclusion right now. There is a greenness to it that sticks up a bit, leaving a slight vegetal character. The tannin also gets a bit of an astringent character from this as well. None is anything a couple more years won't help. Its a lovely wine that just needs more integration and the smoothing out that time brings. Left about a half a glass for four nights in bottle. Nary a hint of oxidation. I think the window on this one is going to be longer and slower than the Alturas. A rest is also going to be more helpful. I love how easy these wines combine fruit expression and secondary sorts of characters. Its never a simple trick in California even from wineries I love. Alas, right when they have hit stride they are leaving for Europe!
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10/8/2021 - z_willus_d wrote: 94 Points
I drank this wine over three days and it "improved" on day-2 (held strong on day-3). I think this would be the finest Syrah from Halcon I've tried. The flavor density and fruit purity is off the chart, but the wine sacrifices nothing for these endowments -- no overt alcohol, over-weighted presence on the palate, lack of clarity, or imbalance. Structural components are in place here for a very long aging cycle. But, best of all, I felt this wine was alive and changeable in terms of its lovely bouquet and just how it presented on the palate through the glass pours. There's that X-factor that really pushes this into the Outstanding category, and I'm sure some bottles (some day) Extraordinary. A very fine "final" (?) effort.
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7/20/2021 - alanr wrote: 94 Points
From a bottle opened yesterday: dark, nearly opaque garnet, medium body, not quite the density of its Alturas sibling. Wonderful nose, with floral crushed dark fruit, bit of spice, garrigue, dried herbs; deep, dark, somewhat brooding blackberry fruit on the palate, quite structured, with loads of complex spices, herbs, finishing with slightly chalky, grippy tannins. One of the most northern Rhone-like California Syrahs I can remember, a spectacular wine, in need of some years to really show its stuff.
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7/19/2021 - glou.sf Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lovely, fragrant nose with dark fruit, olives, and violets. On the palate, much less approachable than the Alturas. Very tannic and tight that makes it quite difficult to taste right now. Got a lot better with air and showed some darker berries, savory notes, and brine. I think this might need 10 years... 92-94+
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7/14/2021 - jviz wrote: 92 Points
Great bottle. Classic Syrah notes of olive, meat, a little blood, lavender and some white pepper. Savory and compact, crunchy is an apt descriptor. Blind this would be hard not to call St. Joseph. Nothing at all to suggest Northern CA!
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7/11/2021 - Deadish42 Likes this wine: 84 Points
Great flavor, but the texture from the lack of filtering took away from the experience.
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6/11/2021 - millej wrote:
I've been hearing great things about the Halcon syrahs so I was looking forward to this. Unfortunately this bottle at least did not live up to the hype.
Lactic on the nose, spirity and ripe on the palate. I was quite puzzled by the comparisons I've read to Gonon. I opened it as part of my monthly blind Zoom wine tasting group and everyone was surprised that I owned such a modern styled wine.
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6/10/2021 - Seth Rosenberg wrote: 88 Points
Tasted blind from small bottle. Nose of dripping blueberry - varnish, others say butterscotch. Nose has a lot of VA and is way over-extracted - just bad. Palate is the same - blueberry and oak. Nose - 3/6, Palate - 2/6, Finish - 2/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 0/2 = 7/20.
so day 4 on the Halcon but damn if it doesn't seem to be improving. it is nowhere near as burly and heavy as it was, and the fruit seems to be lightening - from that dripping blueberry to something more red-blue: raspberry and some florals seem to be coming out. I'm pretty shocked and confused - never seen a wine that felt/tasted like that actually pull together.
nose of violets, raspberry and blackberry, gingerbread. some spices. This has also lightened up on the palate somewhat - still a bit dense and purple, but it is heading in the right direction - the fruit is similar to the nose, with some snap, and there is a floral aspect. another day or two and this could actually be pretty good. right now it's: nose - 5/6, Palate - 4.5/6, Finish - 4.5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 15/20.
Day 4: now it seems to have gone back the other way - losing the freshness and the butterscotch heaviness is back. Oh well
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5/4/2021 - alanr wrote: 93 Points
From a bottle opened 3 days ago, kept mostly in the fridge. Dark garnet, near opaque, this has the deep violet spice on the nose I look for in great syrah, some garrigue, dried herbs, really beautiful; deep blackberry fruit, touches of boysenberry and a violet flourish, quite structured, the tannins are strong with this one on May the 4th, more underbrush inspired spice notes, excellent acidity. This has qualities of both Gonon and Allemand, and needs some years in the bottle. Put it away for a decade, and expect something very special on the other side.
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12/19/2020 - William Kelley Likes this wine:
The 2019 Halcon Vineyards Syrah Elevacion is rather demonstrative, even after its recent bottling, bursting with aromas of lavender, plums, blackberries, rosemary, black pepper and raw cocoa. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and velvety, it's textural and concentrated, with a lively core of fruit and a penetrating, violet-infused finish.
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