Reviews
Technical Details
- BlendSyrah
- WinemakerPaul and Jackie Gordon
- CountryUS
- RegionCalifornia North Coast
- AppellationYorkville Highlands
- Alcohol13.4%
Halcon Syrah Elevacion Yorkville Highlands 2019
Anyone who knows the Halcon wines won’t even be reading this, but in case you need a primer… British expats Paul and Jackie Gordon fell in love with California wine and made a bold move purchasing a remote vineyard in the hills of the Yorkville Highlands, between Cloverdale and Anderson Valley. They then planted 15 acres with the help of seasoned winemaker Wells Guthrie of Copain Wines in Russian River Valley, Carole Meredith and Steven Lagier of Lagier Meredith Vineyard on Mount Veeder in Napa Valley, among others. They instantly became “culty” heroes among cool-climate Rhone varietal lovers. This fantastic bottling, Elevacion, quite simply SOARS. Get as much as you can, Rhone lovers!
A wonderfully aromatic, focused wine with balanced measures of bright lifted fruit and smoky, savory qualities, ultra-fine structure, and intense flavors. This is a wine that will only improve with bottle age and has the stuffing to improve for two decades should you have the patience. And yes it is, as Jeb Dunnuck deftly put it: “All you Gonon and Juge worshippers out there need to put these Syrahs from Halcon in a blind lineup and shock your friends.”
A microscopic amount of this is made only from the Chave Clone and is 100% whole cluster fermented, which gives this its savory wildness and superb structure. We bought the final 20 cases of this wine and it is a bit bittersweet to see this one go, as we remain super fans of this property. You won't find this wine anywhere else on the planet. We hope that Pax can continue the wonderful legacy of this epic vineyard. We wish Paul and Jackie the best!
PAIRING IDEAS: This needs a rich stew like beef bourguignon, or lamb chops, or even osso bucco. Why not have all three actually, and invite a bunch of friends!
MUSIC SUGGESTIONS: This Syrah gets us pumped and moving on this lovely Thursday morning! Turn on some Flogging Molly's “Drunken Lullabies”, and this song will keep you going all day long!