I don’t have a great way to introduce this wine, but I will say that Halcón’s 2015 Cerise Vineyards Pinot Noir is the perfect way to conclude this brief featured series on the winery. Like all the wines I’ve tasted from Halcón, this Pinot Noir is beautifully nuanced — in this case so much so that words (almost) escape me. One thing you should know is that if this wine intrigues you as much as it does me, you’ll want to grab a bottle ASAP — this is Halcón’s first and only vintage using fruit from Cerise Vineyards, as it has since been sold to Kosta Browne.

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My first experience with Halcón Vineyards was a taste of their estate Syrah — the great Rhône grape produced in the classic Côte-Rôtie style is what Halcón has built its reputation on. So enamored was I by this Syrah that I am saving it for a week-long series on California Rhônes as a prime example of what our great state can do with these grapes from my favorite region of the wine Motherland. (Sorry, folks, you’ll have to wait a bit longer to hear more…)

I mention this because, having spoken to a lot of Rhône winemakers from various California regions, I’ve heard one comment quite a bit. And that is that many Pinot Noir producers are, in fact, intrigued by Syrah: with its broad style-spectrum, highly dependent on terroir, it is often referred to as the “Winemakers Grape,” highly mis-understood by consumers, but the passion of many a wine-producer. In this case, Paul Gordon has flipped that switch the other way — a passionate Rhône producer who’s taken on the “Winemaker’s Headache Grape.” 

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