2018 Halcon Vineyards Mourvèdre Halcon Vineyard- USA, California, North Coast, Yorkville Highlands (4/11/2020)
First Halcon wine for me. I liked it a great deal, though it was a bit of a chameleon. A quick sip directly after I opened the bottle showed a cool, sleek, tense wine, reminding me more than a little of some of the Dirty & Rowdy wines. Several hours later I took a full glass, and was drinking a very different wine. There was a distinct richness to the mid-palate that had not been there before. Cool, red fruit, spice and vibrant floral notes were held in place by a firm acid spine, and moderate finishing tannins. Fun to drink on its own, and with enough depth and cut to handle our dinner of Chicken Enchiladas Norteńas.
I left about two glasses worth in the bottle overnight, corked up and kept at cellar temperature. Giving the wine some time to warm up, I poured a small glass to see how it progressed. Surprisingly, I found the wine that I had started with the prior night. More tense and taut than anything else, it still had the red fruit and floral, but on a more racy frame.
Interesting stuff that made me think, and that’s what keeps me coming back.
Should be interesting. I have a bunch of Tercero I can open and Halcon but the Halcon I really want to open is a mag… Might have to invite the neighbors with masks.
Here is the upcoming video tasting we have setup for April 23rd. Can’t wait.
Had this last night and really enjoyed it. As David notes at the top, it really seemed to evolve in the glass… starting out fairly light and cool (even a little green streak on the finish), but I found that within 20 minutes it had filled out on both the nose and palate. A few hours later I found it had retreated also along the lines David indicated. Great buy and both fun and interesting to drink.
2018 Halcon Vineyards Mourvèdre- USA, California, North Coast, Yorkville Highlands (3/8/2021)
– decanted 2.5 hours before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over 3 hours on Day 1; revisited on Day 4 –
NOSE: DAY 1: stemmy/savory aspect; red/purple fruit mix; medium to medium+ expressiveness; hint of cumin and curry powder; faint soil tones 5.5 hours after opening. DAY 4: meaty; red-fruited; stemmy, but not quite as strong as on Day 1 in this regard; extremely attractive!
BODY: violet-garnet color of medium depth; medium-light to medium bodied.
TASTE: DAY 1: high acid; oak; juicy; red-purple fruited; plum; medium concentration of fruit; not funky; hint of pine; obviously young; I do believe this will improve – perhaps dramatically – with time. Will try to wait another 3 or 4 years before the next bottle. Gut impression: 90 - 91, depending on how good it gets with age. DAY 4: less oaky; still tannic and savory with good acidity; showing more varietal character today than on Day 1; strong HOLD recommendation on this. The Day 4 showing does give me reason to believe this might land closer to 94, than 90, eventually.