Barrel Tasting Anderson Valley, Foursight, Halcon, More Added

We did something a couple weeks ago we haven’t done in 20 years, go to a Barrel Tasting Weekend Event. It was held in the Yorkville Highlands - Anderson Valley and since we had not been up there in a couple years it gave us the opportunity see an area that is beautiful and relatively undeveloped compared to other California Wine Regions.
There were 15 wineries participating, it is not the biggest event weekend, that belongs to the Pinot Noir Festival in May but more than enough for just about anyone.

These are just some impressions, no formal notes. We spent most of out time talking to the winemakers - tasting room personnel about the wines and also seeing the beautiful countryside.

Foursight Wines: Always a informative fun tasting and if you wanted to see differences between Pinot Noir from the same vineyard this was for you: Joe Webb owner winemaker talked about the different barrel treatments, 2018 vintage, ingredient labeling of wines etc. Had a great conversation with Joe, would have stayed even longer but a couple of large groups arrived.
2018 Zero New Oak Pinot Noir: Very fresh vibrant Bing cherry fruit, good acidity, some mild herbs, mint and spice round out the flavors. This and the next wine were my favorites though all were very good.

2018 Charles Vineyard Pinot Noir: Also very fresh cherry fruit, good acidity, spice and a touch of anise. Sees some new wood but pretty balanced even at this early stage.

2018 Clone 05 Pinot Noir: Darker fruit profile than the previous samples, Floral notes, spice, earthy notes medium acidity and some sweet tannins . Some oak spice at this point which I’m sure will integrate. Would like to revisit this in several years.

2018 Paraball Pinot Noir: An even darker cherry - berry fruit profile, spicy herbal notes, anise and rose petal floral notes. A big pinot for sure but plenty of structure to back it up. Needs time to settle a bit and come together.
If you are visiting the Anderson Valley Foursight is a must visit. Besides the pinot noirs the tasting room had other wines to try. The Foursight Semillon is always a favorite and the 2017 is tasty and begging for some food.
Barrel Tasting with Joe Webb of Foursight Wines
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Halcon Vineyards: Paul and Jackie Gordon were tasting from a set up in the gardens of the Boonville Hotel and for sure they had the best location of any winery. With the temperature in the upper 70’s it was the perfect setting. I didn’t take any written notes, hopefully won’t screw this up :slight_smile: Maybe Paul will stop in and fill in any blanks. This was our first opportunity to have a in depth conversation with them, we spoke about the wines, the Halcon Vineyard site, philosophy of winemaking etc. A super visit with two of the nicest people in the industry. My one regret is that I forgot to get a photo of them :frowning:. Oh and the wines were excellent.

Barrel Sample of Roussanne: Not sure of the vintage here but this sample had energy, floral pear apple fruit, loads of acidity and was very pure. Obviously young will likely pick up some weight with some time. A miniscule amount made. Something like 27 cases.

Barrel Sample of Halcon Oppenlander Pinot Noir: Have enjoyed the Halcon Oppenlander Pinot in the past and IMO this is Paul’s best to date. Very fresh cherry raspberry fruit, floral combination of lavender and rose petal, earth and clove notes. Nice acidity and sweet tannins on the finish Tasting damn good already this will be on e to enjoy for many years. An easy futures buy.

2017 Halcon Petite Sirah Theopolis Vineyard: For those people who don’t like Petite cuz it’s “too big”, “monolithic” etc etc give this wine a try. It is not hiding that its Petite but even at this early stage it is complex. The wine is loaded with fruit but not heavy or clawing, it has a wonderful lavender perfume note, juicy, good acidity and a wonderful texture. Yes there are tannins but they supportive, sweet and don’t stick out in any way. A cooler climate Petite that is very appealing now and only going to get better.

2017 Halcon Alturas Syrah: The wine was a bit closed, Paul thought it was a bit too cold (serving from ice chest coolers can be tricky) but with some time and swirling signature aromas of black cherry, black pepper and meat. Flavors follow with black cherry, pepper, violet flowers, cedar and a mouthwatering savory note. Medium body, good acidity, my best description of the wine would be succulent fruit, beautiful texture and nice long finish.

Visiting with Paul and Jackie was a highlight of the day. Halcon does not have a formal tasting room so if you get a chance to sample the wines at an event or dinner, don’t miss the opportunity. The entire lineup is tasty and are great values. Halcon also participates on Berserker Day.

TO BE CONTINUED

Sounds like you had a great time, Tom! You hit two of my favorites up that way. I visited both Halcon and Foursight a couple of years ago, along with Drew and a few quick stops in AV - really need to head up there more often.

Ken, we did have a really good time. As you know the Anderson Valley is laid back and gorgeous once you get going on 128. Foursight and Halcon were the highlights of the day. Just those two stops were close to two hours. The weather was perfect, we have been there when it is broiling, that day it was in the 70’s.

Hopefully tomorrow I can post a few more notes from Navarro, Bee Hunter, Baxter and Brutocao though the bulk of our tasting was at Foursight and Halcon.

Tom

Looking forward to your additional notes, Tom. Navarro and Baxter are consistent favorites and I’ve liked the Bee Hunter wines I’ve tasted. No real experience with Brutocao so I’m curious to hear about their wines.

About 12 years ago I got a ticket for passing a slow-moving DB making a left turn. The cop said I ran on the shoulder. I explained to him that the “shoulder” was about 50% bigger than an entire lane on the West Side Highway in Manhattan. I took pics and sent them in with my plea of not guilty.

Bastards didn’t care. And I was just out of Brutocao at the time. So I’ve hated them ever since, even though it has nothing to do with their wines, which were OK.

“Data Base”?

Tom

It was great to connect and have a longer conversation than those usually brief words while dropping off wine.
The Roussanne was a 2018, bottled in early July and our first estate white. Given it was picked October 29th at 19.5b we were a little concerned about the wine. Amazingly at 11.5% alc it still has that Rhone white roundness, honey quality but with strong acids. Just wish there was more than 27 cases.
The Petite and Alturas were bottled 2017s.

Paul

Thanks Paul for the clarification, I adjusted the post to indicate the 2017 bottle samples of Syrah and Petite.

We enjoyed talking shop (and other stuff) with you and Jackie. Hope to do it again one day.

Good luck with the 2019 vintage!

Tom

Navarro Vineyards: The barrel tasting consisted of three Pinot Noirs and similar to Foursight showed different texture and flavors based on concentration and barrel regimen. The tasting took place in the barrel room up the hill away from the main building and tasting room. As with virtually all Navarro wines the barrel samples of Pinot were fresh and pure.

2018 Navarro Pinot Noir Anderson Valley: Cherry, strawberry, cinnamon and touch of smoke. Moderate acidity, lighter in color than most pinot it is made in a easy to drink style.

2018 Navarro Pinot Noir “Méthode à l’Ancienne”: Cherry, raspberry, pomegranate flavors with some floral and spice notes in the finish. Good acidity, a bit of oak sticking out, this is more concentrated than the base Pinot and shows very good potential.

2018 Navarro Pinot Noir “Deep End Blend”: Darker in color and flavor, black cherry, boysenberry flavors with some rose petal floral notes. Very spicy, good acidity with sweet oak notes this is a big wine that needs time to unfold to show its stuff.

As we finished the barrel tasting we asked our host if there was anything else we need to be aware of. He said “don’t miss the Barbera, its my favorite”. With that we went down to the tasting room and tried it.

2016 Barbera Mendocino: Cherry, blackberry flavors, violet florals with earthy cedary notes. Lots of acidity (expected) medium concentration and drinking well at this point. Bought a bottle to throw in a mix of Barbera at our next pizza night.


Bee Hunter Wine: We only tasted a couple of wines here, would like to come back and taste through their line up.

2018 Pinot Noir Oppenlander Vineyard: This wine was shown in “old” barrels and one in a percentage of new wood. Both wines actually tasted quite similar, the old barrel sample showing a bit fresher but interesting more cinnamon stick spice. Both had black cherry fruit, herbal resinous notes and some vanilla. Good samples would like to taste again in a couple years.

Our host Kaylee had a bunch of different wines to taste but we chose to move on as there were other wineries to visit. We asked what was her favorite wine. Turned out to be the Semillon and it was a winner.

2015 Semillon Yorkville Highlands: This wine was a big surprise. Lemon balm, apple with a bit of tropical fruit, strong minerality, good acidity, this wine had a full texture and body but was light on the palate. 12.6% ABV this is a wine you could drink a lot of and with that acid mineral spine will go with lots of food choices. Bought a couple bottles.
Kaylee of Bee Hunter Wines
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Baxter Winery: There was only one barrel sample to be tasted here. Baxter makes a wide variety of wine, I was actually interested in tasting some of their specialty Italian wine but they are sold out of everything and unfortunately nothing to taste. That didn’t stop us from having a nice conversation with Phil Baxter about Fox Hill Vineyard in Ukiah where he (and several other wineries) get Italian grape varieties. Phil is easy to speak with a good sense of humor. Need to get back up there when some of those Italian wines are available. Our one barrel sample was:

2017 Pinot Noir Run Dog Vineyard Anderson Valley: This barrel sample was packed with aroma and flavors of cherry, red currant and spice. Earthy and herbaceous this Pinot is concentrated and layered. Moderate acidity and some oak spice this needs time but the raw material is all there.
Phil Baxter of Baxter Wines
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The day of Barrel Tasting was fun and a nice way to experience the beauty of Anderson Valley. We had a great time interacting with the winemakers and winery staff.

If you have an opportunity to visit go for it, you won’t be disappointed.

Tom

Thanks for the notes, Tom. I also would love to taste Baxter’s Italian variety wines sometime.