2016 Halcon Petite Sirah Tierra
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The 2016 Tierra (Petite Sirah) is another super-expressive wine from Halcón. Game, black pepper, smoke, lavender, menthol, licorice and wild cherry notes give the 2016 layers of nuance that inform its distinctive personality. There is lovely depth, texture and pedigree in the 2016 Tierra, a wine that will drink well for a handful of years or more.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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Smoked meat, beef jerky, and spice as well as loads of black and blue fruits emerge from the 2016 Petite Sirah. Like all Paul’s 2016s, it has an exotic, floral character, present yet ripe (borderline) tannin, and a good finish. It could certainly use a touch more ripeness, but it’s an interesting, outstanding wine. I continue to love the wines from Paul Gordon’s Halcon label, which is focused on his Mendocino Vineyard. His 2016s showed reasonably well, with exotic, incredibly perfumed profiles. His 2017 are even more racy and could use more richness.
The 2016 Petite Sirah Tierra from Halcón is a lovely example of this quintessentially Californian variety, wafting from the glass with aromas of rosemary, sage, crushed currants and wild plum. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, richly tannic and succulent, with a long, sappy finish. Paul Gordon has managed to avoid Petite Sirah's proclivity to overbearing structure, as well as capturing wonderful chaparral-like aromas and flavors (California's answer to herbes de Provence?) to complement the wine's rich fruit. At 14.1% natural alcohol, this is the highest octane of Halcón's offerings, but it retains excellent balance.