Winter Quarterly Shipment Newsletter

Tasting Notes

2018 Wesley’s Reserve

Year after year, the center blocks of Hallberg Ranch yield some of our most dramatic expressions of Pinot Noir, and the 2018 vintage is no exception. Displaying a glorious coastal rusticity the nose offers a medley of woodsy tones, with layers of truffles, forest floor and cool, morning moss mingling with dark berry aromas and notes of sassafras, soy and maple. On the palate, the tannins are pleasantly chewy, adding depth and stately structure to the black and purple fruit flavors, with hints of anise, pecan, pine needles and earthy mushroom lingering on the multifaceted finish.  

2018 Pinot Hill East

Like ocean fog rolling across a cool, morning meadow, there is a misty ethereal quality to this wine that adds to its sophisticated beauty. As it unfurls in the glass, graceful layers of dried cherry and cranberry mingle with notes of rooibos tea, red apple skin, and cherry pith.

With airy tannins and a shimmering energy that envelopes a savory core of cool forest earth, dried herbs and delicate spice, this is a beautifully elegant wine, that reveals new subtleties with each sip.

2018 Hallberg Elite

Showcasing a prized vine selection from Burgundy and cultivated on one of the most exceptional blocks of Hallberg Ranch, the 2018 Hallberg Ranch Elite is a beautifully succulent and dynamic wine that delights with its fascinating aromas of tart cherry, papaya, pastry dough, and sour plum. On the palate, an almost nectar-like quality mingles with lovely umami and spice notes, with supple, fine-grained tannins and hints of yeasty lees, salted fruit, pluots and sweet cinnamon lingering on the finish.  

2016 Hallberg Ranch

Our 2016 Hallberg Ranch Pinot is pure, elegant, layered and complex. Its purity and elegance come from our unique dry-farming methods, which allow the grapes to develop beautifully full flavors without becoming overripe. At the same time, because Hallberg Ranch has been thoughtfully planted with 11 different clones of Pinot Noir throughout its various vineyard blocks, there is a lovely layered complexity to the wine that is only accentuated by the fact that we harvest over a four-week period. As a result, each clone provides unique flavors and textures to the final wine. 

This wine is reminiscent of a warm black cherry tart dusted with cinnamon. There are hints of caramelized sugar and freshly toasted almonds. The wine is driven by dark spices and earth, with a sturdy frame from fine-grained tannins. All of these elements seamlessly combine to create the distinctive wine that is Hallberg Ranch. 

2019 Hallberg Blanc

This wine comes from our two estate vineyards in Sebastopol. Pinot Hill is a cooler, steeper site producing high-acid, complex and delicate wines. Hallberg Ranch brings more textural roundness and alluring red fruit flavors to the wine. When blended together, the result is a wine bursting with fresh and youthful aromas of ripe red cherry, cherry blossom, walnuts, dried orange zest, and a little whiff of honey. The mouth has great fruit concentration, freshness, and energy. It fills the mouth without heaviness and lingers well in the back palate, making it a superb food and sipping wine. 

2018 Hallberg Ranch

With perfect weather during budbreak and bloom, the 2018 vintage at Hallberg Ranch yielded a robust crop and deliciously fruitful wines. The wine brimming with fresh aromas: fresh picked wildflowers, fresh plum, fresh strawberry and fresh cherry notes dance above the glass. This wine is equally exciting on the palate, with sweet tannins, and an underlying acid-driven energy framing the lush red berry, blood orange nectar and marzipan flavors. Though there is an idyllic youthful bloom to this captivating wine that makes it hard to resist now, it has the structure and stuffing to promise a long, fascinating evolution. 

2018 Pinot Hill

Due to the steep hillsides and thick fog layer that blankets the vineyard, Pinot Hill has small berries and clusters. As a result, there is a depth and darkness to this wine that is mesmerizing. On the nose, brooding layers of old growth forest floor, brambly thickets, graphite minerality and sea spray mingle with voluptuous aromas of boysenberry, huckleberry and elder berry. While the deep resonant flavors are echoed on the palate, they carry themselves with a dynamic grace, framed by sweet, juicy tannins and hints of burnt orange marmalade, mahogany and roasted chestnuts. To bring these flavors into perfect focus, we recommend decanting this wine. 

2017 Wesley’s Reserve

From its effusive aromas of blackberry, loganberry and black coffee to its luxurious tannic profile and lush intensity, the 2017 Wesley’s Reserve possesses all of the power Hallberg Ranch can muster. On the palate, a fleshy richness and robust tannins underscore the concentrated dark berry flavors. At the same time, there is a fascinating and mature aspect to this wine that reveals itself in layers of earthy coastal forest floor, fresh-cracked black pepper, frankincense, cedar and savory spice. Though powerful and weighty, it still displays the elegance of Hallberg Ranch, and the proud stature of the man for whom it is named.

2017 Don’s Block

This is our most refined and classically styled Pinot Noir. Featuring a single clone, grown in one prized section of our vineyard. Smelling this wine is like walking through a cherry orchard as the blossoms swirl in the breeze. Aromas of cherry pie, hard cherry candy, peach pit and sweet, fresh-cut hay dance above the glass, along with hints of orange rind and an underlying nuttiness. On the palate, there is a graceful concentration to the focused red berry flavors. At the same time, fine crystalline tannins and a beam of vibrant cool-climate acidity provide a mouthwatering structural element, while underscoring the wine’s effortless purity. As it evolves, the cherry, orange zest and floral notes become ever-more pronounced, drawing the wine to long, shimmering finish. 

2017 La Combette

Crafted from the historic Mt. Eden Clone grown on a gentle south-facing slope, this wine is spectacularly deep and dark, with a near-opaque red-black color, and aromas of fresh-baked huckleberry tart, pastry dough, cassis pastilles, sweet tar and black licorice. On the palate, the tannins are supple and mouth coating, while an acid-driven freshness enlivens the rich, berry compote and anise flavors. Complex, layered and just plain delicious, this is perhaps the finest vintage of La Combette to date. 

2017 Pinot Hill

The fact that this vineyard is cloaked in fog most of the day, and buffeted by ocean winds in the afternoon, makes perfect sense when you smell and taste the resulting wine. Layers of dried mint, moss, lemongrass and salty air provide cooling notes that contrast a core of dried currant and cranberry. Like ice crystals in your mouth, the palate is at first dense and crunchy, before melting away to a long, flowing finish.

Browse other recipes specifically recommended for:

Hallberg Ranch : Pinot Hill ; West ; East : Hallberg Blanc : La Combette : Don’s Block

Harvest 2021

Though we wrapped our picking operation as of Saturday, September 18. The winery smells incredible, and the wines taste just as good. There is already a lot of wine in barrel and more going in everyday!

With 196 tons of grapes to work with—3.3 tons per acre at Hallberg Ranch and 2.4 tons per acre at Pinot Hill—this is the second best yield we have ever had from our estate vineyards.

Our winemaker, David Lattin, is ecstatic about the wine, saying he’s never seen a more uniformly perfect juice and wine chemistry. The clusters and berries are also are much smaller overall than in years past. This means that we can look forward to a 2021 vintage of dark and intensely flavored wines.