Halleck Vineyard
January 31, 2006
by Don Gillette
At the Napa Valley Winery Exchange, January is dedicated to the pursuit of new wineries. This year, we have found a winner!
Ross and Jennifer Halleck chose to introduce their new winery through restaurant wine lists, with retail sales more or less placed on hold. By this January, Halleck wines were being poured in fine restaurants throughout California, but slightly higher production now made some retail distribution practical. The Hallecks decided not to seek out retailers, but to reward stores alert enough to seek them out. My call was serendipitous, as not only were they ready to talk to us, but I learned that they now had three brilliant wines to sell!
Ross and Jennifer moved to Sonoma in 1991 hoping to both start a family and plant a vineyard. Ross brought some experience in the wine trade. His company - Halleck Design Group - had (since 1980) worked with many famous California wineries. Ross then became an Internet wine pioneer, founding Wine.net in 1993. He had hoped to create the first site to successfully market wine on the Web.
Jennifer brought the energy to start a family of three boys, while handling the planning of the winery they hoped to some day found. She had a teaching credential and an interest in chemistry and she did research, sought out the best advisors and proceeded to educate herself. When the boys grew a bit older, Jennifer worked part time in a winery tasting room and later with a wine wholesaler.
Well-advised and ready to plant, if not yet prepared to make their own wine, they established vines on the slope adjacent to their home. By 1999 they had some fruit to sell. This interested Fred Scherrer, a respected local Pinot vintner, who bought their grapes. He liked them enough to buy again in 2000, adding them to his Sonoma Coast blend. Jennifer continued to learn, now putting her fondness for chemistry to use doing measurements for Tandem winery. Fred was kind enough to bottle two cases of 'unblended' 1999 Estate Pinot for Ross and Jennifer. Now they could see for themselves what they had.
Greg La Follette, co-owner and winemaker of Tandem Winery, proved both a friend and mentor to the Hallecks. He recognized the quality of their fruit and in 2001 offered to 'vineyard designate' their Pinot on the Tandem label. Delighted, they agreed. Greg made about 80 cases. Then Tandem entered its 2001 Halleck bottling in the 2003 Affairs of the Vine Pinot Noir 'Shootout' against 217 other Pinots. It won the Judges Award for first place! It was clearly time for Ross and Jennifer to make their own wine. Greg La Follette agreed to show them how.
In nearby Sebastapol, La Follette and partner Greg Bjornstadt had founded a multi-winery custom crush facility they named Greg and Greg. Formerly the VacuDry Gravenstein apple processing plant, its buildings were vast and easily absorbed the new tenant. In 2002 180 cases were produced, the fruit split 50/50 between the Tandem and Halleck labels.
Halleck Estate vineyard is technically in the Sonoma Coast, but the upcoming expansion of the Russian River appellation will push the property into that zone. The vineyard is tiny and its production is inconsistent. Only 81 cases were made in 2003 and less than 50 in 2004. No 2005 will even be released, as only 200 pounds were picked! Recently, with some self-confidence and an obvious need to expand production, the Hallecks have purchased fruit from other great RRV vineyards and begun to produce more wine.
It will be months before more Halleck Estate Pinot is released and there will never be much available, but we invite you to see three gorgeous wines that are. As I think my tasting notes will illustrate, these wines are distinctive. I think drinkers will find that they pack outstanding depth of flavor and distinctive varietal personality into a wonderfully elegant package.
2004 Halleck Pinot Noir, Three Sons, Russian River Valley
If still a bit youthfully subdued, the nose of this Pinot is elegant, complex and sweetly ripe; offering dark cherry, red plum, mocha, sweet smoke, vanilla, baking spice and black tea scents in a truly graceful harmony. On the palate, the cherry-plum notes have a stronger suggestion of citric zest, while the wines sweet-savory counterpoints take a back seat. With airing, the harmonious mix returns, as all the elements promised in the nose fan out in the flavors. Sure to develop nicely over the next twelve to eighteen months, this already delicious wine should grow ever more so. 648 cases produced, from three vineyards. $38.49 btl./$415.69 cs.
2004 Halleck Sauvignon Blanc, Piner Creek Ranch, Russian River Valley
This somewhat dramatic and super fruity Sauvignon Blanc is exotically spicy to the nose, where bright kiwi, honeydew melon, mock orange, Meyer lemon, jalapeño, fresh green bean and slightly grassy scents all vie for attention. It is as plush and as densely fruity on the palate as its aromas promise, with lime, melon, kiwi and a bit of jalapeño all standing out in relief. The finish is long, deep, bright and clearly youthful. Certain to be even better in another six months, this delicious Sauvignon Blanc should prove as wonderful a companion to richly flavored chicken stews as it will to elegant sauced seafood dishes. 228 cases produced. $19.95 btl./$215.46 cs.
2004 Halleck Gewurztraminer, Piner Creek Ranch, Russian River Valley
This Alsatian-style Gewurztraminer is pretty and richly floral to the nose, with lychee, Mandarin orange, lemon, honeysuckle, melon and jasmine blossoms all contributing to its aromatics. In the mouth it caresses the palate with dense rich fruit while tickling it with citric zest, although the greatest impression is still of floral intensity and rich melony fruit. The finish is long, but turns dry and cuttingly crisp, yet the rich lychee and melon are never overwhelmed and orange and lime join in to push the wines floral elements into the background. Lovely now, it will be pure pleasure by summer. 110 cases produced. $29.95 btl./$323.46 cs.