2014 Halter Ranch Ancestor and 3 More New Releases
2014 Halter Ranch CDP Adelaida District Paso Robles 90+ 14.8% 750ml $32
A Chateauneuf-du-Pape style blend with a twist—The Halter Ranch “Cotes de Paso” includes a touch of Tannat. The nose is red-fruited with raspberry, cherry and ripe plum with accents of smoke, earthy chocolate, dry herb and floral notes. The palate has medium body with slippery, fine-grained tannins and balancing acidity. Flavors echo the nose with red fruit and attractive savory notes but no smoke. Drink now through 2021
[50% Grenache, 28% Mourvedre, 18% Syrah, 4% Tannat]
2014 Halter Ranch Syrah Block 22 Reserve Adelaida District Paso Robles 92+ 14.9% 750ml $55
This delicious, limited release [300 cases] Syrah was barrel-fermented, leading to a soft richness on the palate and lovely integration of fruit with spice. The wine is an opaque, vivid purple in the glass with initially restrained aromas of black plum, blackberry and spice. The palate is more generous—richly flavored and full-bodied with persistent, fine-grained and chalky tannins. Flavors include jam of black plum and blackberry, dark chocolate, Chinese five-spice and earth. Drink now through 2024.
[89% Syrah, 9% Petite Sirah, 2% Tannat]
2014 Halter Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon Adelaida District Paso Robles 91 14.4% 750ml $35
Dark ruby-purple in the glass with a classic Cabernet Sauvignon nose that includes black currant jam, black cherry, bell pepper and violet candy. There’s more of the same on the long palate, plus dark chocolate, oak and lots of mocha. Body is medium-plus with plenty of soft, chalky tannins. Drink now through 2025. There’s no need to decant if you drink it now.
[83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Malbec, 7% Petite Verdot]
2014 Halter Ranch Ancestor Adelaida District Paso Robles 92 14.6% 750ml $55
Halter Ranch Ancestor, the winery’s flagship red, Bordeaux-variety blend, is opaque purple in color and generously aromatic with enticing notes of dark chocolate, mint, spice, blackberry, black cherry and espresso. Flavors match the nose, adding violets and blueberry pie filling. The palate is full-bodied and loaded with soft, persistent, fine-grained tannins that are balanced by juiciness. Drink now through 2028
[60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Malbec, 18% Petite Verdot]
Copyright Fred Swan 2016. Photo courtesy Halter Ranch. All rights reserved.
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Quick Question: is the Adelaida District cooler than the other Paso regions? I ask because that’s where my dad’s ranch used to be before J. Lohr bought the land. Thanks.
Hi Alisa,
Adelaida District is definitely among the coolest of Paso’s AVAs. It’s relatively close to the ocean and has some high-altitude vineyards as well.
Thanks for your insightful review, as usual :). BTW do you use the Courts vocabulary or the WSET vocab, or both, or neither?!?
Thank you 🙂
Generally speaking, WSET. That said, I think the main differences are in areas of appearance: lemon vs. straw, simply “bright” as opposed to star-bright and day-bright, visual viscosity, etc. Levels of tannin, acidity, body, et al are pretty much identical between the two.
All that said, I try to make the reviews accessible to people who have not pursued formal studies with either. And I think the most important thing is to be consistent with myself. That allows readers to get a feel for my characterizations over time and understand my words in the context of their own palates.