Gary Farrell, Hallberg Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley

Dark red with just a touch of browning. Cedar, spice, and blueberry on the nose. Medium bodied, a mass of tart cherries, baking spices, soft woody tannins, a bit of smoke, mint, and a long finish. Lots of fruit even now, but lacking in structure.

2012 vintage

soft tannins, plenty of red and dark berries, nice acidity that compliments the wine. perfect drinking now, and will keep another 3 years.

2007 vintage

Cork intact and with minimal wine staining. Wine is dark crimson in the glass with no visible sediment. Nose reveals deep cherry, kirsch, marinated mushrooms, seaweed, and over-ripe strawberry. So smooth on the palate. Cherry, sandlewood, blueberry, wet autumn leaves and a hint of meringue. Alcohol forward (14.2%), but still balanced. At the finish there is cola, fresh dirt, cherry bark, and a hint of citrus zest. This is absolutely fantastic. Exemplifies why aging good CA pinot is worth your …

2007 vintage

May be way past the prime or possibly improperly stored. I bought this recently from a friend. It was barely drinkable.

2007 vintage

I typically very much enjoy this wine. While it was still good, the complexity of the fruit was slightly less than in some previous vintages I've had. Also, it was a bit heavier of a wine and less fresh. Drink up.

2012 vintage

Notes of cherry, complexity is there, but some of the others from 2012 have shown more.

2012 vintage

Last of three. Best yet.

2012 vintage

I let the bottle open up for an hour, glad I did. Hints of Spice and dried fruits, medium bodied, easy drinking.

2012 vintage

Good nose Leather mushroom and earth tones for the nose Light than I thought Good fruit, easy cherries, Bing cherry at the end

2012 vintage

Nice balance of round, dried fruit and a hint of spice. Full structure and body. Citrus note on the finish.

2012 vintage

I didn't enjoy this wine as much as the other reviewers. It tasted a bit out of balance and the acidity overwhelmed the finish. Not a bad wine but I was disappointed.

2012 vintage

Ruby color, baking spices, red fruit, rhubarb pie and cranberries on the nose. More fruit that earth as is typical of many California Pinots. Medium body and long finish with lots of spice. Very drinkable now or could wait a few years.

2012 vintage

This is my favorite of all the Gary Ferrell wines that I have ever tasted. Sweet strawberries and nutmeg on the nose, followed by a medium weight body with lighter red fruit and cinnamon notes. Perfectly integrated tannins on the smooth finish. This wine is not at all supercharged in its heft, fruit, sweetness or alcohol, like many pinots from California, nor would I have it with a steak. It is lighter and pleasing, especially if one wants to include …

2007 vintage

A little sour. Might need some decanting. GF recommends an hour on the Gap's Crown. Will try on this as well. It was a little disappointing as this one the absolute favorite when tasted at the winery.

2012 vintage

Excellent example of RR Pinot.

2012 vintage

Tasted at Pinot Forum highlighting back vintages of RRV. Nose shows some green notes in a good way, herbal background, palate is pure, nice high tones. This wine sees 15% whole cluster fermentation.

2012 vintage

Consistent with my 10/2014 tasting notes, the Hallberg is a very nice Gary Farrell Pinot, well balanced with slight red fruit and not overly strawberry. This being said, I gave it a lower score of 89+ pts this time around, perhaps because I have had the opportunity to try many other good Pinots, but also maybe because it was a bit too cool. It opened up considerably once it warmed up a bit. We did a side-by-side with the widely …

2012 vintage

PnP. Drank next to a Selyem Rochioli, this was in a different zip code. Little to no oak, red and dark fruit with some coffee or clove on nose. Rich, plush on palate, quite a bit of astringency to the fruit. Medium finish. OK, but a much further step down from the WS than price would indicate.

2012 vintage

Very dark ruby color; lifted, complex, tart berry, black cherry nose; rich, silky textured, tight, complex, black cherry, black raspberry, tart berry palate with good acidity; needs 2 years; medium-plus finish (14.2% alcohol) 92+ points

2012 vintage

Hard to put anything new into a good Pinot tasting note, but the Gary Farrell Hallberg was exceptional from start to finish. Not earthy, not overly strawberry as some Pinots, but just a perfect Pinot without any standout or overshadowing characteristics. Balanced while complex. A good sipper. Typical Gary Farrell and definitely a worthy of a repeat.

2012 vintage

Clear, deep garnet. Plum, prune, bramble, licorice, red cherry. Medium acids , very low tannins. Huckleberry. Medium acidic finish.

2012 vintage

Nice wine.. In the Vincent Giradin lean style...

2007 vintage

A nicely maturing RRV pinot--bright fruit has moderated and is developing secondary flavors, still well balanced and drinking well 2 plus hours after opening. A pleasure with a tri-tip and roasted potatoes.

2007 vintage

Reminiscent of a Williams Selyem RRV and is starting to develop some secondary aromas/flavors. Strikes a good balance between the low alcohol/high acidity crowd and the big bold flavored Pinot crowd. Better with a few hours of air, still years of life left. Not really earthy, but good focus and purity.

2007 vintage

The only question I have is what possessed me to buy this wine in the first place. I must have been seduced by the beautiful tasting room as a younger naive taster. This is one of those sad pinots that could easily be passed off as an uninspired zin.

2007 vintage

14.2% alcohol. Just a frankly boring wine. I don't know what happened to Gary Farrell wines, but they really went off the path somewhere. This just seemed completely devoid of anything of interest. B

2007 vintage

Normally a huge fan of GF pinots, but this one left me a little flat (comparatively speaking). Maybe the bottle was a little off or something. Very acetic; any fruit very subdued.

2007 vintage

fantastic

2007 vintage

Darker and more brooding and subdued than the '06. More fruit, less smoke and spice on the nose and palate. Solid Pinot.

2007 vintage

Ripe, sweet black cherry cola flavor. Medium body and finish.

2007 vintage

Nice, better than the '06. Typical notes of cherry.

2007 vintage

2010 Pinot Days Grand Tasting (plus trade tasting); 6/25/2010-6/27/2010 (Fort Mason, San Francisco, California) : Reticent, tart cherry nose; tart cherry, oak, tart raspberry palate; medium finish

2007 vintage

Smells of earth and red fruit. Tastes of red fruit, and earthy spices. Long finish, still a lot of tannin. This should age well.

2007 vintage

2009 Pinot on the River Grand Tasting (112 wines tasted) (Rodney Strong Vineyard, Healdsburg, California) : Cinnamon, red fruit nose; cinnamon, red fruit palate with depth; medium finish 90+ pts.

2007 vintage

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Gary Farrell, Hallberg Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley

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