2017 Halcyon Wines Cabernet Franc Alder Springs Mendocino County 750 ml

An Under-the-Radar Gem from Mendocino

Last week, on our way home from Santa Barbara we decided to splurge on a great meal before the long drive north. Some quick research on our phones made it clear that Les Marchands was the place to go for great food and, most important of all, an interesting wine list. We had no idea at the time that our stop there would result in this offer: One of the most intriguing California reds we’ve offered all year.

Soon after we each opened up our copies of the wine list, we all found this wine: The 2017 Halcyon Cabernet Franc Alder Springs Vineyard. We weren’t familiar with the producer—they’re still mainly for in-the-know collectors, but won’t be for long—but the vineyard was enough to convince us. And we absolutely love Cabernet Franc. After all, if it’s good enough to make up a significant portion of the blend of Cheval Blanc, then who are we to argue?

Our first sip immediately captured the essence of Mendocino's rugged oceanside vineyards. Here was a wine that conveyed everything that fans of the great Loire Valley Cabernet Francs look for: Lifted spice anchored by generous fruit, a perfectly calibrated note of flowers hovering above it all. Alongside everything from cauliflower croquettes to wild boar pappardelle and lemon-brined fried chicken, the 2017 Halcyon paired perfectly. No wonder it’s a mainstay on the lists at Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc and Bouchon in Yountville, State Bird Provisions in San Francisco, and more: Exceptionally high quality, food-friendliness, and reasonable price rarely overlap as seamlessly as they do with this one.

We knew we had to offer it to our members.

Our prediction: Mendocino won’t remain under the radar for much longer. It’s one of the most scenic regions of Northern California’s wine country, and driving through it is like traveling back in time, the vertiginous hills thick with madrone trees, their trunks deep red and devoid of bark. Cell service is spotty at best. Radio comes in and out. You feel like a wine pioneer, discovering something secret and special that no one else knows about quite yet.

Though the Alder Springs vineyard behind Halcyon’s aromatic Cab Franc isn’t entirely unknown: Wine lovers around the world know of it from high-scoring examples from producers like Pax Mahle, Patz and Hall, Kistler, Flowers, and more, but whether or not they realize it’s from Mendocino is another question entirely.

Less than a week later, and here we are: Turns out that Halcyon is owned by Tablas Creek alum Tyler Elwell and his wife, the PR guru Kim Elwell. Their love of the Loire Valley led them to create Halcyon, and this Cabernet Franc is a fitting homage…though as is the case with the new generation of forward-thinking producers in Mendocino, it’s uniquely tied to its Northern California roots.

After a long conversation that covered everything from the wine itself to the Grateful Dead—Kim has managed Bob Weir’s recording studio—Tyler agreed to let us have the entire remainder of his just-released inventory. And only two barrels were produced in total!

We had no idea that a random stop in Santa Barbara would lead us to our new favorite Cabernet Franc in the United States, but that’s the beauty of the wine business: A road trip, a great meal, a shared love of the Grateful Dead…any of it—or, in this case, all of it—just may lead to the next big thing.