Today we share one of the premier producers of Syrah and Grenache in North America. Growing up in France, Christophe Baron had a strong affinity for animals. He saw for himself the way that horses worked the land and helped till the soils. It is that childhood inspiration that led to creating one of the most coveted lineup of wines in the Pacific Northwest, Horsepower Vineyards. In his Walla Walla AVA vineyards his horses help cultivate vineyards ranging from 3,555 to 4,840 vines per acre with as little as 3' x 3' spacing—planted 1 vine per stake, or “sur echalas” in French. I am consistently blown away with the wines that come this profound site in the Walla Walla AVA. The tightly spaced Sur Echalas Vineyard produces wines that embody tension and finesse. They’re simply remarkable wines that have impressed regardless of vintage. Sitting with Christophe and his talented vigneronne, Elizabeth Bourcier, we tasted the new wines from 2018.
“2018 was a great growing season with a beautiful September. These show great aging potential,” said Bourcier. “We had a warm spring with earlier bud break, a bit earlier than 2017. Bloom was a bit earlier than 2017 and then in May we had some record heat. Things were tracking pretty warm for the year and we had good fruit set and berry size was a bit up.” But then things changed a bit in June, with a milder month than usual “But July and August were hot,” she explained. “We were looking to be one of the hotter vintages and for us we had a cooler September and end of August. We haven’t seen weather for that for a while, cooling down at night. I think the plants responded really well to that. We came back the end of August and things were ripening steadily which led to a condensed picking season. Within two weeks we had brought in a large majority of things.”
Both Christophe and Elizabeth were particularly excited about their 2018 Grenache wines. “I think with the Grenache, we really have something special,” Christophe remarked. “In 2018 we were lucky that the berry size was larger than average because there was a bit more fruit hanging and otherwise we would have had to harvest in August. There was good balance in the vineyard and it helped to delay harvest a bit, those beautiful September days were so good for the plants. One challenge was getting everything in before berries were overripe. And it was difficult when everything was ready at a similar time, hard to find space at the winery.”
Having recently tasted the 2017 releases a few months back, I find these 2018 wines to be considerably divergent to those of ’17. Grenache, in particular, is riper, more unctuous but both Grenache and Syrah showing a sterling sense of poise and tension. The 2018 wines are more akin to those Horsepower wines of 2013, 2014 and 2016. I’ll also note that these were no 30 second wine reviews — I spent close to three hours with Christophe and Elizabeth via Zoom and then taste through them a second and third time later that evening to review my notes.
Prior to tasting these wines, I have only rated one North American wine 100 points this year. One of the monumental wines I have tried all year, the 2018 Horsepower ‘Sur Echalas Vineyard’ Grenache (OB, 100) is the best wine out of Washington that I have tried this year, along with their new wine, the 2018 Horsepower Vineyard ‘Fiddleneck Vineyard’ Grenache (OB, 100). I enthrall you to try to get your hands on these absolutely scintillating new Grenache wines if you can. Don’t just take my word for it, check out the unreal flavor and aromatic range on parade for yourself. You’ll be glad you did. Learn more about about these monumental wines at https://horsepowervineyards.com/horsepowervineyards/ Here are my reviews of the new 2018 releases by Horsepower Vineyards.
2018 Horsepower Vineyards ‘Fiddleneck Vineyard’ Grenache- This is the first edition of this wine and any lover of world-class Grenache will be very glad that this wine has been made. Planted in 2015, the ‘Fiddleneck Vineyard’ is a tightly spaced (3X3) vineyard, located just south of the ‘En Chamberlin’ and ‘The Tribe Vineyard.’ This is a 17 acre parcel that is now planted to only 6.5 acres. The name ‘Fiddleneck’ is an ode to the Fiddleneck flowers that were growing on this land, as Christophe chose to leave the land to its natural surroundings for many years prior to planting. This is now the fourth leaf for Grenache here, as this wine shows quite differently than Grenache from ‘Sur Echalas Vineyard’ — but is every bit as good. A rich core of red and dark fruits mingle with tobacco leaf, Umami, beef fat and green peppercorns on this evocative nose. Once on the mouth, you are blown away with the pillowy texture. This is utterly seamless wine with a bright sense of minerality and a brilliant vein of tension. Bright Yakima cherry tones mingle with Satsuma orange rind, seaweed, red raspberry cordial, red rose water, and smoldering rocks on the palate. The purity of fruit, and aromatic and flavor range created is just insanely good. While showing a good degree of richness, this is highly elegant Grenache that is best enjoyed over the next eight years. But why wait? Drink 2020-2028- 100
2018 Horsepower Vineyards ‘Sur Echalas Vineyard’ Grenache- The 2018 ‘Sur Echalas Grenache is a blockbuster wine that shows complexity impossible to attain in North America. Undergoing nearly all whole cluster fermentation, the Grenache was then stored entirely in used demi-muids prior to bottling botting. Right away a dusting of white pepper and Umami tones deftly combine with shades of green olive tapenade, wet stones, guava puree and Linzer torte. The sense of finesse and tension in the wine is nothing short of impeccable. The wine is utterly seamless. Layers of ripe red currants and cranberries, deftly combine with suggestions of bulls blood, rose water and pomegranate seed flavors. As you dig in, more notes Nori emerge with green peppercorns, Mandarin orange zest, black truffle shavings, salted charcuterie, damp stones and wild blackberry compote. I have yet to find a wine this year that offers this degree of flavor complexity. Quite simply, the 2018 ‘Sur Echalas Vineyard’ Grenache is a monumental wine from this vintage that is drinking magically now and will provide drinking enjoyment for the next decade. Drink 2020-2030- 100
2018 Horsepower Vineyards ‘Sur Echalas Vineyard’ Syrah- The 2018 ‘Sur Echalas Vineyard’ Syrah is one of the wines of the vintage from this famed estate. Due to the shade of the vineyard, this is a later ripening vineyard for their program which allows them to utilize roughly 70-80% stem inclusion in this wine. They also choose not to use any new oak on the wine, only used demi-muid aging. Weighing in at 13.8% alcohol, this provides immediate appeal with its downright intoxicating bouquet, delivering loads of white pepper woven together with steak tartare, cigar ash tones as well as Hoisin sauce, Umami and menthol that all meld in the glass. The aromatic range here is extraordinary. The textural elements of the wine are just gorgeous. The 2018 edition displays more mid-palate weight than the ’17 bottling but also embodies plenty of finesse. Rich ripe dark cherry and dark raspberry tones mingle with wet stone, seaweed, green olive tapenade, and salted meats on the palate. This finishes exceedingly long. Gratifying to enjoy in its youth, this sensational wine will cellar well over the next eight to ten years. Drink 2020-2030- 98
2018 Horsepower Vineyards ‘High Contrast Vineyard’ Syrah- Planted in 2013, the property follows the contour of what was once the Walla Walla River. The property captures where the stones of the region end, as the vineyard has quite different soil types, and is considerably less stony as you head west in the vineyard. Despite this, the nose shows quite a stony profile, with layers of ripe wild blackberry, white pepper, peat moss and shades of smoked brisket that all take shape in the glass. The palate shows less stony character and delivers a great purity of dark fruits with remarkable tension and finesse. Black olive tapenade, iodine and smoked BBQ pork ribs make this remarkably savory, with salty and damp earth tones. This is remarkably soft and round, as this beautiful wine gives off a seamless effect. With remarkable length, this rich yet elegant new Syrah will show well for the next decade. Drink 2020-2030- 96
2018 Horsepower Vineyards ‘The Tribe Vineyard’ Syrah- Set on stony terroir, The Tribe Vineyard’ is slightly less tightly spaced (3.5X3.5) than the ‘Sur Echalas Vineyard’ and was planted back in 2009. The nose shows a great core of black tea and blackberry compote with Umami and white peppercorns with smoked brisket that all take shape in the glass. The salty and savory tones of the wine literally make your mouth water. Layers of black olive tapenade, pipe tobacco, black licorice, soy sauce, Nori, wet stone and shades of black truffle crudo all brilliantly combine on the palate. This is pure terroir in a glass. The wine finishes extremely long as this brilliant stony and savory Syrah bottling will cellar well for at least another decade. Drink 2020-2030- 96