Hors Catégorie
It is my pleasure to introduce you to one of the unique wines of the world. Roughly translated to ‘beyond categorization’ Hors Catégorie is a pure expression of terroir in a bottle. Sourced from a very hilly, 2 acre vineyard hidden in the foothills of the Blue Mountains, the Hors Catégorie Vineyard is a sight to be seen. This vineyard is so steep that you struggle to climb it. The last time there I was sweating running up the hill with Christophe. The views from the top are unbelievably beautiful. The vineyard has incredibly tight spacing and Syrah clusters are cropped at less than a ton an acre. The terroir is largely stony with thick broken basalt sprinkled everywhere. When you are there you can truly feel the struggle of the vines in this stony terroir.
I have tasted their new release from 2020 and was absolutely mesmerized. The richness and tension, alongside the stony tones just can’t be beat. This 2020 Hors Catégorie Syrah (OB, 100) is a perfect wine from a very challenging vintage. Very clean and smooth with incredible flavor density and flavor range, this is one for any collector of Pacific Northwest wine. Having tried all the ‘La La’ wines many times, this 2020 will stand tall amongst the finest Syrahs of the Northern Rhone. Learn more about this marvelous Syrah at https://horscategorievineyards.com/horscategorievineyards/ Here is the new review for the incredible 2020 Hors Catégorie Syrah.
2020 Hors Catégorie Syrah- A completely different animal than the 2019, the 2020 Hors Categorie Syrah is a more fleshy style than the incredibly bright 2019. It is quite simply a perfect wine that will go down as one of the great wines made in a challenging vintage. The nose takes on insanely good aromatic range from pork rillettes to lavender alongside boysenberry jam and shades of creosote and black olive tapenade. Once on the mouth the seamless texture really entices. Layers of wet gravel and tar, alongside menthol, black pepper dusted bacon, iodine and blood orange zest all magically combine to complete something that is totally different than anything made in the Pacific Northwest. Cheers to Bionic Wines director of winemaking, Elizabeth Bourcier, on this incredible effort that seems to get more and more intoxicating with every sip. Like most outstanding wines made in this vintage, there is really no reason to cellar. Drink 2023-2030- 100