2012 Horsepower Vineyards Sur Echalas Vineyard Grenache 750ml
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Horsepower Vineyards is Champagne-born Christophe Baron's most radical experiment in Walla Walla Valley. Having founded Cayuse on the cobblestone soils of Milton-Freewater, Oregon, he planted Sur Echalas Vineyard in 2008 at 4,840 vines per acre, the densest planting in the valley, with each vine trained up its own individual stake, echalas-style, as in the steepest crus of the Northern Rhone. Baron reasoned that extreme density would force the vines to compete, driving roots deep into the basalt and shrinking each vine's crop to thimble-sized quantities of intensely flavored fruit.
Rows this tight leave no room for tractors, so the vineyard is worked entirely by a team of draft horses, the source of the project's name. Farming is biodynamic, and the ground itself, a bed of fractured basalt cobbles that reminded Baron of the galets of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, now lies within the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater, the AVA formalized after this wine was made. Hoof work compacts the soil far less than machinery, part of the point for a farmer obsessed with living ground.
The 2012 Grenache earned 95 points from the Wine Advocate, whose review found it Rayas-like in its perfume, pouring out kirsch, blackberry, ground pepper, gunpowder, and florals. The palate is dry, saline, and superconcentrated, its raspberry and earth flavors driving with unusual penetration and energy into a dusty, spice-lifted finish.
Stake-trained young vines on savage ground made a Grenache of startling character, full-bodied yet elegant and layered. Drinking beautifully now at the heart of its window, it merits Burgundy stems, a light chill, and unhurried attention over an evening. Bottles of early-vintage Horsepower Grenache have become genuine rarities among Rhone-variety devotees.
- Size: 750ml
- ABV: ABV varies
- Vintage: 2012
- Origin: Rocks District of Milton-Freewater, Walla Walla Valley, Oregon
- Winery: Horsepower Vineyards
- Grape/Blend: Grenache
- Vineyard: Sur Echalas Vineyard, planted 2008, 4,840 stake-trained vines per acre
- Aging/Elevage: Biodynamically farmed, horse-worked; raised in French oak
- Tasting Notes: Kirsch, blackberry, ground pepper, gunpowder, saline earth
- Drink Window: Now through 2028
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