Horsepower Vineyards Sur Echalas Vineyard Grenache 2011
-
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2011 Grenache Sur Echalas Vineyard is a sensational blend of 100% Grenache that comes all from a vineyard located just to the west of Cayuse’s Armada Vineyard. Planted to 4,840 vines per acre, it’s farmed completely by horse. Showing every bit as well from bottle as from barrel, it offers up layers of pepper, smoked herbs, gunpowder and black fruits to go with a deep, structured style on the palate. Incredibly concentrated, especially in the vintage, it has a gracefully, balanced feel before firming up substantially on the finish. Give this beauty 2-3 years of bottle age and enjoy over the following decade. Unfortunately, there are only 131 cases of it to go around, so if you get the opportunity to grab some bottles, don’t miss it.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Densely planted and labor intensive (it is actually tilled by Belgian draft horses), the vineyard’s first releases have been eagerly anticipated, and do not disappoint. Floral highlights are stacked over a swirl of umami, with subtle power and airiness. Delicate and tense, it’s packed with brambly berry flavors, minerally acids and fine-grained tannins.
Other Vintages
2020-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb
-
Parker
Robert -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Spectator
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine -
Suckling
James
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine -
Suckling
James
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
Tradition isn’t an abstract concept to Christophe Baron, founder of both Cayuse Vineyards and Horsepower Vineyards—he was born into it. The oldest son of the centuries-old Champagne house, Baron Albert, his family has worked their land in the Marne Valley of France since 1677. As recently as 1957 horses still did all of the vineyard cultivation.
Horsepower represents a return to that time, to a simplicity of craftsmanship and purpose that has been largely lost in the modern translation. It’s a window to the Old World—right here in the new.
Grenache thrives in any warm, Mediterranean climate where ample sunlight allows its clusters to achieve full phenolic ripeness. While Grenache's birthplace is Spain (there called Garnacha), today it is more recognized as the key player in the red blends of the Southern Rhône, namely Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône and its villages. Somm Secret—The Italian island of Sardinia produces bold, rustic, single varietal Grenache (there called Cannonau). California, Washington and Australia have achieved found success with Grenache, both flying solo and in blends.
Responsible for some of Washington’s most highly acclaimed wines, the Walla Walla Valley has experienced a surge in popularity in recent years and is home to both historic wineries and younger, up-and-coming producers.
The Walla Walla Valley, a Native American name meaning “many waters,” is located in southeastern Washington; part of the appellation actually extends into Oregon. Soils here are well-drained, sandy loess over Missoula Flood deposits and fractured basalt.
It is a region perfectly suited to Rhône-inspired Syrahs, distinguished by savory notes of red berry, black olive, smoke and fresh earth. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot create a range of styles from smooth and supple to robust and well-structured. White varieties are rare but some producers blend Sauvignon Blanc with Sémillon, resulting in a rich and round style, and plantings of Viognier, while minimal, are often quite successful.
Of note within Walla Walla, is one new and very peculiar appellation, called the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater. This is the only AVA in the U.S. whose boundaries are totally defined by the soil type. Soils here look a bit like those in the acclaimed Rhône region of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but are large, ancient, basalt cobblestones. These stones work in the same way as they do in Chateauneuf, absorbing and then radiating the sun's heat up to enhance the ripening of grape clusters. The Rocks District is within the part of Walla Walla that spills over into Oregon and naturally excels in the production of Rhône varieties like Syrah, as well as the Bordeaux varieties.