Winemaker Notes
Horsepower is farmed according to an astrological sowing and planting calendar, and entirely without the use of herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, chemical insecticides or fungicides.
Five draft horses cultivate The Tribe Vineyard, a 3 acre Syrah vineyard that is planted one vine per stake. Spacing is 3.5 feet by 3.5 feet, totaling 3,555 vines per acre.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This shows a beautiful beef and dark-fruit character with hints of sweet tobacco as well as plums and dried violet-like florals. The palate delivers impressive concentration with a wealth of blackberries and dark plums, cocoa powder and graphite. Super fresh, lithe and long. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
Supple and expressive, with plum and currant flavors and stony overtones combining with hints of black olive and white pepper, adding depth to a distinctive profile on a medium-weight frame that punches above its weight. The deft balance plays against nubby tannins. Drink now through 2025.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Syrah The Tribe Vineyard was made with around 85% whole clusters and matured for 15 months in used demi-muids and foudres. Initial touches of tar and chargrill give way to blackcurrant, blueberry, green pepper and violet on the nose. The full-bodied palate offers concentrated, dark fruit flavors and soaring floral character. It’s structured by powerful, powdery tannins and fireworks of fresh acidity and has a very long, layered finish.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
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.