2006 God Only Knows Grenache
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Tasting notes
(includes a bit of syrah; aged entirely in old puncheons from Rene Rostaing) Medium red. Wild aromas of strawberry, leather, smoke and underbrush. Concentrated and layered grenache, with strawberry, smoke and mineral flavors that reminded me a bit of mourvedre. At once sweet in fruit and classically dry, finishing with notes of gunflint and soot and sneaky length. The yield here was just 1.2 tons per acre, according to Baron. This was racked only for the bottling in August of 2008, although Baron noted that the 2007, a tighter wine, has been racked twice to this point.
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Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Jay S Miller, Wine Advocate
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The Rhone reds begin with the 2006 Grenache God Only Knows. Dark ruby-colored, it exhibits a sensational bouquet of mineral, underbrush, mushroom, bright cherry and raspberry aromatics. Incredibly intense, vibrant, and lingering on the palate, this superb effort will surely evolve as well as any great Chateauneuf-du-Pape but with no track record, there is only one sure way to find out. Christophe Baron remains in fine form. His estate, just on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla AVA, consists of five small but distinct vineyards (41 acres in total – with more on the way). Syrah and the Bordeaux varietals are the principal focus but some of the finest parcels of Tempranillo, Viognier, and Grenache grown in the USA are on this estate. The vineyards are farmed biodynamically and much of the estate is planted on rootstock to prepare for the day when phylloxera works its way through Walla Walla. The wines are all fermented with indigenous yeasts and bottled unfined and unfiltered. The one most visible change since last year’s visit is that some of the plowing is now done by horse power. It was quite a sight to see a giant plow horse take tiny steps to turn from one row into the next. Cayuse is no longer a secret and it may be America’s toughest mailing list to crack (consider the prices compared to some of the other cult collectibles) but do whatever it takes to get your hands on a few of these gems. Tel. (509) 526-0686; www.cayusevineyards.com