2014 Horsepower Grenache Sur Echalas Vineyard
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Tasting notes
Planted at 3’ x 3’ vine-spacing and farmed with horses. This is one of the most densely planted vineyards in North America. Biodynamically farmed. Quite aromatic though the palate also can use a lot of air after opening. There are hints of fruit but the palate is more primarily focused on savoury qualities – black-olive tapenade, a sprinkle of sea salt, and more vegetal notes than fruity ones. It gains nuance and detail with air but remains entirely distinctive. The tannin is fine-grained and lengthy with a lot of persistence. Enlivening. This wine will be polarising as some will like the greener character and others not but it is hard to deny how deftly made it is. (ECB)
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
(13.5% alcohol; these vines are planted at a very dense 4,840 per acre and yield just three clusters per vine, according to Christophe Baron): Dark red with an unfiltered appearance. Kaleidoscopic, rather wild aromas of mountain strawberry, dried raspberry, dried flowers, Sen-Sen, tobacco, porcini, leather, pepper, smoked meat, truffle and flinty minerals; the extraordinary aromatic complexity here has got to be at least partly due to the high density of plantation. Fresh and firm in the mouth, showing less primary fruit but more Old World salinity and exotic floral lift than the nose suggests. Excellent tension here from the close planting. Carrying obvious CO2, as this wine will only be racked for the bottling. This very tight-grained Grenache finishes with a hint of positive bitterness. Christophe Baron routinely carries out a 20% saignée and vinifies this wine with 100% whole clusters. Denser than the 2013 release but with a subtler floral character. Splendid Washington Grenache.
Reminding me of a hypothetical mix of blood and herbs (blood sausage?), with notes of earth, mushrooms, rose petal and strawberries, the 2014 Grenache Sur Echalas Vineyard is full-bodied, exotic and seamless, with building tannin and a gorgeous saltiness on the finish. Like these latest 2014s, it opens up with time in the glass, has a layered, elegant and incredibly long finish, and perfectly polished tannin. It's not Rayas, it's not Chateauneuf du Pape, it's an incredible, singular wine that stands on its own.