Cayuse Horsepower 2020

This Syrah comes from The Tribe Vineyard, one of the Horsepower Vineyards plots in the Walla Walla Valley AVA, on the border of Washington State and Oregon. Horsepower is the project of Christophe Baron, founder of Cayuse, who comes from a Champagne family that has grown vines since 1677. Here he revives the viticulture of yesteryear, on the cobblestone terroirs that make the valley so distinctive.

The vines are planted at very high density, at around 1 metre by 1, or nearly 8,800 vines per hectare, each vine trained on its own stake. The vineyard is farmed biodynamically and worked by horse, without a tractor, as the Baron family did in Champagne until the 1950s. This demanding approach produces small yields and concentrated grapes.

This wine reveals notes of blackberry, blueberry, black olive, violet, smoked bacon, black pepper, warm stone and garrigue herbs. Dense black fruit combines with saline, smoky notes characteristic of the cobblestone Syrahs of Walla Walla. The palate is deep and textured, with great freshness despite its concentration, fine, tight-knit tannins and a long, spicy finish.

In the United States, 90% of the wine produced comes from California. It was the influx of gold prospectors to California that boosted the California wine industry in the mid-19th century, particularly in the Sonoma and Napa region. At the start of the 20th century, there were 800 wineries. From 1919 to 1933 Prohibition destroyed the vast majority of the California wine industry so that by 1933, only 140 wineries remained producing wine. It was only from 1960 that the wine industry began to recover from Prohibition and California was primarily known for the production of fortified wines (in the style of Port). It was also in the 1960s that some of the most famous estates were created (Mondavi, Heitz Wine Cellars, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, etc...).



In 1976, a significant event took place: the legendary tasting competition better known as the "Judgment of Paris". He sees the greatest French wines opposing the new American wines. This May 24, an unexpected result shakes the world of wine, since to everyone's surprise, it is the United States which wins. However, this competition remains relatively unknown to the general public.



Today, there is no doubt that the United States produces great wines. Even though California largely monopolizes the reputation of American wines with its excellent Zinfandels, the state of Oregon produces some of the best Pinot Noir in the world and the state of Washington offers excellent Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet-Sauvignon.