E-mail info below. Opening price is $240 per bottle, which is more than twice the initial cost of Horsepower. If this were literal bottled magic I still think I would pass on principle. Thoughts?
"We’ve waited a long time for this moment—the opportunity to officially unveil Hors Catégorie Vineyards, the latest exciting and unorthodox venture from Cayuse Vigneron, Christophe Baron. It’s separate from Cayuse, Horsepower, and No Girls Wines. It is a dream representing more than 17 years of conventional wisdom-defying effort and expense.
Hors Catégorie clings to a steep hillside at the confluence of the north and south forks of the Walla Walla River. Beneath ragged cliffs, the syrah vines doggedly struggle for nourishment in meagre soils of fractured basalt. On a gradient of up to 60 degrees, the high density 2.5-acre planting can only be cultivated by hand or with machinery winched between the rows.
When Harvey Steiman of Wine Spectator visited Hors Catégorie back in 2015, he found a terroir absolutely unique in America, and saw the possibility of an incomparable wine-growing estate—a vision that has proven prophetic. “This combination of expressiveness, power and weightlessness is rare in American syrah,” he said after tasting the first wine straight from the puncheon. “Hors Catégorie looks like a jewel.”
Echoing Steiman’s accolades, Jeb Dunnuck of the The Wine Advocate gave the 2014 vintage a score of 95-97 points in barrel, increasing it to 99 once tasted in bottle:
“99 Points…the inky colored 2014 Syrah is a huge, unctuous effort the exhibits crazy notes of Asian spice, soy, shiitake mushroom, blackcurrants and tar. Tasking like a young Hermitage la Chappelle from Jaboulet
(from a great vintage), with lots of tannin, blood, minerality and smoke,
a huge mid-palate, and tons of tannin, it’s a tour de force in Syrah
I wish I could pour for every reader. Forget bottles for 4-5 years
and drink over the following two decades or more.
“Bravo to the team for this incredible effort,” adding that it “certainly
takes a bit out of the argument that old vines are required
for world class wines.” - Jeb Dunnuck, The Wine Advocate
Unfortunately, quantities of the 2014 Hors Catégorie Syrah will be extremely limited, and we will not be able to offer the wine to very many customers. “These have to be some of the more impressive and exciting releases in the wine world today,” said Dunnuck, referring to both the 2014 and 2015 vintages. “The only bad thing about them? There’s not enough to go around.”
So how can you get some?
• Sign-up for the Hors Catégorie Mailing List by visiting horscategorievineyards.com, starting Sept. 27, 2017 at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Act fast though, because names will be added on a first-come, first-served basis and not many spots are available.
• The Online Store will open for those on the Hors Catégorie Mailing List on Oct. 4, 2017 at 9 a.m. Pacific time.
• The 2014 Hors Catégorie Syrah will be priced at $240 per bottle, the wine will be packaged in a custom wooden box containing two 750ml bottles. For this initial allocation, each Member will be allocated one 2-pack.
• There are only 500 2-packs available world-wide.
• For most customers, these wines will ship as weather permits in February and March, 2018.
• The wines are not available for pick-up.
As always, thank you for your interest and support as we embark on this new adventure. When Christophe discovered the site in 2005, the precipitous hillside reminded him of Hermitage, the legendary appellation in France’s Northern Rhone. Now from any angle in any season, Hors Catégorie defies all description—appropriate, since the name means “beyond categorization” or “in a class of its own” in French. And we’re proud to share it with you."