Cayuse weekend TN

While I am still on vacation and am finally recovering from liver damage I am going to throw my notes out and would be curious as to what others have to say about their experience with Cayuse wines at this stage in their lives. Overall I found his line up to be compelling, it has been a while since I have tasted through some of these wines and others it was my first experience. Christophe’s space is open and airy with small bites being offered by what I was told Nick’s Cafe from Mcminnville, Ore. It was a cold weekend overall but the sun did peak out in time to warm up a bit later in the day, we showed up around 10:30 on Friday morning to avoid the crowds.

08’ God only knows- Raspberry fruit leading to blue fruits, copper, pepper, smoke and game. I found the palate a bit clipped but the wine was cold, not overripe or overblown in anyway.

09’ Camaspelo (82% Cab, 18% Merlot)- Touch green pepper with vanillan oak, juicy blue fruits macerated with ripe cherries. Moderate tannin with camphor and smoke. I finished mine but when I went back to Stacey’s glass the wine was really coming together, nice wine.

09’ Widowmaker Cabernet- Pure cab nose of Cassis, tabacco leaf and vanilla. Moderate palate weight with moderate oak showing, persistent palate with candied cherries and ripe red fruits. Stacey says ‘yummy’.

09’ Cailloux vineyard Syrah-Shows crushed black pepper, roasted game, smoke and candied fruit. Rich, intense palate of iron and game, smooth blue fruit with great length. My note says delicious.

09’ En Cerise vineyard Syrah- I found this similar to the Chamberlin with meat, game, funk and a wonderful lift of white flowers and acacia’s. A touch of musk that oddly enough reminds me of Riesling. Shows bitter chocolate, oak and pepper at the end. The lift on this wine was fantastic and I found the weight to be perfectly balanced.

09’ En Chamberlin vineyard Syrah- Like the wine before but with more game and funk. Cassis and boysenberry frame the nose with iron and copper rounding out the palate.

09’ Bionic Frog Syrah- Showing a lot of the same notes as the last 2 wines, but a serious step up in intensity, this wine is deep rich and intense, to me this is a Wow wine.

08’ Armada vineyard Syrah- Deep and rich, showing Bourbon notes, slight VA issue but it seems to come together. A completely different beast than any of his other wines, shows muted notes with more oak and chocolate. After 10-15 minutes white flowers come through and the aromatics start to open. For me the less impressive aromatics than the rest of the wines but probably the most ageable.


After Cayuse we made several other stops so I will just give my brief impressions on what I remember.
Sleight of hand.
09’ Chard- Great aromatics with a persistent palate, needs 6 months to a year to come together.
10’ Gewurtz blend- Great balance with really nice acidity
08’ Funk Syrah- Reminds me of the Cayuse Syrah’s with white flowers, game and funk.

Garrison Creek
I have seen very little love from any board on these wines but David is the ultimate host. If you ever get a chance make an appointment, the barrel tasting and energy that David has is worth the stop. They own the famous Les Collines vineyard and the facility is jaw dropping. The hold all their wines in oak for 3 years and in bottle for 3 years more. We sampled the 08’ Reserve, their first and it was fantastic. Stacey loves these so we purchased the Cab, Syrah and Zin.
The last comment that I have about these wines is that they don’t always show well, decant them or age them and they will reward you.

Rasa
My ‘find’ of the trip. Really nice wines with great acidity and juicy ripe fruit. Their 10’ Riesling will make you take notice, this is the first Riesling that I have actually purchased from Washington, outstanding acidity and fruit balance. The Vox Populi, 100% Mourvedre was the other that stood out, great length and fruit that is framed by a decent amount of wood to hold it all together. Great folks as well.

Reynvaan
This is our 3rd visit and the wines are as good as ever. The only issue that we had was the price. I think that they need to re evaluate where they are at and consider that $50-$70 Syrah is only sustainable for Cayuse, hence the fact they still had last years releases to sell.

Charles Smith Cool new facility that is a bit confusing, we couldn’t really figure out what it was going to become. They have a cool selection of back vintages and we were able to taste through the majority of their wines. We also were able to p/u a bottle of his just bottled Pinot from Evergreen vineyard. I will reserve judgement until I get a chance to try it again.


All in all a great weekend, we will be back in a month for Spring release and get to try the rest of the list we wanted to see.


Jb

Thanks for the notes. I heard from others the Armada, En Chamberlin, and the Frog were really singing.

You pretty much summed up my usual stops (and buys); Cayuse, Rasa, Reynvaan, Sleight of Hand. Unfortunately, couldn’t make it up there this weekend but will hopefully swing by in a few weeks.

Thanks for the early Cayuse look.

Were they pouring Flying Pig?

No Pig or Impulsivo…
Does anyone know why?


Jb

I threw some notes up on cellartracker (tarheel17), which are wholly inadequate and really just whatever I managed to jot down. This was my first weekend at Cayuse and we had a great time. The food was delicious - I would kill for that pate recipe. The pours were a little small for me to be able to evaluate (not complaining!), but I came away very happy with all of the wines I tasted. I was bummed that there was no Flying Pig, however, since that is the wine that really sold me on Cayuse to begin with.
Anyway, my favorites were Bionic Frog, En Cerise, Cailloux and Widowmaker, roughly in that order. Can’t wait to increase my allocation to acquire any of them!

My notes are very similar to those above. Thought the Frog was leaps ahead of everything else this year. The wines reminded me a little of the 06s and their sweet red fruit but I thought the 09s had/have better balance. And, where was the funk??? A little in the En Cerise and a lot in the En Chamb but minimal in the GOK, Widowmaker, and Cailloux. Another great job done by the Cayuse crew for the release!

My notes from Cayuse Weekend

2008 God Only Knows Grenache

Red, Opaque, Almost Pinot-like. Fruity as opposed to jammy. Strawberry and other red fruits. Somewhat acidic.
Think he was going for an older Chateau Rayas type of wine.


2009 Campaselo

Dark, purple and opaque. Hints of blackberry, black raspberry, cherry-cola, truffles and fennel with sweet tannins


2009 Widowmaker

Medium purple in color, opaque, Cassis, blackberries, black cherry and violets. Some acid with sweet tannins. Coats the entire tongue with a 20 second + finish


2009 Callioux (personal favorite)

Purple in color and opaque. Red fruit, iron, blood, mushrooms, pepper and floral notes. Sweet tannins

2009 En Cerise

Purple and opaque. More reserved that the Cailloux (possible shut down?). Loads of dark raspberry, and spicy. Stronger presence of tannins then the Callioux.

2009 En Chamberlain

Purple in color and again opaque. Dark red fruit with hints of smoke. Thinner and more feminine then the En Cerise and Callioux

2008 Armada

Dark purple in color, opaque. Strawberry, cherry mushroom with floral notes. Moderate tannins but of a softer nature.

2009 Bionic Frog

Purple and opaque. Dark fruit - blackberries, some blueberry and dark cherry. Tannins are mild with some “grip”. Moderate length in finish. You can tell this is going to sing down the road but seems a little disjointed right now.

In the order in which our group tasted…

08 God Only Knows My least favorite wine of the tasting also began this event. Just not for me and a touch hot, pretty cool label though.

09 Camaspelo (82% Cab, 18% Merlot) I liked this wine quite a bit, lots of lighter-styled fruit for a Cab-dominated wine. Some secondary kind of flavors already, which is pretty much impossible. Right?

09 Widowmaker Much darker fruit, hard to believe this is Cab from the same vineyard as Camaspelo. Elegant & weighty. Yummy. Want some!

09 Cailloux My favorite wine of the event, really happy I have 9 bottles cellared now. I didn’t get a lot of funk or iron or blood, just tons of balance and elegance and depth.

08 Armada Dead ringer for a Lee Hudson Vineyard Syrah, not as complex as Abe’s Androkteinos though.

09 Bionic Frog Full-on chemistry class but simply too young now to seriously evaluate or enjoy. See you closer to 2020 my friend.

09 En Cerise My two tastes were quite small and this wine seemed a bit shut down to me too. Mel loved this bottle. We both felt this was inappropriately placed next to En Chamberlin, kinda like a demolition derby between a Hummer and Mini-Cooper.

09 En Chamberlin Big and unabashedly loud, think 6’8" 300 biker who is really buzzed and having fun in Sturgis. Nice blue and darker fruit with game galore and loads of funk. Loved this wine but wintertime only here in Nor-Cal

I have to add I wish all winery events were as well thought out as this one. For a consumer who has been buying via futures (and just sticking the bottles in the cellar with respect) I felt like Saturday gave me ample opportunity to learn all I wanted to about Christophe’s wines. It was fairly easy to navigate the room and while loud it wasn’t like the tarmac at LAX either. The food was plentiful and uniformly excellent, note to self - don’t miss the salmon until exiting the room next time. This event was wildly generous and a real celebration while allowing examination - bravo to all at Cayuse!

Great event for sure. Not much to add to the notes above. My favorites were the Widowmaker, Bionic Frog and surprisingly the En Cerise. For my money this may be the best En Cerise of the last 7-8 years.

Tom
Twitter: @NWTomLee

This was my first Cayuse open house and overall I was extremely impressed. The food was great, the pate and pork in particular. It was interesting trying all of the wines. I only receive the GOK and the Aramada currently and have had the opportunity to try Cailloux a few times. I will agree with Darren that the funk wasn’t as present as I would have expected but none the less I enjoyed them all.

An old friend from college hosted and acted as our tour guides for the weekend so we headed to Feast next. Amy and I had a great time sampling food from many of the local restaurants. The halibut with green curry sauce and bok choy was amazing, but dish of the day was the sweet potato stuffed pasta with hazelnut and a brown butter sauce. The girls went back multiple times for this dish. There were many wineries to choose from but the tastes that stood out to me where the merlot at Pepperbridge, Va Piano’s Bruno’s Blend Sav Blanc and the Carmenere from Spencer at El Corazon.

Final stop for our Saturday daytime tasting was over at Rotie Cellars. I have had the chance to try Sean’s Southern Blend once before and was very excited to try the whole lineup.

The Southern Red blend (70% Grenache/15% Syrah/15% Mourvedre) was better than I remembered it. I find it reminiscent of Betz Family Winery’s Besoleil. Great texture and mouth feel with beautiful red fruits and some cocoa hints.

The Northern Blend (97% Syrah/3% Viognier) Sean said that the wine was co-fermented and the nose definitely shows this. The nose was reminiscent of the In The Rocks bottling from Reynvaan. The flowers and incense are truly showy and the taste continues the enjoyment. Red fruits, dark chocolate and licorice are what I remember. Personal favorite of the their lineup.

VDP (88% Pepperbridge Syrah/ 12% Mourvedre) Original idea was to use this syrah with the Northern Blend but was quite the right fit so instead we are left with this gem. The Walla Walla funkiness can be found here with a meaty and mushroom like nature.

We finished our evening off checking out Charles Smith’s new World Headquarters party. The lineup of wines offered was interesting/impressive. Did anyone actually purchase the Royal City at this point in their day? While crowded to the capacity point our group had a great time. I loved the music. For a cool down on our way back home we popped by El Corazon winery a block over from Charles’ new spot. Spencer was pouring at Feast where I tried the Rose of Syrah earlier in the day. Great summer drinker for the hopefully warm days that will be here in Washington someday. His Carmenere has a great level of spiciness and that I am curious to see how it develops with time. Finally we had the chance to grab a barrel tasting of his Cab Franc. Walla Walla fruit, the vineyard escapes me currently, but I am very excited to see how this is once he bottles. Sorry for the disjointed notes at the end here but is was nearly midnight at this point and the memory had begun to fade.

Sunday morning Amy and I headed out to Sleight of Hand’s new location to snag some of the Trey’s juice. The Gewurtz white blend is always a favorite around our house, as well as the Cab Franc Rose`. While just released the Archimage is its usual beautiful self. Both the Levitation and the Funkadelic syrahs were showing great. The aptly named Funkadelic is a great bottle of dirty/funky syrah goodness from the Funk Vineyard of Saviah Cellars. Like someone stated earlier it has some reminiscent qualities of a Cayuse wine. The Levitation goes in a totally different direction. Les Collines and Lewis were the vineyard sources for this wine. The healthy dollop of Lewis fruit (43%) takes this in a much more dark fruit direction than the Funkadelic. Congrats on the new digs to the Sleight of Hand crew!

I noticed that a couple have said that there wasn’t the ‘funk’ that there has been in the past, while I did get a little, how much was there. Also, those of you that have been to the tasting in the past, how do you feel the wines have changed and if so, what do you think is the reason?



Jb

We attended the tasting this weekend and been drinking the wines from '04 onward. A few thoughts-

1. There is no question imo the wines have less “funk” then they did 7-8 years ago. I remember pouring an '04 En Chamberlain to some friends who absolutely hated the wine. The red cabbage, veggie, “Cayuse funk” was simply too much for them and very dominant. Today these same drinkers love the En Chamberlain in recent vintages. The funk is there, but the balance and added complexity have changed the wine.
2. I attribute this to simply vineyard maturation. The funk has gone from primary to complementary. For my palate a huge upswing in quality starting around '05. I feel the wines are better across the board and nothing tasted this year was disappointing. The best Frog sampled to date… as well as the best Widowmaker poured (but I don’t go to Cayuse to drink Cabs!)
3. The crowds at least 1/3 smaller then any year I’ve been. I was downright shocked Friday afternoon… I could actually walk around! Guessing it will take some time for the new April-date to catch on. Staff confirmed lower attendance.
4. Were not pouring the rose, Flying Pig or Impulsivo due to lower yields. The freeze this winter was severe and would not be shocked to see the same issue in two years. Good thing they bury their canes!
5. Awesome event. Can’t wait to attend next year already.

This was my wife and I’s first time at the event and it was great from everything from the food to the wine. The crowds were pretty crazy on Saturday morning when we arrived first thing in the morning, heard Friday was much more easy going. Baron was talkative as ever and the staff very curtious when talking about the wines. In general it did seem that the wines had much less funk than past vintages from my limited experience with the wines. We were blown away with the Widowmaker and it was our favorite of the tasting which was a big suprise, also really enjoyed the Bionic and En Chamberlin as it showed the most funk. Will probably post more detailed notes CT once I get a chance later on this week. Really enjoyed the members here and on the other boards that we met and can’t wait for next year.

Regarding the note on Rasa …

“Rasa
My ‘find’ of the trip. Really nice wines with great acidity and juicy ripe fruit. Their 10’ Riesling will make you take notice, this is the first Riesling that I have actually purchased from Washington, outstanding acidity and fruit balance. The Vox Populi, 100% Mourvedre was the other that stood out, great length and fruit that is framed by a decent amount of wood to hold it all together. Great folks as well.”

Loved the 2010 Reisling and the 100% Mouvedre as well. They are definitely great folks. Not sure I really get the rest of their wines - that is not to say they are bad but I fail to see where they stand out special in any way.

Joel,
You’ve been on fire this trip, reading your notes I’m kinda envious.
As far as Rasa goes, I agree, I thought the rest of their wines were good but not really what I call ‘purchase worthy’.
The Riesling and the Mouvedre were the only 2 wines we bought, hence ‘purchase worthy’.


Jb

Agree with Tom. The fruit is just getting better every year due to maturity and experience. Really enjoying the balance in the last few years. I think the En Cerise and Widowmaker have improved dramatically. Those 04s are funky and not for the faint at heart.

Thought Rasa was ok. Liked the QED and Mourvedre. Really enjoyed the 08 Southern blend at Rotie. And, the nose on the Reynvaans were incredible…just waiting for the palates to catch up.

Our first Cayuse event and our first trip to Walla Walla. In general I was very impressed with the wines we tasted at all the wineries we visited. Very much appreciated that the winemakers were pouring the wines themselves, that they were pouring their entire line-ups (when possible), that there were no crowded tasting rooms (Cayuse excepted), and that none charged tasting fees. In addition to the wines, we were also impressed with the meals we had at the Inn at Abeja (where we stayed), Saffron, Whoopmeup Cafe, and Andrae’s Kitchen (food truck).

Our experience with the Cayuse wines is similar to those already mentioned. Our favorite syrahs were the Bionic Frog, the Armada, and Cailloux, and the En Chamberlin, in that order. The wife really like the Widowmaker. The En Cerise had really nice aromas of cherry but was less complex than the En Chamberlin. Found the Camaspelo to be a bit dull and the funkiness in the GOK did not seem to “pair” as well with the grenache as it does with the syrah IMHO.

Our favorite tastings of the weekend were at Kerloo made by Ryan Crane, the asst winemaker at Va Piano. I was dazzled by the grenache has plans on releasing in 2012. His upcoming syrah/viognier was great and the syrah and tempranillo were very good. We also enjoyed the entire Gramercy line-up. After buying the past two vintages of the John Lewis syrah I finally had a taste (of the '06) and it is outstanding. I also really like the Lagniappe.

Rulo was also a highlight. Everything in their line-up was good and plan to load up on some whites for the summer. While the regular syrah bottling is very nice for the price ($20), the Silo syrah reserve is definitely a step-up and worth the extra $$.

At Abeja we tasted the 08 cab, 08 merlot, 08 syrah and 09 chardonnay. All were very good but it was the chard that stole the show for us. The wife does not care for chard and she loved it.

At Reynvaan, I preferred the 09 Contender which is syrah blended with marsanne. While the wines are very good, they did not inspire me to sign-up for the mailing list or to buy them on futures. Had the same reaction at Rasa where the whole line-up is very good but nothing really dazzled me.

At Rotie, I really like the Southern Blend and think that the Northern Blend will be good but needs more time in comparison. Sean was also pouring a 100% grenache called the Little G that was very nice.

All in all, a great weekend of wine, food, and exploring. Walla Walla is a very nice town in a beautiful area and we look forward to returning in a couple of years.

Sadly had my last 09 Edith Rose after golf Sunday. It was glorious and bone dry. Note to self - keep a 10 Edith until spring 12.

I was disappointed that we didn’t get to try this at the tasting. How would this compare to Tempier’s Rose, as it is my all time favorite rose? Just interested to see if I should place a request in for some next fall.