Did a quick forum search here to see what I could find, and had trouble uncovering any posting which linked Cayus/Reynvaan in stylistically similar ways, which made me curious. I myself have not yet had the opportunity to try these wines, so I can only go by “the word.” Which seems to bode quite well.
So what does everyone think? Is getting in while the getting is good (and available) the right approach here? With Christophe Baron acting with “carte blanche,” as vineyard manager and winemaker, and with similar unique vineyard sites chosen, do you foresee these wines turning in to the next Cayuse?
The descriptions regarding the wild noses of these wines give great hope, and CT is currently blowing up with regards to high praise (at least for “the Contender”). I’m interested to hear anyones take on this.
After talking with Matt Reynvaan, Christophe is much more of a “hands-off” advisor now than he was in the beginning. He trained Matt, and now Matt is off and running. We purchased a few bottles of '08 on futures based purely on recommendation from friends who had tried it, and then had the opportunity to actually taste them before release in August. We doubled our order immediately. We were also there for their release event in November, and tasted the '09s, and they are just as amazing. I can’t compare to Cayuse, as I have only had one bottle of Flying Pig, but these wines are simply outstanding. I’m planning on at least a case between the 4 bottlings.
All of their wine comes from their two estate vineyards. One is on the home property, where the winery is (to the SW of downtown Walla Walla), and the other is next to Cayuse vineyards in “The Rocks” area of Walla Walla. All but one (Stonessence) is co-fermented with varying amounts of white wine (viognier, roussanne, or marsanne), which give them a nice floral aspect to go with the dark richness of the syrah.
Are they the next Cayuse? Who knows…there might not ever be another WA winery like Cayuse. What I do know is its darn good juice for a very fair price.
I’ve had all three of the Reynvaan '08 wines, and they’re all fantastic. In the Rocks was my favorite based primarily on the nose, but there’s not a dud in the bunch.
They’re much less “out there” than the Cayuse I’ve had. You could use similar descriptors for the nose, buy the Reynvaans are much less polarizing on the palate. You won’t find people describing Reynvaan as “rotten”. That may be a plus or a minus depending on how you feel about Cayuse.
Reynvaan is also a much better value.
I have a bunch of the 2008 in my cellar, and have preoredered some of the 2009.
I’ll be interested in Jared Wagner’s response to this as he likes these producers as much as anyone. I personally don’t get the ga ga response to Cayuse. They are interesting wines, but no better than a bunch of Syrahs at a fraction of their cost, so take my comments knowing that I am not a fanboy.
I think Christophe works as hard as any winemaker in the US in promoting and defending his brand. You don’t see a distributor dumping it off in a random Costco somewhere, you get the best pricing buying direct from them, he is connected with the right critics, sommeliers etc. The result is an extremely popular and difficult to find wine that appeals to people who love a fruit and barrel oriented wine, but is different enough that the geekier people don’t dismiss it. Whether it holds up as people start to taste through them after a decade of sleep if they are not aging well makes me wonder if it will persist.
I have only tasted through the Reynvaan wines once, and found them to be very average. If they are doing all the work behind the scenes, they could build a nice following, but having Christophe Baron consult for their first couple of vintages won’t impact their future. He might have brought some people in the door, it’s up to them to keep them and bring in new customers.
I think the Reynvaan wines are certainly well above average, but are they cult level wines? Too early to tell. There are other, non Cayuse/Reynvaan style wines in Washington that are superb. I liked the 2007 in the Rocks better than anything so far, but we’ll see. Remember that these are also from very young vines, if I have my facts straight. If I were you, I’d probably keep my hand in on the mailing list.
YMMV of course, but I completely disagree with this- at the current time. Yes, Reynvaan is slighly cheaper at list prices- 35-45 vs. 45-60ish. (From memory). However, having very recently tasted the 07 Cayuse line-up next to the 07 Reynvaan’s- there is a serious qualitative step up that more than mitigates the price difference- which is my definition of value- what you get for your money.
In terms of style- you can certainly taste the similarity in styles and Reynvaan’s are very nice syrahs. Plus they are younger vines and when they have the raw materials at the same level as cayuse, all bets are off. However at this point in time they are not at the same level and while cheaper, they are not of better value.
All that said, for those interested in the cayuse style- I do recommend these wines- They don’t currently have the depth or richness of cayuse, but they are very pleasing syrahs.
I guess it depends on where and how you buy the wines.
I’m not on the Cayuse list, so I bought some 2008 from a retailer who had an allocation. They were $80/bottle, minus 15% for a mixed case discount for a total of $68.
The Reynvaan I also bought from a retailer who offered futures pricing after the wines were released. In The Rocks ended up being $40, which is substantially cheaper.
I don’t know how much the current releases were for those on the Cayuse list, but the Reynvaan could handily beat most of the $40 syrahs I’ve had in recent memory.
The last 2 stops in the Nov fall release in Walla Walla were Rasa and Reynvan. Both styles very similar. I bought all the offerings from both places with my favourites being the Rasa QED and Reynvann’s In The Rocks. Pinto is a great guy and will talk to you forever. Matt’s dad [Mike] was pouring for us, and big Mike is a real character. From what I heard from all the winemakers around Walla Walla, is they are a pretty tight group, who help each other at the drop of a hat. I can’t wait for the spring release in May to go back. I’ve been on the Cayuse waiting list for a couple of years now.
We have visited the Reynavaan’s operation twice now, once in late 09 at their house and last fall at the new winery. Gale and Matt have been great hosts both times and the new winery looks top noch when it comes to equipment. Had a barrel sample of 2010 contender and it was quite “funk” and good, just the way I like’em. I know we have bought futures for every wine every year and never regret it.
With this said my wife and I are huge fans of their style of syrah, as we have tried them all besides the 07 QRW. I can see how people draw some comparisons to Cayuse as there is some funkiness to the wine, but nothing like Cayuse IMO. Granted I have only had 6 bottles of Cayuse, but they seem to all have much more cabbage, olive brine, or seaweed notes. The Reynvaans on the other hand do seem to have more of a floral component on the nose due to the whites being blended in along with a little brine and the palate is much more of a median between Cayuse “odd” qualities and “typical” walla walla syrah. The other big difference is the mouthfeel of the Cayuse wines, which is always remarkable.
Overall I would definately say Reynvaan is a winery to watch and if you like their style collect, but its too soon to call them a “Cult Winery”. I will say this though, as others have mentioned they are working with newer vines, so the wines should only get better as the vines age. Look at the jump in quality Cayuse made from the late 90’s vintage or two and from 05 on where their wines have really taken off.
Already looking forward to stop by in April to taste them right after one another.
Anthony…always intrigued by your insightful comments but this one has me really scratching my head??? Are you saying Cayuse wines are fruit and oak bombs?
Darren-
Not at all. The wines do provide enough of a fruit forward quality that they can appeal to people who are drawn more to big, red fruit and barrel wines, but they draw in plenty of people who would shy away from big Washington reds as well. As far as oak goes, doesn’t he use concrete egg fermenters?
My point is only that Christophe has made good decision after good decision to put Cayuse in the position it is today, and it will take a ton of work for Reynvaan, Rasa or any other producer to get there, much less sustain it. This appreciation comes from someone who has a hard time connecting with the Cayuse style of wine.
Sorry for poor communication and/or any misperception
Anthony…no worries. You write a ton of notes on here about PNW wines, so I’m just trying to get a feel for what your palate is like and what you meant by “barrel wines”. I know Cayuse wines are not for everybody. He does use egg fermenters and I think most of the Syrahs see 20-30% new oak as a guess.
Reynvaan wines have a similar house style/flavor profile as Cayuse. Only time will tell if there are enough customers out there who enjoy the funk to keep Reynvaan busy. They seem like nice folks so I hope so.
Interesting topic you have brought up here. I’ve had this exact discussion several times with friends and other wine nerds. The first mistake that I think people make is they automatically assume that with Christophe as wine consultant that the Reynvaan wines are going to be clones or “little brothers” of Cayuse wines. While they share a few similarities (vineyards in the rocks, maverick winemaking), they also have quite a few differences (co-fermentation, less funk, more fruit vs. savory). Cayuse wines are so individualistic that I think you do any winery a disservice to compare them to Cayuse. There is only one Cayuse and nobody can do Cayuse like Cayuse!
I’m a big fan of Matt’s wines and have been from the first sip of the 07 In the Rocks. The connection to Christophe is what got me interested in trying the Reynvaan wines, but the quality of the wine and their own winemaking philosophies is what keeps bringing me back.
Anthony,
Thank you for further explaining your comment about fruit and barrel wines. The way it reads seems like you are describing Cayuse as fruit and oak bombs and we all know that is the furthest thing from the truth. Some other comments you made I have a bit of an issue with. You seem to be describing Charles Smith and not Christophe when you say that “he works as hard as any winemaker in the US promoting and defending his brand.” I have not seen nor heard of Christophe promoting Cayuse to any level like that other than pouring at very few selected events and he most certainly never has “defended” his brand. As far as being connected to the right critics (not sure what you are trying to infer there), he is just like any other winemaker who has critics review his wines. Unless you are privy to some insider dealings that we don’t know about. Also, I don’t think he has a legion of sommeliers out there pushing his wines as 99% of the restaurants out there don’t have any of his wines! I know you aren’t a fan of Cayuse wines and that’s cool. I feel the same way about Oregon pinot. Sounds like we can still get together and drink chablis!!
I actually think it is a positive how Cayuse is promoted. I know Christophe travels everywhere and arguably makes the biggest impact on showing Washington wine, specifically Walla Walla as a prime winemaking area. Charles works quite hard as well, but in a very different ( and certainly more obvious way).
As far as defending the brand, doing things like selling futures via the mailer, easing new buyers in with small allocations, and rewarding them with larger ones all while keeping direct sale prices lower than retail are great examples of retaining a strong brand for Cayuse. Again, please understand, I don’t express it as a negative at all.
Actually, I think he must be a brilliant businessman as he accomplishes these things without being over the top (billboards etc). I like Cayuse wines, but I don’t love them like many.
I do appreciate you and Darren challenging my comments. It can be difficult to get one’s point across in this environment and it’s a good reminder to continue to scan and read back as I don’t want to come across like an iconoclastic pecker here.
