This wine is a blend of 90% Grenache and 10% “God only knows” - certainly, an unusual combination for Washington. This is actually my second bottle of this wine in the last 3 nights. Let me preface my comments by saying that I very much like Christophe’s wines, but I’ve never found them to be “outstanding.” To put it in a numerical perspective, I don’t think I’ve ever had a Cayuse wine (even the Rose) that I thought merited a score under an 89-90. I also cannot recall a Cayuse wine that I really thought deserved anything higher than a 92 or so. AND, I’m hardly bullish on WA Grenache. So with that being said…
Tangy and bright - salted jerky and dried sausage with framboise. Slightly frizzante, but it blows off rather quickly. Silky fruit with notes of wet fur and the telltale Cayuse kink. A bit of heat on the mid-palate and finish; but after a few hours, the fruit opens up enough to bring the booze into a better sense of balance. This has complex, meaty notes that I associate with Northern Rhone Syrah (in spite of what must be a very small %) alongside rich, enveloping, velvety Grenache. Both bottles reached “wow” status at about the 2-3 hour mark (and as other things were open, each reached the stage with a few pours left). At about this point, the Cayuse funk (which folks either dig or not) receded to a much greater degree than with any of the Syrahs. It was nuance and not a predominant characteristic. This doesn’t show garrigue or the like but the raspberry quality still seems complimented by something herbal. I’m sure that some Cayuse lovers will think I’m well off the mark (and I’d love to share a glass and have you show me the error of my ways), but I think this is the best Cayuse wine I’ve had (both bottles showed almost identically - how’s that for bottle variation in the world of kink?). There’s brightness, spine, great lift, depth, and still a lush sense of fruit. This is a fine, fine bottle of wine, even if it doesn’t really fit into any category - it isn’t CdP, Cali Grenache, or SA Grenache. It also shows much more old world quality, if you will, than the Grand Reve or Betz. Nice showing. Twice now. (94)