TN: 2015 Cayuse - Tempranillo Wallah Wallah Special (USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley)

WINE TALK
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2015 Cayuse Tempranillo Wallah Wallah Special Walla Walla Valley - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley (3/13/2026)
– decanted 1.5 hrs before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over 1.75 hrs on Day 1; revisited on Day 3 –

NOSE: “dark” – dark fruited and smoky; savory Cayuse character; a bit reserved, as this is only moderately expressive; hints of roasted celery and black raspberry.

BODY: quite dark in color: earthy garnet-violet color of great depth; medium-full bodied.

TASTE: not tannic; a bit glossy; bitter; Cayuse savory funk; alc. can be tasted a little; speaks more of Cayuse than it does Tempranillo. i liked it on Day 1 (I suppose; in a vacuum), but this is a poor QPR relative to other Cayuse offerings, and the lack of varietal character is disappointing. Noticeable oxidation on Day 3. Not impressed. Would not rebuy.

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Haven’t had this vintage, but agree with your assessment that this bottling “speaks more of Cayuse than it does Tempranillo.” It was interesting the first time I tried it, and fun to pour for others who had never tried it. Hard to find interest for additional bottles.

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Have they bottled this more than once? This was not the Impulsivo.

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Yeah, sorry. My bad. Thought we were talking about the Impulsivo.

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Is this the magnum only bottling?

I had the first year and wasn’t impressed to continue on in that format. (Still am on the list though)

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This was in 750s. Along with the special Cabernet (also 2015 vintage), I think this was a onetime thing. Maybe they had a bumper crop of high quality fruit that year? I dunno. But I will say this: it’s not recognizable as Tempranillo, but it is clearly Cayuse.

… on a barely-related topic —- I’d love to see Cayuse work with Mourvèdre.

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I like the idea of a Cayuse Mouvedre!
I too ordered the temp and cab 2015 specials.
As this was a one time event I wondered if it wasn’t leftover NoGirls juice.
As for the special magnums, always glad to get those.

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Brian,

Funny you mention this, as Trevor brought it up to me at the latest release party. Apparently they had planted Mourvedre early on and produced wine for three vintages but weren’t happy with the results so they tore out the vines. I asked if they had any bottles lying around and Trevor said they never even bottled it.

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That is terribly unfortunate to hear. In theory, Cayuse and Mourvedre sounds like a match made in heaven!

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Can’t disagree. I actually prefer this bottling on the Younger side.