Horsepower Sur Echalas Vineyard Grenache 2018

Few estates in the American wine landscape command the reverence that Horsepower Vineyards has earned in just a short time. Founded by Christophe Baron, the Frenchman who transformed the cobblestone soils of Walla Walla into some of America’s most coveted vineyard land at Cayuse, Horsepower takes the philosophy of minimal intervention to its absolute extreme. Every vine is farmed entirely by horse, every row tended by hand, and every decision in the vineyard guided by biodynamic principles. The Sur Echalas Vineyard is named for the ancient French practice of training each vine on its own individual stake, a method so labor intensive it has all but disappeared from modern viticulture, yet one that Horsepower maintains with unwavering conviction.

Grenache is not a grape most wine lovers associate with Washington State, but in the ancient cobblestone soils of the Walla Walla Valley it finds a home of startling suitability. The 2018 vintage brought warmth and generosity to the valley, and the Sur Echalas Grenache absorbed that energy into a wine of uncommon beauty and complexity. Pale ruby with a luminous transparency, the nose unfolds slowly and seductively, revealing wild strawberry, pomegranate, and dried lavender before giving way to iron, crushed stone, and a savory garrigue note that feels more Châteauneuf du Pape than Pacific Northwest. On the palate, the wine is deceptively light on its feet yet deeply concentrated, with gossamer tannins, electric acidity, and a finish that lingers with a mineral persistence long after the glass is empty.

The Horsepower Sur Echalas Grenache 2018 demands patience and rewards it generously, a wine to cellar alongside the great Grenaches of the Southern Rhône and to open with roasted lamb, herb crusted rack of venison, or simply on a quiet evening when the wine itself becomes the occasion.