As the name suggests, the fields here are plowed using horsepower alone.
In the time of vigneron Christophe Baron's grandfather, whose Cayeuse wines are now the envy of wine connoisseurs around the world, there were horses in every vineyard.
Christophe was not only the first to adopt biodynamic practices in Walla Walla, but also the first to use horses for farming.
This field is characterized by its narrow, dense planting, which means that only horses can enter.
Horsepower, a cult wine from Washington State.
Since its release, it has received rave reviews from various specialist magazines and quickly became a star wine. In the United States, it is sold via mailing list, and many people line up to eagerly await its release each year.
This is a rare label created by the Champagne genius Christophe Baron, who succeeded Cayeuse, and the fields are cultivated using biodynamic farming methods, entirely with horse power, without the use of any herbicides, chemical fertilizers, pesticides or fungicides.
Christophe's team represents tradition and history, and continues to write that history today.
This wine is Christophe's connection to his roots.
It is also a tribute to traditional techniques and family.
Like the Earth, it embraces all things, old and new.
That's Horsepower Vineyards.
Owen Bargreen, vinous.com 99 points Intense and heady, the 2019 Sur Echalas Syrah is the birth of a masterpiece.
On the nose, there's white pepper and black olive tapenade with hints of hoisin sauce, dark truffle, boysenberry, creosote oil and seaweed, all melding together in the glass.
In the mouth, it is rich, soft and surprisingly complex.
Fresh and powerful, with silky tannins and great length.
A beautiful wine, almost perfect.
It will enjoy another 10 to 15 years in the cellar.
Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com 96 points Leading the way among the three Syrahs, the 2019 Sur Echalas Syrah offers ruby/plum hues and dark cherry and black raspberry-like fruit along with a beautiful nose of smoked earth, shiitake mushroom, iron and exotic floral and bloody aromas.
This wine remains one of those wild, exotic and incredibly complex Syrahs that deliver beautiful fruit, medium to full-bodied richness, ultra-fine tannins and a fantastic finish.
If you want to drink it immediately, it needs to decant for an hour, and will likely last for 20 years or more.
This is the most aromatic and delicate of the three Syrahs.
This vineyard was planted in the ancient riverbed of the Walla Walla River on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla Valley.
The topsoil is 30-46cm thick and is a mixture of silty loam and basalt boulders.
Beneath this lies a layer of purely compressed cobblestone, more than 30 metres deep in some places.
Overall, it was cooler than average, resulting in a rainy harvest for the first time in a while.
Due to the late veraison, there is little sugar accumulation overall and excellent acidity.
Compared to recent vintages, 2019 was a mild year.
There was no sudden heat wave or temperatures above 38°C for any extended period of time.
During harvest, the days and nights were unusually cool, which raised acid levels a bit and gave the wines great balance.
The year 2019 shows elegant and very bright characteristics.
The nose is full of spicy fruitiness, with many overlapping spice characteristics.
It's juicy, delicious and very fresh.
The cool days and nights brought out the beautiful core of the fruit.
It takes a lot of work to make great wine in a cool vintage, but in 2019 the vegetation made all the difference.
For these reasons, the 2019 vintage has produced wines that are excellent food-friendly with balanced alcohol and rich tannins.
The vineyards have been farmed biodynamically since 2008 using Belgian and Percheron draft horses.
Vinified with 80% whole bunch grapes and aged for 15 months in neutral 600 litre French oak puncheons.
Horsepower is a cult wine from Washington State, made using 0% new oak barrels.
Horsepower Vineyards is a rare wine produced by Champagne genius Christophe Baron, who succeeded Cayeuse.
The fields are ploughed entirely by horse power.
Christophe's team represents tradition and history – and continues to write that history today.
This wine is Christophe's connection to his roots.
It is also a tribute to traditional techniques and family.
Like the Earth, it embraces all things, old and new.
That's Horsepower Vineyards.
Vigneron Christophe Baron first began practicing biodynamic farming in Washington's Walla Walla Valley in 2002.
Horsepower does not use any herbicides, chemical fertilizers, pesticides or fungicides. They work their vineyards with five horses, using vineyards trained to a single stake (called "sur echalas" in French) in a space of just 0.9m x 0.9m.
As the eldest son of Baron Albert, a Champagne House with a Hundred Years of History, Christophe's family has been farming the land in France's Marne Valley since 1677.
Until 1957, all vineyard work was done by horse.
Horsepower represents a return to this tradition, to an artisanal simplicity and purpose that has now been all but lost.
It's a window on the Old World, rooted in the New World.
Day in and day out, the only sound to be heard across all three fields is the thumping of hooves, a tradition that continues to plough and protect Horsepower's stony fields.