2015 Sur Echalas Vineyard Syrah

(the crop level here was between 1.5 and 2 tons per acre; vinified almost entirely with whole clusters): Bright medium red. Aromas of cherry, mocha and smoky reduction, plus a whiff of ashtray. Pliant and layered but today the wine's fruit and mocha flavors are quite saline and smoky, even a tad rustic. Finishes with a serious dusting of tannins. Hard to read in the early going, and clearly in need of at least a couple years of bottle aging. (13.5% alcohol)

The 2015 Syrah Sur Echalas Vineyard is just as striking as its Grenache sibling, unfurling with an equally complex nose of sweet cassis, beef blood, bitter cocoa, peony and violets, with notions of grilled meat and truffle emerging with time. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied and amazingly intense, with a deep and multidimensional core framed by remarkably satiny, layered tannins, concluding with a long, saline finish.

The 2015 Syrah Sur Echalas Vineyard is a savory, tertiary effort that’s reminiscent of red wine filtered through a rocky riverbed. Earth, chalky minerality, wood smoke, and sous bois notes, as well as both red and black fruits, give way to a medium to full-bodied, seamless Syrah that has light tannin, no hard edges, and a singular, transparent character. It’s going to gain weight with 2-3 years in bottle and drink well for a decade. The Horsepower wines are made at Cayuse yet from their own set of vineyards which are farmed exclusively by horses. The wines share plenty of similarities with the Cayuse releases, yet have slightly more backward profiles that demand bottle age to show at their best.