Stephen Long

9.3

This is a wicked wine. Medium red/medium garnet. Savory wine for sure. Nose is majority meat ( maybe some beef that’s been left in the sun, or some smoked bacon ), black tea, sour cherry, plum, earth, poo, some floral notes. Palate follows, meat and black tea, strawberry, sour cherry. All of the Cayuse has this similarity for sure. Horsepower Sur Echalas light. — 5 years ago

Keith Fisher

9.6

Pleasant (for my palate), funk with lots of grilled meat character. — 5 years ago

A E Weber

8.9

I’m driving a red Camaro because I love the cherry character and horsepower of this California Pinot. It has some body, some earthy minerals, so keep your pedal to the metal. — 5 years ago

Anthony De Blasi

9.2

All the components were present, still lots of horsepower but clearly in her drinking window! Strong on the fruit, no sharp edges, just ready to give the best she has... — 6 years ago

Max Kelly

9.6

Beautiful expression of Highland Park. Tons of horsepower, richness, and that beautiful clean campfire smokiness. SMWS doesn't always get it right, but this is a clear winner. — 7 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

This wine seriously has more bacon fat and pork than I've experienced in a bottle. The fruit is one of the last things I will have in this description. It's why there is a pig in the picture collage! I had to do it because right now that is the dominating flavor of the wine. I am going to come back to this in a bit. Let's see what happens after some time in the decanter. This starting to calm down a bit. On the nose, bacon fat, pork, grilled meats, BBQ sauce, olive, loads of milk chocolate, brine, brown sugar, dried blood, pepper, black plum, dark cherries, blackberries, faint strawberries, dry stones, loamy clay soil, scorched earth, soy sauce and decayed dark florals. The mouthfeel is thick and brooding. Everything on the nose is on the palate. The acidity is round. The finish is thick, rich with intense flavors that stick to the palate and linger endlessly. If I had more bottles of the 06 En Chamberlin, I'd wait another 8-10 years to open them. It's still a monster. Photos of; the front of their tasting room in downtown Walla Walla that is generally always closed, the stone vineyard of Cayuse that needs to be horse plowed, Christophe Baron (owner), ready to pick grapes and a field pig...just because their is so much pork in this wine. Producer notes and history...while visiting the Walla Walla Valley in 1996, Christophe Baron spotted a plot of land that had been plowed up to reveal acres of softball-sized stones. He became ridiculously excited. This stony soil, this terroir, reminded him of vineyards he had visited in France (Rhone Valley) and Spain. The difficult ground would stress the grapevines, making them produce more mature, concentrated fruit. Christophe Baron had found a new home. He named his vineyard after the Cayuse, a Native American tribe whose name was taken from the French cailloux–which means, of course, rocks. Hours of back-breaking work later, Cayuse Vineyards has become five vineyards encompassing 50 acres: Armada, Cailloux, Coccinelle (Ladybug), En Cerise (Cherry), and En Chamberlin. The majority of the vineyards are planted with Syrah, and the rest dedicated to Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Merlot, Tempranillo and Viognier. All of the vineyards are planted in rocky earth within the Walla Walla Valley appellation. Cayuse was also the first winery in Walla Walla to farm using biodynamic methods. These highly stressed vineyards average a yield of only two tons or less per acre (30 hectolitres per hectare), resulting in wines true to each vineyard’s unique terroir. Cayuse specializes in four estate-vineyard Syrahs, along with Bionic Frog Syrah, Impulsivo Tempranillo, Widowmaker Cabernet-Sauvignon, two Bordeaux blends named Camaspelo & Flying Pig and Viognier. Look for their other partnership wines; Horsepower & No Girls if you haven't already. Nearly 100% all mailing list, restaurants and secondary markets. — 7 years ago

James Ehrman

9.3

For a 15.4% monster this surprisingly smooth and balanced. Akin to traction control on a Hellcat. I think both have 700 horsepower. — 8 years ago

Ryan Mayes

9.4

Love this high horsepower wine. Tasted at the winery on the lovely terrace where everyone is super friendly. A club worth every penny. Earthy, baking spices, black licorice. — 8 years ago

Morgan Harris

Head Sommelier Aureole New York

9.8

So pristine. It'll lack horsepower for some, but what's there is crystalline. Love that it's not trying to impress anyone, just perfectly itself. Drink now or in 20 years. Spotless. — 9 years ago

Chris Zitzman

9.6

Profound and rich for its price (about $60) and a direct contradiction to the idea of the '07 vintage out of California breaking out when young. Surprising horsepower, complexity, and one of the most incredible and enjoyable evolution I've had from the vintage. Good, good stuff that with age will only get better. — 11 years ago

Anthony De Blasi

9.1

Intense cabernet sauvignon with lots of horsepower. Some alcoholic heat with its 15% vol. — 5 years ago

David Wanek

9.9

This one is right up there with the 2006 IMO. Lots of horsepower and torque on top of pure silky tannins. Can’t do much better. — 5 years ago

Shawn R

9.5

Pommard’s drink so well young yet with a modest decant sheds fruit and shows horsepower and finesse. Drinks like a Grand Cru. — 5 years ago

Andrew Lohse

9.3

Black fruit-forward / lots of horsepower — 6 years ago

Roman Sukley

9.8

2015 Sine Qua Non "Le Chemin Vers L'Hérésie" California Grenache
(“the way to heresy”)
Manfred continues on with his French obsession, apparently fueled by his unrequited youthful passion for a Citroen 2VC. Slow and under-powered in its day (I think my lawnmower has more horsepower), but today rather chic. The wine Is a bit different from what we have come to expect from an SQN Grenache. It’s a blend of 75% Grenache, 13% Mourvèdre 8% Touriga Nacional and 4% Petite Sirah. A whopping 44% whole clusters resulting in a nose that is simply astonishing! As with most Sine Qua Non wines, the fragrant bouquet just overwhelms me. Absolute killer aromas of violets, ripe black cherry and blackberry with notes of lavender, eucalyptus and menthol, that just explode from the glass and envelope your total consciousness. Hints of toasted marshmallow, vanilla, nutmeg and a touch of smokey bacon lurking in the background. Profound! Deep garnet/purple in the stem. Palate-coating and tooth-staining dark fruits along with cinnamon, rosemary and thyme. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated. The tannins are more velvety than I expected. But the texture is just pure silk, and I can’t emphasize that enough. Just satiny plush. Simply sublime. Lengthy, peppery finish. Usually, my SQN advice would be to wait and cellar, but if you have more than one, pull that cork! You will not be disappointed. — 6 years ago

Bill Bender

9.6

While I love the undeniable sense of place that Cayuse, Horsepower and No Girls provide....I always struggle to catch these prodigious wines in the right drinking window. This was big to be sure but after an 8 hour audouze and 2 hours in the decanter it was a powerful polished and nuanced Syrah like few others I've tried. The fox fur, raw hot dog and saline on the nose are so different than the taste of bramble, deep purple fruit, blackberry compote and volcanic ash that develop on the entry and mid-palate. The last glass was silky smooth on the finish with a substantial and uniquely earthy mouthfeel. Ready to drink now with time and air. Best paired with food but oh so tasty and fun. — 8 years ago

Max Kelly

9.3

Pure CM goodness. Tons of horsepower in a muscular, elegant form. Hints of musky orange blossom, acacia, and oodles of minerality. Great length, good precision...the class of the producer, vineyard, and vintage all show through. — 8 years ago

with Doug, Chris and 1 other

Michael Descamps

9.2

Expansive, dense, biscuity. This wine has a lot of horsepower under the hood but needs some time to round into form. — 8 years ago

Chris Zitzman

9.1

Needs some time to breathe & stretch out. As it opens it unfolds into a luscious Viognier with all the horsepower one would expect when spending this kind if money.

Excellent stuff. — 10 years ago

with Beth

Chris Zitzman

9.3

May be my favorite of all the Molly's on its range. Having it with some good ribeyes and it is blossoming by the second. Nose-coating rich cherry that just flows onto the palate with grace backed with oodles of horsepower. The mid-palate oozes stewed cherry, cassis, and that distinctive Mollydooker signature extraction. Yum. Ville. — 11 years ago

with Beth

Paul T HB

9.6

Nice, but not Cayuse or horsepower. Its a close 3rd place
Jeb 98🤷🏼‍♂️ — 5 years ago

Shay A

9.5

At opening, though slightly funky, it wasn’t as aromatically funky as I was expecting a wine from this region to be. Evidently, it only needed 15-20mins for the full funk to come out. Smoked brisket, teriyaki strip, olive tapenade, and peppercorn. On the palate, specifically the mid palate, this showed more fruit than expected (in a good way) with spiced blackberry and roasted rhubarb. Herbal notes too. This is an iron fist in a velvet glove...the power is up front and then becomes elegant on the back end. Drinking really well now but can hold in this window for 3-5yrs. @Keith Fisher mentioned he thought this was maybe a bit more funky than Horsepower...it’s certainly up there! — 5 years ago

with Weston, Dan and 1 other

Ryan Mayes

9.1

In short, surprised and underwhelmed. The nose is absolutely gorgeous: fresh blue berries and whipped cream. After that, resembles CA in the first few rounds of the Alvarez / GGG fight. Decent attack but weak mid palette. Tannins are spot on, however. If this were a bit more ripe and had more horsepower on this finish it would be far more interesting / enjoyable. — 7 years ago

George Chen

8.9

Dry earthy. Like horsepower — 7 years ago

Martin Ryan

8.9

Needs a lot more time. All horsepower no handling. Started to reveal itself on day two, so I know it has potential — 8 years ago

Ryan Mayes

9.0

Big Napa Meritage. Lot of horsepower, not very much finesse. I don't drink a ton of Beringer but from memory would characterize this as a more highly concentrated, structured, rounder version of the Knight's Valley cab without the balance or precision of the Reserve. A solid buy at Costco's $33 price point but wouldn't buy at full retail, which I believe is double. At that price point, would go with the Cinq Cepages bottling from another Treasury Wine Estate producer on the west side of the ridge, Chateau St. Jean. — 8 years ago

Anthony Libutti

9.3

Horsepower, horsepower, all this Polo on, I got horsepower. — 8 years ago

with Alexandra

Morgan Harris

Head Sommelier Aureole New York

9.5

15 years young. None of the aggressive SO2 notes you often see in '99s from other relatively large houses. Just pure fruit with tons of horsepower, this is definitely showing and well right now. Toasty autolytic notes blend in seamlessly. This wine feels like good natural bottle age, no forced reduction (a la Ruinart) or oxidation edge (Krug, Bollinger). It has a long window in front of and it should age really gracefully. Impressive. — 9 years ago

Chris Zitzman

8.9

Surprisingly, simply not as awesome as expected. Good, rich and earthy- but without the graceful horsepower I've come to love about so many red burgs. — 10 years ago

with Beth