Cayuse Sale & Familia Nin-Ortiz 5-8-24

In This Newsletter:
 
Cayuse & The Wines of Christophe Baron Sale
&
Vinopolis Close-Out Sale Featurette: Familia Nin-Ortiz


 
Cayuse & The Wines of Christophe Baron
 
Your Three-Day Discount Starts Now

 
“Baron’s wines are among the best of the best.” —Tim Fish, Wine Spectator
 
“The Cayuse wines continue to set the benchmark for Rhône varieties in Washington State…” —Eric Guido, Vinous
 
“While the ship has long since sailed with regards to getting on the mailing list, these are singular wines well worth the effort to track down on the secondary market… As I’ve said numerous times, Christophe Baron and assistant winemaker Elizabeth Bourcier produce some of the most singular and impressive wines out there.” —Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate
 
It’s no secret that we’ve long adored the wines from Christophe Baron. This Champagnois-turned-Oregonian more or less put The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater on the map. His Walla Walla portfolio now includes Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet, and red blends sourced from Oregon and Washington. Representing the pinnacle of the region’s reds, we’re never surprised when top notch scores are released, just pleased as punch that we continue to be able to offer you these mailing list-mostly gems.
 
Not satisfied with crafting some of the most famous and sought-after wines in Walla Walla for roughly twenty years, Christophe returned to the Marne Valley of Champagne to craft exquisitely mineral Champagnes from his family’s vines. We at the shop weren’t terribly surprised by this new project given penchant for Pinot Meunier-based Champagnes from other growers in the region. Nor were we surprised at the obscene quality when he excitedly shared a magnum of the inaugural release with us.
 
The soils in the Marne Valley where Christophe’s grapes grow are particularly suited for Pinot Meunier being comprised of calcareous clay over pure chalk. Meunier is famed for contributing earthy spice flavors to champagne blends and is gaining prominence as a single varietal, particularly amongst grower producers.  
 
Those looking to stock their cellar with beloved cuvées or dip their toes in the myriad options would do well to shop now while our three-day sale is on.
 

5% off any 3-5 in-stock bottles of wine from Christophe Baron
10% off any 6 or more in-stock bottles of wine from Christophe Baron
 
Discount will not display online or in your cart,
We will adjust your invoice before processing your card.
 
Discount ends Saturday, May 11th at 9 am Pacific

 
We offer 23 in-stock wines from Christophe Baron, including:
 
Cayuse Vineyards Bionic Frog Syrah, Walla Walla Valley 2021 750ml Displayed Price: $259, that’s $246.05 at 5% off and $233.10 at 10% off, 6 bottles in stock now
Anthony Mueller-Wine Advocate 98+ points “The 2021 Syrah Bionic Frog has a medium magenta core and offers a fresh, floral and spicy bouquet accompanied by elegant, savory notes. Ripe notions of plum skin and dark cherries burst from the nose, overflowing with aromatic profile. Medium to full-bodied, the palate presents an elegant and refined mouthfeel with food-friendly tannins and nuances of umami, culminating in a long, complex finish that highlights the distinctiveness and embodies the “wow factor” of the Walla Walla Valley. The Syrah rested for 18 months in approximately 20% new and neutral French oak demi-muids, foudre and barrels.”
 

This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast!

 
Cayuse Vineyards Flying Pig, Walla Walla Valley 2021 750ml Displayed Price: $169, that’s $160.55 at 5% off and $152.10 at 10% off, 1 bottle in stock now
Anthony Mueller-Wine Advocate 96 points “Instantly impressive in the glass, the 2021 Flying Pig, made from a blend of 59% Cabernet Franc, 31% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, bursts from the glass with seductive notes of black cherry skin, dusty plums and notes of dried herbs and turned earth. Medium-bodied yet round and succulent, the palate explodes with energy and a beautiful balance between dark fruit skin and earth. A food-friendly, tannic grip holds through the long, lingering, ever-evolving finish that has me coming back for more. The wine rested a year and a half in 30% new and neutral French oak barrels.”
 

This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast!

 
Cayuse Vineyards God Only Knows Armada Vineyard Grenache, Walla Walla Valley 2020 750ml Displayed Price: $159, that’s $151.05 at 5% off and $143.10 at 10% off, 3 bottles in stock now
Eric Guido-Vinous 96 points “Seductive and mysterious nose of potpourri, nori, wild strawberries, boysenberries, miso and white pepper. It’s medium- to full-bodied with such delicious wild fruit and umami spice, tied back with tight-knit tannins. Beckoning and restrained all at once. Mostly grenache. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink from 2024.”
 
Close-Out Sale Wine: Was $133!
Cayuse Vineyards Impulsivo Tempranillo, Walla Walla Valley 2020 750ml Displayed Price: $119, that’s $113.05 at 5% off and $107.10 at 10% off, 26 bottles in stock now
James Suckling 95 points “Enticing aromas of black cherries, blackberries, licorice, cloves, green chilis and dark chocolate. It’s full-bodied with fine-grained tannins. Beautifully deep, fleshy and inky, with excellent freshness, too. Spicy and attention-grabbing. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.”
 
Cayuse Vineyards Impulsivo Tempranillo, Walla Walla Valley 2021 750ml Displayed Price: $159, that’s $151.05 at 5% off and $143.10 at 10% off, 8 bottles in stock now
Anthony Mueller-Wine Advocate 95 points “Admittedly, I’m a lover of Tempranillo from Spain. While this is nothing close to the Rioja expression, the 2021 Impulsivo does have plenty of admirable qualities, possessing a generous profile of dusty, dark red fruit, with aromas that slowly release from the glass with elements of beef broth and sour plum reduction. Medium to full-bodied, the palate shows considerable weight and texture before displaying silky tannins with a delightful umami essence. After last year’s vintage, I’m happy to say this bottling is back on track and firing on all cylinders. The wine aged 18 months in 50% new and neutral French oak demi-muids, foudre and barrels. 4,824 bottles produced.”
 

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

 
Cayuse Vineyards Cailloux Vineyard Syrah, Walla Walla Valley 2021 750ml Displayed Price: $149, that’s $141.55 at 5% off and $134.10 at 10% off, 3 bottles in stock now
Anthony Mueller-Wine Advocate 96+ points “Crafted with 3% Viognier, the 2021 Syrah Cailloux Vineyard boasts a deeply colored core. The nose is aromatic and floral, with dense notes of salami, black peppercorn spice and expressive herbals intertwined with turned-earth aromas. It offers additional nuances of baked earth, savory herbs and peppercorn spices. Medium to full-bodied, the palate unfolds with juicy, succulent and fresh characteristics, showcasing elegance alongside fine-grained tannins of this food-friendly Syrah.”
 
Cayuse Vineyards En Cerise Vineyard Syrah, Walla Walla Valley 2021 750ml Displayed Price: $119, that’s $113.05 at 5% off and $107.10 at 10% off, 8 bottles in stock now
Jeb Dunnuck 98 points “A slightly darker, meatier wine, offering a Jamet-like bouquet of blackberries, ground pepper, black olive, bloody meat, crushed rocks, and violets. Showing less overt funkiness and just a stunningly pure, elegant, medium to full-bodied Syrah, it has silky tannins, a great spine of acidity, and a great, great finish…”
 

This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast!

 
Cayuse Vineyards En Chamberlin Vineyard Syrah, Walla Walla Valley 2020 750ml Displayed Price: $125, that’s $118.75 at 5% off and $112.50 at 10% off, 12 bottles in stock now
Jeb Dunnuck 95 points “Ripe black raspberries, iodine, spring flowers, gamey meats, and pepper all emerge from the 2020 Syrah En Chamberlin Vineyard, a deeper, broader, medium to full-bodied Syrah with ripe, rounded tannins, a great mid-palate, and outstanding length. This meaty, gamey, complex, classic Cayuse Syrah is already approachable today but will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and keep for 15+.”
 

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

Christophe Baron ‘Les Hautes Blanches Vignes’ Brut Nature, Champagne 2017 1.5L Displayed Price: $269, that’s $255.55 at 5% off and $242.10 at 10% off, 1 magnum in stock now
Antonio Galloni-Vinous 95 points “The 2017 Brut Nature Les Hautes Blanches Vignes (Magnum) is a rich, burnished wine. Deep in color and intensity from tiny yields, the Hautes Blanches is a rich Champagne endowed with notable textural breadth and energy. Orange peel, hazelnut, dried flowers, chamomile, tangerine oil and light oxidative notes build in this powerhouse Meunier. The red fruit character of Meunier is so expressive. This is an especially vinous style, even for Christophe Baron. The Hautes Blanches Vignes is just as much wine as it is Champagne. Disgorged: May 2021.”
 

This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast!

 
Christophe Baron ‘Les Alouettes’ Brut Nature, Champagne 2017 1.5L Displayed Price: $259, that’s $246.05 at 5% off and $233.10 at 10% off, 5 magnums in stock now
William Kelley-Wine Advocate 95 points “The 2017 Brut Nature Les Alouettes is excellent, bursting with aromas of golden orchard fruit, warm spices, honeycomb, plums and toasted bread. Full-bodied, fleshy and vinous, it’s rich and sapid, with a layered core of fruit, a pretty pinpoint mousse and a long, saline finish. Seamless and complete, this bottling is particularly strong this year.”
Antonio Galloni-Vinous 95 points “The 2017 Brut Nature Les Alouettes (Magnum) is the most potent and tightly wound of these three Champagnes from Christophe Baron. It offers up a beguiling mix of graphite, orange confit, dried flowers, earthiness, chamomile and spice, all in a dense, inward style that demands cellaring. The Alouttes shows the more earthy, savory side of Meunier. Disgorged: May, 2021.”
 

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

 
Horsepower Vineyards High Contrast Vineyard Syrah, Walla Walla Valley 2017 750ml Displayed Price: $179, that’s $170.05 at 5% off and $161.10 at 10% off, 2 bottles in stock now
Anthony Mueller-Wine Advocate 96 points “Showing with a deep ruby core that fades to a purple edge, the 2017 Syrah High Contrast Vineyard explodes from the glass with pronounced smoky aromas that waft with delicate notes of dark chocolate-covered blackberries, then show hints of roasted coffee bean, notions of petrichor, baked earth and dried herbs. Medium to full-bodied, the wine is elegantly powerful, showcasing a balanced chassis of youthful tannins that evolve with the complex nature of the wine. There is a velvety firmness to the mid-palate before moving onto an elongated finish that grows in complexity and amplitude as the expression resonates harmoniously, confirming yet another blockbuster Syrah from the ever-so-talented Christophe Baron. Only 386 cases made.”
 
Horsepower Vineyards The Tribe Vineyard Syrah, Walla Walla Valley 2016 750ml Displayed Price: $169, that’s $160.55 at 5% off and $152.10 at 10% off, 19 bottles in stock now
Jeb Dunnuck 97+ points “The 2016 Syrah The Tribe is largely in the same mold with a gamy, meaty, backward profile. Smoked meats, earthy dark fruits, ground pepper, and wood smoke are all present in this medium to full-bodied, concentrated Syrah that’s going to benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age and cruise for 15-20 years.”

Horsepower Vineyards The Tribe Vineyard Syrah, Walla Walla Valley 2019 750ml Displayed Price: $179, that’s $170.05 at 5% off and $161.10 at 10% off, 11 bottles in stock now
Anthony Mueller-Wine Advocate 97 points “The 2019 Syrah The Tribe Vineyard starts with a stemmy, fresh and savory nose with a delightful meaty aroma and dusty florals before wafting with a succulent raspberry skin essence. Medium to full-bodied, the Syrah displays a vibrant mineral tension and spicy mouthfeel before subtle flavors of dried herbs sway with a firm tannic structure. The wine continues to evolve and unpack over the long, lingering finish with a pleasing smoky nuance and persistent peppery note. Give it a few more years in the bottle before opening. Bravo!”
 
No Girls La Placiencia Vineyard Syrah, Walla Walla Valley 2013 750ml Displayed Price: $125, that’s $118.75 at 5% off and $112.50 at 10% off, 2 bottles in stock now
Stephen Tanzer-Vinous 94 points “Bright medium red. Highly perfumed scents of red raspberry, strawberry, flint, iodine and iron, plus a hint of orange peel that Christophe Baron attributes to magnesium in the soil. Not a particularly fleshy style but compellingly aromatic and precise, offering Côte-Rôtie-like notes of flint, black olive and violet and a lightly balsamic quality. Finishes with harmonious tannins and excellent length. This is already utterly captivating.”
 
No Girls La Placiencia Vineyard Tempranillo, Walla Walla Valley 2016 750ml Displayed Price: $119, that’s $113.05 at 5% off and $107.10 at 10% off, 13 bottles in stock now
Jeb Dunnuck 97 points “Similarly colored, the 2016 Tempranillo La Paciencia Vineyard offers an exotic bouquet of black cherries, violets, chocolate, tobacco, smoke, and candied orange rind. It’s deep, beautiful, savory, and full-bodied, with a thrilling texture. It’s another incredibly elegant, singular wine from this estate. 321 cases.”

 
Shop our 23 selections on sale now on our webstore!

 

Vinopolis Close-Out Sale Featurette:
 
Familia Nin-Ortiz
 

“[Ester Nin and Carles Ortiz] make characterful wines, among the best in Priorat.” -Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
 
Familia Nin-Ortiz is one of the leading lights of “New Priorat”. Both Ester Nin and Carles Ortiz are renowned viticulturists (Ester, notably, was the vineyard guru behind Clos i Terrasses/Clos Erasmus and previously worked at Mas Martinet). They were some of the earliest proponents of biodynamics in Priorat, but what they’re doing together on the winery side is stunning indeed.
 
They combined their personal purchases of esteemed vineyards in Priorat, Nin bought a small parcel of old-vine “Garnatxa Negre, Peluda, and Carinyena in Mas d’En Caçador– the famed vineyard on the border between Porrera and Gratallops” in 2004, per European Cellars, and Ortiz purchased “nearly 5 hectares of vineyard land outside Porrera called Finca Les Planetes.” Their mutual passion for biodynamics led to them combining forces to create Familia Nin-Ortiz. With their deep understanding of the land and their deeply thoughtful farming methods, it’s no surprise that their wines are some of the most compelling in Priorat. Their wines combine the power inherent in the terroir with a stunning sense of energy and vitality coaxed from the mostly old-vines.
 
In Stock & On Sale Now:
 
Familia Nin-Ortiz ‘Planetes de Nin’, Priorat DOCa 2017 750ml Was $49, Now $44.50 special, 36+ bottles in stock now
Luis Gutiérrez-Wine Advocate 95 points “The 2017 Planetes de Nin comes from the four hectares of 20-year-old Garnacha and 11-year-old Cariñena in the Planetes vineyard in Porrera at 450 meters in altitude. It’s 60% Garnacha (some of it Peluda) and the rest Cariñena, harvested early. It fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in 3,200-liter oak vats and one 1,000-liter amphora for 17 months. It has depth and harmony, and the vines are getting older and seem to be better and better balanced. This is not that different from the 2016; it feels quite stable and has its style and character, especially since the 2015 vintage. 9,704 bottles were filled in April 2019.”
 

This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast!

 
Familia Nin-Ortiz ‘Nit de Nin’ Mas d’en Cacador, Priorat DOCa 2017 750ml Was $99, Now $89 special, 21 bottles in stock now
Luis Gutiérrez-Wine Advocate 97+ points “The 2017 Nit de Nin Mas d’en Caçador is a vintage they talk about like this: “We will remember this vintage as one of the most extreme of the decade, along with that of 2012. It is in years like these that the work we do in the field is rewarded. In spite of the climatic exceptionality, we have acidity and pH that seem like a miracle to us. Our vines did not suffer the severe frosts of this 2017.” The wine has lower alcohol than the 2016 but the same pH of 3.3; insultingly young and tender, it doesn’t feel like the wine had a long élevage in oak. It has kept very good freshness and great balance. It’s tasty, pungent and long, with power and elegance and all the components to develop nicely in bottle. 1,440 bottles were filled in April 2019.”

 
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $107
 
We offer 211 wines on our close-out sale, including gems from the Provence rosé producer Chateau Peyrassol, Champagne producer De Venoge, and Barolo producer Elvio Cogno. Shop the list here!