Horsepower Vineyards

Syrah 'Sur Echalas Vyd'

Syrah 'Sur Echalas Vyd'

Syrah Sur Echalas Vyd

At Christophe Baron’s family vineyards in the Champagne region of France, it wasn’t until 1957 that his grandfather’s last horse was finally retired. His name was Bijou, which means “jewel” in French, and his legacy has been reborn at Horsepower.

With Cayuse Vineyards, Baron was not only the first vigneron in the Walla Walla Valley to fully implement biodynamic farming practices, but also the first to use horses for cultivation. Zeppo arrived in 2008, and Red followed a year later. They cultivate tightly spaced, 19th century-style vineyards that only they can navigate, using specialized farming equipment created by a blacksmith in Burgundy, France.

The Sur Echalas Vineyard is 2 acres of Syrah and Grenache. With 3-foot by 3-foot spacing and 4,840 vines per acre, this is the highest density planting in the Walla Walla Valley, and one of the highest in North America.

Info

Producer:
Horsepower Vineyards
Vintage:
2022
Country:
United States
Region:
Washington
Appellation:
Walla Walla
Variety:
Syrah
Color:
Red
Farming Practice:
Practicing Biodynamic

Sizes Available

Full Bottle US-HPW-41-22 3/750ml

Resources

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Press & Reviews

Jeb Dunnuck
Score
97
Date
2025-07-10
"The 2022 Syrah Sur Echalas Vineyard is particularly exotic in peppercorn and garrigue, dipping into a wild array of green olive tapenade, too. The tannins are pronounced and sturdy, not quite ready to calm down. Intensely earthy, complex, and feral, there's a reprieve on the velvety midpalate, leading to a finishing touch of oyster shell and sea spray. This is a wild wine ready to meld a bit more in the bottle; enjoy best 2028-2038."
James Suckling
Score
96
Date
2025-03-31
"This is an extreme wine. It has so much green olive, bacon fat, wet earth, iron and blood on the nose, with hints of peach and blood oranges. It's full-bodied and powerfully meaty on the palate, with very fine, tight-grained tannins. Intensely, outrageously tarry, and keeps going. From biodynamically grown grapes. Best after 2028."
Vinous
Score
96
Date
2025-10-23
"The 2022 Syrah Sur Echalas Vineyard is intense, mixing black tea and cardamom with olives, roasted peppers, stone dust and dried citrus peels. It is soothingly round and beautifully balanced with silken textures and ripe wild berry fruits complicated by saline mineral tones. Juicy and fresh, the 2022 resonates with minty herbs and a stony resonance as sweet tannins frame a lingering note of licorice. The Sur Echalas Vineyard turns the pleasure dial to the max."
Wine Enthusiast
Score
96
Date
2024-06-01
"The acidity involved here makes every sip of wine feel like the crackling snap of a cold piece of celery. The wine's huckleberry-pie, fennel and cinnamon aromas are no slouch, either. I could stop here and be happy. The vibrating palate shows off flavors of boysenberries, plums and black pepper, with a trace of molasses.—M.A."
Wine Advocate
Score
92
Date
2024-03-22
"The 2022 Syrah Sur Echalas Vineyard opens with aromas of spiced black cherry, roasted espresso beans, savory herbs, turned earth and charred herbs. Medium to full-bodied, the wine is ripe on the palate, with hints of mushroom and truffle before the fruit profile gracefully recedes. The focus then shifts to tertiary, earthy notions with soft notes of leather and baked clay. The wine concludes with a tannic grip and lingering ashy essence, showcasing a very mineral-driven and savory character. Oddly, the Grenache from the same vineyard acted similarly on the finish. Only 4,140 bottles made."

REVIEWS FROM PAST VINTAGES

2020
Vinous
Score
96
Date
2023-05-01
2020
James Suckling
Score
95
Date
2023-05-01
"This shows notes of crushed dark berry, dark licorice, leather, tobacco leaf and moist earth. Medium- to full-bodied with a round texture and supple tannins. Lingering and sleek with melted dark fruit, yet with fresh spiciness to it. Balanced and well-integrated. From biodynamically grown grapes. Try from 2025."
2020
Wine Spectator
Score
94
Date
2023-10-31
2018
Wine Spectator
Score
94
Date
[no Date]
2018
Vinous
Score
93
Date
2021-09-23