Community Tasting Notes 76

• VinDeVie_1 wrote: 94 points

  July 13, 2023 - The 2012 Tribe Vineyard Syrah. This may be the most unique syrah I have ever tried in terms of profile. When I first opened this wine, I honestly thought someone had messed up and opened a Piedmontese wine like a Carema or Barberesco. The nose was full force damp leaves, cherry, strawberry, and rose petals to the point where my brain shut down for half a second. After a good long decant, the initial wash of aromas mellowed and more traditional blackberries cobbler type flavors and aromas joined the party. This was a big wine with a lot of intensity, but it seemed to only be playing the high notes with little in the way of bass notes of things like meat or olives that generally undergird a syrah. All in all, a pleasent wine in a love it or hate style. 94

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• 559Cheers Likes this wine: 96 points

  April 17, 2023 - Excellent. Upon opening a floral/fruity nose wafted up. Roses and lychees. Upon sipping lychees, roses, blue flowers, mangoes and cannabis on the palette. All around drinking well and extremely intriguing and nice. Noticed a distinct Cayuse profile as well.
  *2nd night open. Roses and violets. Raspberries. Cayuse funk profile making more of a presence. Olive tapenade and some thyme elements. Other volatiles upon opening (last night) have blown off. Some faint distinct cannabis on the nose. Nice fruit on the palette.

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• pjhr Likes this wine: 95 points

  January 22, 2023 - Coming together beautifully!

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• TimG wrote:

  December 9, 2022 - Drank for Thanksgiving. May have turned. My wife didn't like it at all. I was on the fence but it certainly was a unique taste. Drink up your stock!

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• Shay.Aldriedge Likes this wine: 95 points

  August 26, 2022 - Again, these are love it or hate it style wines, and I fall on the “love it” side every single time. This was part of a blind lineup for “Rhône style wines”. These wines are a bit difficult not to identify in a blind lineup due to their distinctive aromatics.
  
  My note here is pretty similar to the 2011 I opened a year and a half ago. In true to Christophe Baron style, this is a savory packed punch wrapped in elegance. Aromatically, it’s a heady display of soy, teriyaki, green olive, peppercorn crusted smoked meats, currant and spicy rhubarb. At 10yrs, the palate is almost a dead ringer for high end northern Rhône Syrah. The savory/iron driven components from the nose continue but there is great acid followed by stems, herbs de Provence and lots of wildflowers/potpourri for a floral finish. I found the 2011 to have a lighter/more floral profile, but this one certainly has more stuffing and aging potential. This seems to just now be entering a peak drinking window.
  
  Also in the lineup was a 2014 Hors Categorie (also from Christophe Baron), and I found the 2012 HP to taste younger, while the 2014 HC had a bit more heft in the mid-palate. Love both.

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Pro Reviews 4

Wine Definition

• Vintage 2012
• Type Red
• Producer Horsepower Vineyards
• Varietal Syrah
• Designation n/a
• Vineyard The Tribe Vineyard
• Country USA
• Region Washington
• SubRegion Columbia Valley
• Appellation Walla Walla Valley

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 1 (0%)
• In Cellars 915 (58%)
• Consumed 668 (42%)

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