Cayuse Vineyard

Cayuse is a BIG name in the wine industry and all thanks to the adventurous French winemaker, Christophe Baron. Christophe grew up in the Champagne region of France where he was the youngest of the centuries-old Champagne house, Baron Albert. It was clear at a young age Christophe would follow in his grandfather’s and father’s footsteps and was destined to become a winemaker.

Christophe studied viticulture in Champagne and Burgundy. And an unexpected internship at a winery brought him to the Walla Walla Valley for the first time in 1993. After one year, he traveled the world gaining experience in Australia, New Zealand and Romania before continuing his training in Oregon. He realized he did not want to take over the family business and intended to buy some land and start a vineyard from scratch.

While others saw ten acres of the Walla Walla Valley’s worst farmland, Christophe saw enormous potential. The terroir reminded him of the “galets” of the southern Rhone Valley in his native France. Christophe purchased the property and planted his first vineyard in 1997. He called the venture Cayuse Vineyards, after a Native American tribe 
whose name was derived from the French word “cailloux”, which means “stones.” The area has even been dubbed “Oregon’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape” and home to some of the finest grapes grown in the northwestern United States.

While the sediment throughout much of the Walla Walla Valley appellation are derived from Missoula Flood sediments that are rich in granite-derived silica, sodium, and potassium; Cayuse Vineyard sediments are derived from Blue Mountains basalt, and abundant with iron, magnesium and calcium. Christophe believes the difference can be tasted in the wine and great wines must deliver a mineral quality.

From the beginning, Cayuse Vineyards has been farmed organically, without synthetic fertilizers, chemicals or insecticides. In 2002, Cayuse became the first domaine in the Walla Walla Valley to fully implement biodynamic farming, a chemical-free approach designed to produce healthier soil and fruit.

Since the start of Cayuse, Christophe has grown his one vineyard of ten acres into six vineyards spread over 55 acres in the Walla Walla Valley. Syrah is the dominant fruit, with additional plantings of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Merlot, Tempranillo and Viognier.

Lucky for me, I have tasted the 2008 Cayuse Syrah from Cailloux Vineyard. We have it on our list at Market. It was surprisingly elegant and complex and made me want to learn more about it as well as its winemaker, hence this post. It had an intensely developed nose for being so young. It smelled of violets, cured meats and black fruits that were soft and well integrated. It had a soft mouthfeel with smooth tannins and a long finish. It was powerful without being flashy. I was pleasantly surprised for a New World Syrah and would never turn down a glass!