Hors Categorie 2022 Syrah, Walla Walla Valley

96 points - limited                                                          
A fantastic top-scoring Syrah from Washington State. Hors Categorie is making some of the best wines in Walla Walla Valley and perhaps the finest Syrah in North America. Limited.

100 Points "Every bit a world-class wine, the 2022 Hors Catégorie Syrah is reminiscent of the gorgeous 2017 edition. The aromatics are mind-numbing in terms of range from menthol, sweet pipe tobacco, Nori and bulls blood alongside shades of compost and black truffle shavings with black florals that all meld in the glass. The palate has formidable power considering the coolness of the vintage. Very flinty and soft on the mouth, this is seamless throughout the drinking experience. The amalgamation of tension and mouth-watering acidity alongside heady stony essence makes this impossible to put down. One of the few prefect wines made in 2022, savor this beauty over the next decade. Drink 2025-2035." –Owen Bargreen, owenbargreen.com

99 Points "The Hors Categorie 2022 Syrah is a showstopper of a peppery, savory beast, unloading masses of flinty black currant, anise, caraway seed, menthol, and sage. It's youthfully dense yet sleek, with cooling acidity that supports its mineral-infused black fruits. A tinge of blood orange and a salty concentration add tremendous depth toward the close. Nuances of graphite and sour citrus echo as the 2022 leaves the palate drenched in primary concentration. I am completely in awe of this interpretation of the Hors Catégorie Vineyard. The extended season packed this full of complexity." –Eric Guido, Vinous

96 Points Jeb Dunnuck: "From the producer’s high-elevation site (the top reaches 1,492 feet) steeply planted in fractured basalt with up to a 60% slope, this is where the north and south forks of the Walla Walla River come together ... the Hors Categorie 2022 Syrah is earthy in blackberry bramble, graphite, and meaty lavender, with outstanding finesse beneath its understated power and sublimely velvety texture. Farmed biodynamically since the beginning, the vineyard sustains a pasture of goats, sheep, cows, and beehives below, inviting biodiversity. Age this wine 20-30 years." –Virgine Boone, jebdunnuck.com

98 Points "This is a crazy wine, purely mineral, showing aromas and flavors of pine cones, juniper berries, thyme, scorched earth, charcoal and graphite. It’s full-bodied and immensely tarry, with firm, tight tannins. Spicy, earthy and very long. Around 90% stems included. From biodynamically grown grapes on a very steep slope of up to 60 degrees. Approach from 2029." –James Suckling, jamessuckling.com

It’s a well-known story, how in 1997 Christophe Baron, founder and vigneron of Cayuse Vineyards, planted his first vines in a field of stones because it reminded him of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in France. In the process, he almost single-handedly brought the world’s attention to the potential of Syrah grown in the Walla Walla Valley.His discovery of the Hors Catégorie Vineyard site in 2005 unfolded in a similarly serendipitous way. Looking just a few miles east and up-stream from that ancient stony river bed, Christophe saw a steep hillside he found eerily reminiscent of Hermitage, the legendary appellation in France’s Northern Rhone.Once again defying conventional wisdom, he invested enormous time and expense in clearing and planting the two and a half-acre vineyard, stubbornly believing it to be “an American jewel.” Today, whether seen on a stark winter day or in the vibrance of the growing season, Hors Catégorie defies all description—appropriately, the name means “beyond categorization” or “in a class of its own” in French.