As I have said for several years now, my nominee for best domestic Tempranillo is Baron’s Impulsivo. The 2007 Tempranillo Impulsivo En Chamberlin Vineyard is a dense, brooding effort with intense mineral notes, road tar, espresso, layered black fruits, and an exotic perfume in combination with a Lauren Bacall-like sensuality. Impeccably balanced and long, it should evolve for 8-10 years and offer pleasure through 2026. A cult of personality seems to have developed in Washington over the past couple of years. Whenever the name Christophe is mentioned, everyone immediately knows of whom you are talking. The man himself, Christophe Baron continues to find new and interesting things to do. His latest vineyard project is well underway on hillsides not far from his present location. His estate, just on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla AVA, consists of five small but distinct vineyards (41 acres in total – with more on the way). Syrah and the Bordeaux varietals are the principal focus but some of the finest parcels of Tempranillo and Grenache grown in the USA are on this estate. Unfortunately, there will be no more varietally bottled Viognier which will now be used only as a blending grape. The vineyards are farmed biodynamically and much of the estate is planted on rootstock to prepare for the day when phylloxera works its way through Walla Walla. The wines are all fermented with indigenous yeasts and bottled unfined and unfiltered.Tel. (509) 526-0686; www.cayusevineyards.com

The 2007 Impulsivo has an elegant, seamless and layered profile, with lots of bloody meat, blackcurrants, wild herbs and licorice giving way to a full-bodied, ripe, yet perfectly balanced palate. There’s superb overall freshness here, and it has terrific mid-palate concentration, with ripe tannin. The buzz words here are balanced and elegance, yet as with most of Christophe’s wines, it doesn’t give any ground on texture or richness. It's drinking beautifully now, but has another decade of longevity.

This Tempranillo is firm, tight, acidic and compact, a difficult wine to assess. It’s got the Cayuse funk, with sharper acidity and a wet stone foundation. The fruit is very tart and tight, with a base of cement and some spice and herb.——P.G.(2/1/2011)—— 91