No Girls
No Girls
No Girls is een wijnproject met een zeer beperkte productie in Walla Walla Valley, opgezet in samenwerking met Christophe Baron van Cayuse Vineyards en teler/partner Elizabeth Bourcier. De wijnen zijn voornamelijk afkomstig van specifieke wijngaarden in The Rocks District, bekend om zijn kiezelstenenbodems die karakteristieke, hartige Syrah-, Grenache- en Tempranillo-wijnen voortbrengen. De stijl is typisch ingetogen, aards en locatiegebonden, met een lager alcoholpercentage en uitgesproken minerale en hartige tonen. De wijnen worden door critici zeer geprezen en scoren vaak midden tot hoog in de 90 punten bij Wine Advocate, Vinous en Jeb Dunnuck.
Lees meerThe vineyard and terroir
The La Paciencia vineyard was planted between 2003 and 2005, and the first few harvests from this vineyard were declassified, hence the name, which means ‘patience’ in Spanish. It took ten years from the initial idea to the wine being ready for bottling and sale.
The vines are planted close together and at an angle, giving No Girls a completely unique character. The vineyard is located in a place locals call ‘The Rocks’ — the stony, rocky soil of the Wallawalla Valley.
La Paciencia is located in the Stones area of Wallawalla, an ancient alluvial fan at the foot of the Blue Mountains, with challenging growing conditions. The stony soils force the vines to dig deep into the ground, creating the mineral-rich flavour which is a signature of the wines.
Druivensoorten in wijnen uit No Girls
No Girls focuses on Rhône varieties. The La Paciencia Vineyard was planted with Grenache, Syrah, and Tempranillo, three acres each. The No Girls assortment includes single-varietal bottlings of each, plus a blend called Double Lucky 8, whose exact composition is described on the label only as a "super double secret probation proprietary blend."
Winemaking and the wines
The wines are produced by Karen Gasparotti, Resident Vigneronne for Cayuse Vineyards, who co-produced the first vintage with Baron in 2008. Elizabeth Bourcier had full creative control from the 2011 vintage onward. The approach follows Cayuse's biodynamic farming philosophy, and winemaking stays hands-off enough to let the stony terroir come through. The Grenache, for instance, is aged in a combination of neutral oak and stainless steel to preserve freshness. French oak, when used, is kept to a minimum.
The scores have been hard to ignore. Wine Spectator called the 2009 vintage "some of the best Washington wines ever rated" by the magazine. Individual bottlings regularly hit the mid-90s. The Tempranillo in particular has earned a cult following, critics have called it one of the most distinctive examples of the grape in North America.
Getting your hands on a bottle is another matter. No Girls is sold almost exclusively through a mailing list, and the wait list is real.
