Force Majeure was founded in 2004 by Paul McBride and made its name pairing some of Washington’s highly acclaimed winemakers with fruit from one of Washington’s highly acclaimed vineyards, Ciel du Cheval. The winery recently transitioned from Collaboration wines to Estate wines. Todd Alexander, formerly of Bryant Family Vineyards, is the winemaker for the Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Tempranillo. Force Majeure is building a new winery in Milton Freewater, Oregon and the plan is to open the doors before Cayuse Release Weekend in April of 2019.
Purple in color. 14.7% ABV. 47% Mourvedre, 42% Syrah and 11% Grenache made by James Mantone of Syncline Winery. Savory nose of black fruits, tar, wet stones and white pepper. Concentrated and full bodied with acidity in spades. Blackberries, espresso, kirsch and smoke on the palate. Tremendous length on the finish. The Mourvedre is the star here. Really delicious. Best over the next 2-4 years.
My rating: 92 points.
Force Majeure is one of the most exciting wineries in the state. The winery is still accepting names for the mailing list.
I blogged about Force Majeure recently in A Vertical Tasting of Force Majeure CS IV.