The Rhone-style wines begin with the 2008 God Only Knows Grenache, a wine raised in neutral oak puncheons. Fragrant cherries, garrigue, lavender, and exotic spices inform the nose of a silky, complex, beautifully proportioned wine that will deliver pleasure for a least a decade. Ho hum. Just another great set of wines from Christophe Baron. Over the past 6 years, because of my coverage of Spain for this journal, I have gotten to know Tempranillo very well. My principal observation is that it does not travel particularly well although there are outposts of very fine Tempranillo in the Uco Valley of Mendoza and in South Australia. There is one exception, Christophe Baron’s small parcel of estate-grown Tempranillo. The wine’s only competition, in my opinion, is Dominio Pingus, the great Tempranillo produced by Peter Sisseck in Ribera del Duero. I would like to try the wines side-by-side, the only problem being that Pingus is ten times as expensive as Impulsivo. As a postscript of sorts, Christophe Baron has created a new label called No Girls. The origin of the name is a great story but goes beyond this journal’s purview. The two wines have been specifically earmarked for those who have patiently been waiting on the Cayuse mailing list. No, these are not at quite at the same level as those wines bearing the Cayuse label but, as the scores attest, they’re not so bad.Tel. (509) 526-0686; www.cayusevineyards.com

Effusively fruity, bursting with ripe scents and flavors of berries and cherries. There is an interesting underlayer of earthy peat moss, just as an accent. The concentration is exceptional, dense and layered and constantly reinventing itself as it rolls through a spicy, herbal finish. ——P.G.(11/1/2011)—— 93