BAD BATCH OF CORKS

FAULTY CORKS have wreaked havoc at the iconic Cayuse Vineyards in Washington, writing off nearly 3OOO cases of 2O15 wine and at a potential loss of $3 million.  Among the affected were some of winemaker Christophe Baron’s most renowned wines, including Bionic Frog Syrah, Cailloux Vineyard Syrah, En Chamberlin Syrah, En Cerise Syrah, Impulsivo Tempranillo and Widowmaker Cabernet.  In addition to the 2995 cases of 75cl bottles written off by the faulty corks, 2678 magnums were also ruined. During bottling paraffin particulates caused by the bad corks were discovered rendering them undrinkable.  The whole 2O15 vintage wasn’t a write off as the 2O15 wines bottled in 2O16 and last year, including God Only Knows Grenache, Armada Vineyard Syrah, The Lovers and Edith Grenache Rosé weren’t affected. Champagne native Baron made the move to Washington in the ’9Os, planting his first vineyard in 1997 and debuting with his first vintage in 2OOO.  His 24-hectare estate within the Walla Walla Valley AVA is farmed biodynamically.  Baron is working with his insurance company to ensure customers are refunded for the faulty wines and has recalled all of the wines that have already been dispatched.  Most of the wines from Cayuse Vineyards are sold via mailing list and are often hard to get hold of. Perhaps Baron will be switching to twist-offs in the future.