About the Producer:

Les Chevaux Ivres is an exciting new winery created by husband and wife Erin and Laurent Percheron. The two met while working harvest in the Willamette Valley in 2016; Erin a Californian, Laurent making the trek from France. After their first harvest together in Oregon, the two travelled the globe, continuing to work harvests in New Zealand and France. Upon returning to Oregon, they have both taken up full time positions with Andante Vineyard - Erin the head winemaker, Laurent the vineyard manager. They launched Les Chevaux Ivres in 2022, the realization of a shared dream with 20 years of combined wine industry experience behind it. Our first look at their work gives us the impression that the wines are going to be balanced, sensible and thoughtfully made. Keep an eye out for more good things to come!

Flor Impressions:

A lovely take on Syrah, without excessive extraction or overt reductive aromas. The nose is quite floral, with violets mingling with fresh, not overripe boysenberry and blackberry aromas. On the palate, medium, finely knit tannins don't overwhelm, and are balanced nicely by fresh acidity. The fresh berry fruits on the nose are echoed on the palate, and benefit from light herbal accents of fennel pollen.

This is a pleasantly elegant version of local Syrah, light enough in the tannin department to handle a slight chill for summer drinking, while substantial enough to be a versatile dinner companion. Laurent and Erin made it utilizing mostly pumpovers during fermentation, with a little punching down of the cap towards the end of fermentation, to limit extraction. It was aged for 12 months in 2/3 neutral oak barrels, and 1/3 stainless steel tank. 

-GG, tasted 7/12/24