Plus 24 Bionic Wines reviewed from the 2021 and 2022 vintages
Over the years, one question I’ve heard from consumers and more than the occasional winemaker is, how are the wines from Christophe Baron at Bionic Wines – and now resident vigneronne Elizabeth Bourcier – so consistently high quality? More specifically, what makes them so different from other wines in the Columbia Valley?
There are myriad reasons why the Bionic wines are so frequently at the extreme upper edges of quality. Here I give 12 of them. (Read a recent profile of Baron and Bionic Wines here.)
1. Baron comes from a multi-generational family of vignerons.
Christophe Baron’s winegrowing roots date back generations to the late 1600s. His family has been thinking about wine growing and also living and breathing it for a very long time. Don’t underestimate the importance of transgenerational knowledge. It clearly plays a role at Bionic Wines.
2. The Bionic Wines come exclusively from estate vineyards.
This is in strong contrast to almost all other Washington wineries, where winemakers are sourcing fruit from other people’s vineyards. Some growers in Washington have done an excellent job decreasing the differences between estate and non-estate fruit. However, differences still exist, and they are often more than slight.
3. Bionic Wines is co-located with its vineyards.
Winemakers in Washington often drive hours to vineyards they source fruit from. Bionic Wines is co-located with its vineyards. Some surround the wine studio. Others are, pardon the expression, a stone’s throw away. Both Baron and Bourcier could easily be in the vineyard every day if they wished. If wine is truly made in the vineyard, being able to spend more time there certainly makes a substantial difference.
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This is very timely and helpful context for the Bionic Wines dinner at Hospice du Rhone in Walla Walla this weekend. Hope to see you there!
Insightful write up! I totally enjoyed the wines here that we tasted at the Spring release party. I thought the Cailloux and Viognier were some of their best ever.
That is a lot of wines.
One of the things you have written previously that I found very admirable was the admission that every critic/reviewer has their own individual palate (and granted, well-trained and experienced palates they usually are). This is why we see different rating and reviews on the same wines from different reviewers. I found that to be a refreshing statement on wine reviews and one I have frequently referenced. Given that, isn’t it fair to say that reason 13 is that the qualities the first 12 factors lend to the wines also resonate with some reviewers’ palates? To be clear, I am not a Cayuse naysayer at all. There are several Cayuse wines I have had that I thoroughly enjoyed.