The Bordeaux blend from a cult Syrah house. Roughly 2,500 bottles. Almost nobody outside the list ever sees one.

Flying Pig is the outlier in the Cayuse lineup, and that's exactly why collectors chase it.Christophe Baron's Cayuse wines are among the most sought-after and difficult to find in the U.S. — the entire annual production is sold exclusively to his wine club members, making any retail bottle a rare-as-hen's-teeth find. And while he's best known for Syrah and Grenache blends, Baron also grows outstanding Bordeaux varietals, with the Flying Pig built on Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

The backstory is now Washington legend.Cayuse was founded in 1997 by Christophe Baron, a native of France who grew up in a family of vignerons in Champagne and could have spent his life making elegant Champagne. Instead he became a trailblazer with an instinct for undiscovered terroir — drawn to a stretch of cobblestone riverbed in Walla Walla.This stony soil, this terroir, was just like that of some of the most prestigious French vineyards, and those stones work the way they do in Châteauneuf: absorbing the sun's heat, then radiating it back into the fruit.

Fruit comes from the estate's Cailloux and En Cerise vineyards, farmed biodynamically. En Cerise translates to "cherry," appropriate since this 10-acre vineyard planted in 1998 was once a cherry orchard.

What to expect in the glass

The Pig has a remarkably consistent signature across vintages — savory, stony, floral-edged, and medium- to full-bodied rather than blockbuster:

• Colour: medium ruby with a purple rim
• Nose: black cherry and dusty plum skin, crushed violets, cedar, dried herbs and turned earth, with a kiss of that Rocks umami character in the background
• Palate: round and succulent, exploding with energy and a beautiful balance between dark fruit skin and earth
• Finish: a food-friendly, tannic grip holding through a long, lingering, ever-evolving close
• Serve: decant 60–90 minutes, 62–65°F (17–18°C)

Track record

This label consistently lands in the mid-90s:

• 2022 — 97 points, International Wine Report; 94 points, James Suckling
• 2021 — 96 points, Wine Advocate; 95 points, Jeb Dunnuck; 94 points, Wine Enthusiast; 93 points, Wine Spectator
• 2020 — 96 points, Wine Enthusiast; 94 points, James Suckling
• Aggregate — 93/100 across 103 critic reviews

In the cellar

House practice is 18 months in French oak, 30% new, which in the 2023 release shifted toward mainly neutral French oak (70%). Production is minuscule — just under 2,500 bottles in a comparable vintage.

Perfect with

Beef, venison and game, mature hard cheeses and mushrooms. Smoked brisket, rack of lamb with herbs, duck, grilled ribeye, wild mushroom ragù. And yes — pork shoulder is on-theme.

The details