2011 Cayuse Syrah Armada Vineyard
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Tasting notes
The 2011 Syrah Armada Vineyard is spectacular, and one of the highlights of this tasting, bursting from the glass with aromas of dark chocolate, smoked duck, blackberries, licorice, cassis, burning embers, tapenade and cracked black pepper. On the palate, it's full-bodied, layered and mouthwateringly savory, with cool fruit tones, a lovely underlying line of acidity and plenty of youthful energy, concluding with a refined but gently tannic finish. The product of a cool vintage that many dismissed, Baron dropped 80% of his fruit and did a 20% saigné to produce this compelling wine that screams Syrah and Walla Walla—but also more than nods to the Northern Rhône.
Critic scores
Jeb Dunnuck
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
(13.5% alcohol): Good full red. Wild, musky, expressive aromas of raspberry, game, woodsmoke, pepper, bacon fat, squid ink and black olive tapenade. Plush and salty on the palate, with raspberry and smoked meat flavors accented by subtle minerality. Finishes with plush tannins and lingering notes of smoke, game and spices. For all its fleshiness, there’s something a bit ungiving about this Syrah: is there more to come? (I should note that an earlier bottle was much more backward and gripping, showing little in the way of easy sweetness to its reticent flavors of singed raspberry, peat and briney olive juice. I rated this one 92+? and thought it needed a good six or seven years in the cellar.)
Even better, the 2011 Syrah Armada is probably my favorite of the 2011s. Deep, rich and layered, with phenomenal black plum, damp earth, pepper, mushroom, charcuterie and spice-driven aromas and flavors, this beauty tastes like the essence of this unique terroir. Full-bodied, rich and layered, it too should flesh out beautifully with short-term cellaring and have upwards of two decades of longevity. ||Enough can’t be said about the quality coming from this estate, and Christophe Baron, who’s assisted by Elizabeth Bourcier, produces, in this reviewer’s opinion, some of the most distinctive and exciting wines on the planet. As I said last year, there’s no secret here, and Christophe simply has fantastic terroir, works his ass off in the vineyard (everything is farmed biodynamically), and then gets out of the way in the cellar. Looking at the vintages reviewed here, his 2011s (which come from the lowest yields ever at this estate) check in at the top of the vintage and have uncommon richness and depth. Stating that it was the coolest vintage of his career, Christophe loves the European style of the wines and feels they’ll reward 5-7 years of cellaring. As a group, they show superb aromatics, medium to full-bodied richness and fresh, lively characters. In contrast, the 2012s are flamboyant and decadent, with awesome textures, beautiful purity of fruit and brilliant underlying structure. To my palate, 2012 is up there with finest vintage from this team to date. 2012 is possibly the best vintage I’ve ever tasted from Christophe. Across the board, the wines shows incredible aromatics, awesome purity and full-bodied richness and concentration.||Tel. (509) 526-0686; www.cayusevineyards.com Wine Advocate.June, 2014