2007 | Cayuse Vineyards | Armada Vineyard Syrah

The wine begins to change immediately; as soon as the cork is pulled the bouquet emerges and begins to evolve. Thin layers of scent and flavor are stacked, with rose petals on top, then supremely dense with darker layers of smoke, graphite, ash, mushroom, black fruits.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: The 2007 Syrah Armada Vineyard is simultaneously one of the most youthful wines in this tasting and also the most complete, unfurling in the glass with a savory bouquet of black truffle, bitter chocolate, cassis and other dark fruits. On the palate, the wine is both more expansive and more incisive than the 2008, its lavish, textural attack segueing into a deep, stony and layered mid-palate. The finish is sapid, even saline and very long. Aged in demi-muids, one of which is new, the 2007 finished up with 14.2% alcohol. Baron is planning to release a small tranche of library wines this June, so members of the Cayuse mailing list shouldn't hesitate to snap up a few bottles if they can.

• Vinous: Deep, bright red-ruby. Pungent aromas of black pepper, smoke, flint and dark raspberry. Super-silky and concentrated, with a texture that's simultaneously chewy and seamless. The intense blackberry flavor is lifted by strong black pepper and garrigue notes that carry through to the extremely long, gripping finish. This syrah's lovely combination of sweet dark berry fruit and saline character makes it a very satisfying and complex drink.

Producer Information

Cayuse Vineyards is a wine producer based in the Walla Walla Valley on the border of Oregon and Washington. Its focus is on the Rhône grape varieties, and in particular Syrah, wines from which have earned several 100-point ratings from The Wine Advocate. The company was founded in 1997 by Christophe Baron, a Frenchman from a Champagne-making family near Charly-sur-Marne. All of the vineyards owned by Cayuse are within the newly formed Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA, which is wholly in Oregon. However, Cayuse continues to label its wines with the broader Walla Walla AVA, which is usually associated with the Washington wine industry, though it straddles both states. Cayuse only uses estate grown fruit from its five vineyards totalling 24 hectares (60 acres). The first plantings were self-rooted vines but, in 2000, Cayuse introduced grafted vines as a precaution against phylloxera. Cayuse has always farmed its vineyards organically and, in 2002, became the first entirely biodynamic producer in the Walla Walla Valley. The soil is "Freewater very cobbly loam" and consists of rolled stones similar to the galets roulés of southern France, particularly Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Cayuse's first vineyard is named Cailloux in honor of its stony soil, and it is from here that the flagship Syrah is produced. The estate's name is a derivation of the same word, and is the name given by white settlers to the local native American tribe. Other top wines in the portfolio include the En Chamberlin Vineyard and Bionic Frog Syrahs, and the Impulsivo Tempranillo. The majority of Cayuse wines are sold to members of the mailing list, places on which are keenly sought.

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