2007 Cayuse Syrah Armada Vineyard- USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley (8/20/2017)
Decanted 6hrs. According to CT, I have 42 notes on Cayuse, with an estimated another 30 to 40 bottles tasted from other sources. I bring this up as I found the 07 Armada to be at the very top of the heap, and perhaps the potential to the best of the bunch. Driving this point home starts with the fruit profile, full of tension filled red berries, layers of smokey meats, charcoal and embers, and a long mineral filled finish. I love the typical Blackberry / olive profile so common in new world Syrahs, including Cayuse, but this had none of that, nor did it have any of the Cayuse funky that was typical of wines circa 2001-2009. No, this was power wrapped in elegant, seamless package and I would bet the farm this would show well in a line up of its Northern Rhone cousins. If you have a few of these no harm to enjoy now but I’m confident this is still on the uptick. Superb wine. (98 pts.)
Hey Todd, I think the Armada is a bit of an outlier in aging Cayuse, at least from wines in the 2000-20009 range in the fact that it has room for development after a decade. Most, including he Frog, are ready to go after 5 years will hold for ten or longer but don’t really seem to evolve - at least in my experience. The Armada it would seem, is the long distance runner in the stable. However, the more recent vintages could be a whole different animal as they are a lot less flashy when young, more mineral driven, and perhaps candidties for extending cellaring. It will certainly be fun to find out.
I’ve got an 07 En Chamberlain and a few 07 Armada’s in the stash still so maybe I’ll do a little side by side once I’m back from this road trip to see how they stack up. The Camaspelo is another I feel improves greatly if I forget about it for a 3-5 years after release.
I am really curious on your thoughts when you open that 07 En Chamberlin, I had it two years ago, enjoyed it quite a bit, but there was an unexpected note of vanilla bean mid palate that definitely was not present when the wine was young. Not oaky vanilla, again something fresher and more natural tasting. There was some chatter about this being a traight that can pop up in middle age domestic syrah from time to time. Anyway, enjoy it when you do pull the cork!
Dale, fantastic note, thx for the update. This was the first Cayuse I was allocated and it made a huge impression on me, was at the time one of the most unique wines I’d ever tasted. I’ve got one bottle left, sounds like it’s worth holding onto for a while longer.