As you can probably tell…I have caught the Cayuse bug!
I’m curious to see what everyone’s favorite Cayuse wine is, we can brake it down into favorite Syrah and favorite Bordeaux!
En Cerise
My favorite is Impulsivo (Tempranillo). If memory serves me, the only wine I rated 100 points although I was probably a little too picky. I think you can put this in a blind tasting with my favorite Ribera del Duero, Pingus, and we might be surprised by the results.
DoctorJay
Did it. You can tell which is Pingus. Also included Abacela, which is pretty decent - I figured those were the 2 best Tempranillos in the US.
My favorite Cayuse is en Cerise though.
My favorite syrah is probably Armada tied with Bionic Frog (though for some years I think Armada wins out).
Non syrah I am still figuring out. Used to like Flying Pig a lot; but recently had a Camaspelo that I enjoyed. My wife loves God Only Knows; she would probably put Armada as favorite syrah.
Syrah: en cerise (not counting frog). Non Syrah: widow maker.
En Cerise, Flying Pig
For me it’s a toss-up. En Cerise or Armada. I think the En Cerise is a bit more elegant though.
- Frog
- Cerise
- Pig
Each year different Syrahs have shined brightest for me between Frog, Cerise, Chamberlin but year-in, year-out Cailloux is just excellent.
We have had the most Camaspelo but the two Widowmaker bottles friends have poured for us have always stood out in my memory. Have not yet uncorked any Pig we own.
Impulsivo is just a show-stopper always.
En Cerise seems to be very popular, sadly it is the one Syrah I have yet to try.
I would agree with Glenn’s statement about the Cailloux always being excellent every year!
I have loved the few Impulisivo’s and Widowmaker’s I have tried and have not opened any of my Pig’s yet either, I only have 14’s so I think they need some time sideways. But I would say Impulsivo is my favorite of the non Sarah’s.
The only other Cayuse I have yet to sample is the Lovers.
That is interesting, as our favorite single vineyard (after Armada) is En Chamberlin. A bit more savory usually. But as Glenn I think noted, the favorite varies from year to year. I am not sure I would pick one over the other consistently year to year.
Impulsivo is the one for which I get the fewest bottles, so have not tried many. I find the bordeaux blends vary a lot from year to year. Some I really like. Some less so. But it may be they need more age.
I went back and looked at my tasting notes. For 95 and above I had Bionic Frog, Armada, En Chamberlin, Cailloux and Coccinelle (which is what is now Bionic Frog). The 07 Frog was the highest, at 98, drunk in 2013. The second highest though was a 2003 Aramada drunk also in 2013, which came in at 97. The 2003 En Chamberlin was next at 96, drunk in 2016. My highest scoring non syrah was GOK, 2008, at 94 points in 2016.
When do these wines show best? How many years after release?
SYRAH:
Bionic Frog
En Chamberlin
En Cerise
Cailloux
Armada [a distant last, not much a fan here]
NON-SYRAH [very tight grouping]:
Impulsivo
Lovers
Camaspelo
Flying Pig
Widowmaker
God Only Knows
I haven’t popped Wallah Wallah Special nor Edith Rose yet.
For me, it’s the God Only Knows. While I love the Syrahs (Cailloux is my consistent favorite), that Grenache really shines with its weightless balance of fruit, acidity, and concentration. It needs 5+ years, IMO, to show best.
I am in agreement with others that different wines tend to shine in any particular year. For example the 06 BF is fantastic - loads of herbal, olive and bacon notes. I am a big fan of the GOK grenache - I think it is one of the best in the US. The only Cayuse wine that I am not a fan of is the Lovers.
This. Love the GOK.
Sounds like I need to try more GOK!
Usually the one I opened just now.
I like the Camaspelo better than the Widowmaker, though that may because I have drunk much more of the former. It was the first wine they offered me in 2007.
I can’t seem to keep my hands off them to age them much more than 10 years, though I am sure that will change due to the increased allocations in the last 5 years. I have come to agree with the note that used to come with their wines, the optimal time to open one is when you want to drink one.
GOK