2013 Cayuse "Armada Vineyard" Walla Walla Valley Syrah
SKU #1278483
98 points
Wine Advocate
Offering up notes of cracked black pepper, black truffles, smoked duck, plums, blackberry and violet, the 2013 Syrah Armada Vineyard isn't as powerful or texturally lavish as the 2014, but at this early stage it appears to be longer and more intense. At 13.4%, it's also slightly lower in alcohol. It's full-bodied, sapid and layered, displaying excellent cut and energy ... (WK)
(6/2018)
95 points
Vinous
Bright ruby-red. Blueberry, blackberry, huckleberry and a hint of peat moss on the nose, lifted by high notes of licorice and pepper. Extremely youthful and tightly wound but already delivers outstanding fruit intensity and compelling sweetness leavened by strong salinity. More horizontal than vertical in the mouth, finishing wonderfully broad, dense and long, with a whiplash of savory raspberry and spices and a sexy hint of incipient truffle. Like the Pacienca vineyard, which supplies the fruit for Christophe Baron's No Girls wines, these vines are planted to a dense 6-by-4-foot spacing. (ST) 95+
(11/2016)
94 points
Decanter
This vintage was poured at the walk-around tasting after the seminar. It has Armada’s typical intensity, density and savoury-sweet berry fruit, but not the power and vertical depth of the 2014. Instead the flavours are broad and complex, and it has lower alcohol and a very long, saline finish. The 2.8ha vineyard was planted in 2001 on grafted vines because Baron expected phylloxera to arrive eventually, which it did in 2019. (EM)
(11/2018)
94 points
Wine Enthusiast
The lilac, charcuterie, peat, smoke and black and green-olive aromas are tightly wound. The palate is focused, flavorful and energetic, showing depth and intensity while remaining quite light on its feet. (SS)
(12/2016)
93 points
Wine Spectator
Lithe and delicately layered, with expressive bacon fat, blueberry and cracked pepper flavors that glide into a rich finish of refined, stony tannins. (TF)
(4/2017)