Cayuse 2020 Armada Vineyard Syrah

Special price $130.50 |  regular $145

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Christophe Baron didn't set out to become one of Washington's most sought-after winemakers, he just followed his nose. Born into a Champagne winemaking family in Charly-sur-Marne with roots going back to 1677, he trained in viticulture in Avize and Beaune, and spent his free time in his early twenties driving down to the northern Rhône and Châteauneuf-du-Pape to taste with legends like Jamet, Clape, and Rayas. In 1996 he was passing through the Walla Walla Valley when he stumbled on a field covered in fist-sized round stones, and he immediately recognized the resemblance to the famous galets roulés of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the same stones that store daytime heat and release it back into the vines at night. He planted his first vineyard there in March 1997 and named the project Cayuse, after a Native American tribe whose name comes from the French word cailloux, meaning stones.

Armada is one of the crown jewel sites in that portfolio. Planted in 2001 at extremely high density, it was the most densely planted vineyard in the valley until 2008, and it sits in the ancient riverbed of the Walla Walla River, just 12 to 18 inches of silty loam over basalt cobblestones that run unbelievably deep in places. The site is farmed organically and biodynamically with intentionally tiny yields, and it's so central to the operation that Cayuse's own winery sits right on it. The 2020 is 100% Syrah, aged 21 months in about 20% new French oak, and it's widely considered one of the standout wines of the vintage.

Drinking window:
This one's still on the young side, and that's part of the appeal, there's a long runway ahead. Jeb Dunnuck's own review calls for a couple more years in the cellar with real potential through 2040. Right now it's already delicious with a generous decant, three-plus hours gets it singing, showing black cherry, blackberry, cracked pepper, and crushed stone, but the structure underneath tells you this bottle rewards patience. If you want to drink it now, decant hard. If you can hold a few, they'll only get better into the early 2030s and beyond.

Critical Acclaim

98pts Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Syrah Armada Vineyard comes from a higher density planting just beside the estate, and it's always a more dense, backward wine. Darker, black fruits, smoked meat, ground pepper, iron, and just subtle bloody, meaty nuances emerge from this beauty, and it's medium to full-bodied on the palate, with building, firm tannins, wonderfully integrated acidity, and a great finish that makes you salivate due to its sense of salinity and minerality. It needs plenty of air if drinking any time soon but is another tour de force in Rocks Syrah! It has 20-25 years of prime drinking ahead of it.

97pts Wine Advocate
Rich, juicy and lush with a ripe dark red and black-fruited core of fruit, the 2019 Syrah Armada Vineyard offers dusty purple flowers and savory elements with notions of smoked meat. Medium to full-bodied, the Syrah is firm, focused and refined while offering wonderful savory and umami essences as the generous wine gains in complexity. Still firm and with a taut mineral tension, the wine subsides with a spicy and lingering finish that will benefit from a couple more years of bottle aging to release its tight grip. Be patient and give it time.

95pts James Suckling
A lovely nose of plum, gravel and sweet tobacco. Wonderfully balanced and supple on the palate. Medium-to full-bodied with gentle tannins. Cool profile. Rather graceful expressions of red fruit and cocoa. So charming. From biodynamically grown grapes.

750ml