2017 Cayuse Syrah En Chamberlin Vineyard
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Tasting notes
Full bright, dark red. Musky, wild scents of dark raspberry, boysenberry, dried herbs, underbrush, olive tapenade, crushed rock and licorice. Suave, savory and plush on entry, then saline, dark and concentrated in the middle palate, with black olive, mocha and bitter chocolate flavors complementing darker berries and chimney soot. Finishes with a firm spine of dusty tannins that currently masks the wine's underlying sweetness. Thick without being sweet, this wine also needs a few years to round into shape and absorb its substantial dusty tannins. The least sweet of these Syrahs today but avoids dryness on the back.
Critic scores
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
The 2017 Syrah en Chamberlin Vineyard is unmistakable on the nose, boasting an intensely framed Syrah that offers up generous and juicy dark fruit, framed by meaty, umami and savory expressions of olive tapenade, black pepper and charcuterie before drifting back to aromas of violets and lavender. Full-bodied and firmly structured, the wine is built like a tank, revealing layers of complexity and elegance that are supported by fine-grained tannins and rocky minerality across the mid-palate. With power and finesse, the wine somersaults in the mouth, before leading to a long, impressive conclusion that continues to develop in length. Only 365 cases were produced of this stellar wine. Yum!
More tapenade, dried herbs, chocolate, sweet mulch, and sweet black fruits emerge from the 2017 Syrah En Chamberlin, a medium to full-bodied, ripe, powerful 2017. With building tannins, a plump, expansive mid-palate, plenty of classic Rocks funk, and a great finish, it doesn’t quite have the precision of the En Cerise yet is more sexy and opulent. It benefits from a decant if drinking any time soon and will evolve gracefully for 15 years. The 2017s from Christophe Baron show the more elegant, balanced style of the vintage nicely while still showing plenty of depth and concentration. These are singular, gorgeous wines that could come from nowhere else.