2013 Cayuse Syrah Bionic Frog
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Tasting notes
Healthy dark red. Pungent aromas of raspberry, dried spices, herbs, truffle, meat, peppercorn, mustard seed and tea leaf. Juicy and rather tight, showing less obvious texture and sweetness than the 2014 bottling but fascinating herb, spice and tea leaf complexity to its compressed core of sappy red fruits. This shows less baby fat today than the 2014 but is spicier and meatier--and a bit sweeter and riper as well. Finishes vibrant and uncompromising, with terrific spicy, meaty length. (ST)
Critic scores
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
(13.4% alcohol): Deep ruby-red. Knockout nose combines liqueur-like black raspberry, olive tapenade and mustard seed, complicated by licorice, clove and a slightly raw herbal quality. Wonderfully dense, chewy and spicy, showing intriguing saline complexity and terrific lift and conveying an impression of tightly coiled energy. No easy sweetness here but the powerful finishing flavors of raspberry, lavender and spices saturate the palate and leave the taste buds vibrating.
The only wine to see partial aging in foudre (20% new), the 2013 Syrah Bionic Frog has an almost Burgundian flair in its forest floor, olive brine, smoked earth, dried flower and darker fruit-styled personality. One of the more streamlined, elegant examples of this cuvee, it still has a serious, lengthy feel, full-bodied richness and building underlying structure that makes me think 3-5 years of cellaring are warranted. I don’t think it hits the heights of the best vintages, but it’s still a fabulous wine.