2013 Cayuse Syrah Armada Vineyard
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Tasting notes
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, and I'd expect it to drink well for the next two decades.
Critic scores
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
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.