Still seems very young. Dark color with no noticeable bricking. As with most aged cayuse the funk has nicely settled into the othe savory and fruit flavors. Did not have the same wow power as I remember years ago, though definitely not flawed as the last bottle was! Quite enjoyable and another marker of the lengthily of these wines. Curious to revisit with my last bottle a few years from now.
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Corked! Part of a mini vertical of 2000 and 2001 bionic frog. Both corked. What are the odds? Sigh I guess this is the danger of this hobby. This is particularly sad as this was the vintage that, when I first drank it, led to a profound wow moment.
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Cork broke 1/2 through opening, but seal was good. Filtered and aerated. Had that quintessential Cayuse nose, but initially tasted like a bit of olive brine and like Guinness. More interesting than great at first. Over the evening air brought in more smoke, meat, and mushroom. Intriguing on the palate.
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This was an off bottle I think. Strong brett/band aid on the nose as well in the palate. Over time there was some nice smoky elements emerging. This was more interesting to drink than pleasant, and in fact we stopped after about 1 glass and instead ordered the wine pairing at Willows. Fortuitously they poured some great wines, so it was not a complete loss!
Will open another bottle soon. Looking at my earlier notes and that of others, I do think this was a bottle issue and not necessarily a sign that the wine is past its time.
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A gorgeous nose of dark cherries and other red and black fruits, game meats, olives, brine, and warm earth. Tight on the palate with real mid palate tension, provided by gorgeous acidity, with refined, fine grained tannins. Excellent structure, fruit weight and length, with a very complex flavor profile. Unique as only Cayuse can be.
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CT offline. I actually thought this was too good to be BF -- not extracted enough. :-) Really amazing bottle of wine. Nice balanced acidity. Wonderful deep flavors of roasted meats, bacon fat, dark stewed fruits. I could just savor this all night. By far my favorite Cayuse -- both then and now.
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Cayuse syrah & steak night to celebrate a special birthday. Started with the 01 Frog. Finished with an 06 Frog. The 01 is tired, while "nice", it was flat and lacking any vibrancy. Remnants of dark fruit, leather and a hint of the herbal notes this wine is known for. No particular nose and not much of a finish. Still very decent, nice starter and no mouth drying tannins whatsoever. A good table setter for what was to come. If you have any 01 remaining drink up. I don't see this lasting much longer as any special.
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Great wine. Love the label art on Christophe's bottle. Deep color, carefully made. Tasted with wine friends along with several other iconic Syrah/Shiraz and this rated with the best. If you can get Cayuse or some of the other Eastern WA/OR syrah's, go for it. It will take you years to get on Cayuse's list, but it's worth the wait.
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Brett's Birthday Tasting - 2013 (Weygandt Wines - Washington, D.C.): A simply sublime syrah. Complex and profound aromas of black plum, dried blueberry, campfire smoke, rhubarb, grilled steak and charred earth. Brisk acid on the palate, with fine-grained tannins, very elegant at 12 years of age. The blackberry and plum fruit is still rich and opulent, but the non-fruit flavors steal the show: bacon, charcoal, grilled herbs, olive brine. Always expressive, but never overbearing, and a lot of this is credit to the wonderful acid. This wine is incredibly complex and has a near endless finish. It's such an expensive and hyped wine, but like many Cayuse syrahs, I love it despite myself. I think this bottle lives up to its reputation, and it's one of the best Washington syrahs I've tasted. Brett, thanks a ton for opening this gem!
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N Black raspberry, cabbage, seared bacon, funk P black raspberry, cherry, funk, bacon, spice F long finish and a really silky mouthfeel love these wines from cooler vintages with age on them 94-95
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Brett's Birthday (Weygandt Wines - Washington, DC): Simply stunning nose. Haunting, complex aromas of dark berries, forest floor, herbs, bacon, and potpourri. The palate is expansive and similarly impressive, balancing authentic, perfect crushed dark berries with endless smoked game, dried flowers, and asian spice. Gorgeously textured and superbly balanced with fantastic fresh acidity. Really outstanding now, but will continue to improve in the cellar. Drink or Hold.
Another pop & pour, this time with the Ross'. I was worried it wouldn't hold a candle to the 2008 [my only previous Frog] ... and I was right. While the same gamey meat flavors shone through, I found it a bit thin and astringent, which subsided as we systematically polished this off to move to other bottlings. The tour de force elements of the '08 were all missing, from the breadth to the length. Still a fine offering, but for 120 smackeroos I would not buy again.
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Nice earthy and plum flavors that matched quite well with French food (as usual). Seems to me to be starting to fade a bit to me. I will drink up my last bottle near term.
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Minneapolis Wine Club does Worldwide Syrah: Should have sold this wine. Certainly a nice wine but nothing amazing with forest floor, white pepper, bacon and tobacco. Medium finish and balanced overall.
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Super nose with charcoal, smoke, scorched earth, minerals On the palate very concentrated wine with scorched earth, floral, forest floor, smoke and mushrooms. Medium to long finish. This is my first Bionic Frog and hopefully not the last although the price is getting crazy.
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Notes from bottle being open about 2 hours. Red to black in color. Nose of black cherry, some blueberry, lavender, a little licorice, major olive and brine, and tons of menthol smoke as well. The palate is different with boysenberry, more olive, funky earth, menthol smoke, and a good dose of milk chocolate at the end. The finish is long, the balance is impeccable, lazer and the mouthfeel is excellent without ever feeling overbearing. Really good wine in its prime IMO, worth the hype and the $$$. Drink. 50+5+13+18+10
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Dominant aromas of bacon and smoke, with dark fruit tones underneath. Disappointing on the palate- ripe, rasiny/prunes and oak. I'd be happy to smell this all day, as long as I didn't have to drink it.
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Tied for my WOTN. This wine was in a perfect place. So seamless and smooth. Big nose of funk, stinky cheese, blackberries, toast, campfire. So polished in the mouth and so fresh --great acid. Integrated tannins and alcohol. My mouth just popped evertime I took a drink. So f'in good. 97pts.
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quick notes from the wine dinner. meat, iodine, blood, soy, smoke, mineral, mouth feel is silky smooth. This wine made the room stop! So much going on and represents everything that is great about Cayuse and the most distinctive terrior of Washington and maybe the entire new world.
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Poured into decanter and tasted a sip. Huge smokey plums, blood, meat, violets, tomat-green pepper red sauce on the nose. The palate was HUGE plum, meat, pov-iodine, minerals, sweet herbs, and dark fruit. The wine sat in the decanter about 3 hours. The wine opened up to reveal more fruit (blueberries and cooked raspberries) along with some tomatoes and charred green peppers. The wine, as with past bottles, continuously changes in the glass. Every sniff and slurp developes a new adjective. At one point all I got was a plum that had spent an hour in a smoker, then all I got was perfectly ripe blueberries.....Love me some Cayuse funk! Still has plenty of life, although no gripping tannins noticeable. Went extremely well with lamb, but made me wish the lamb was much rarer! Hard to describe the total Frog experience, but was glad to share it with some special friends!
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Great mouthfeel. Huge plum, dark fruit, and earth on intial palate. Long lingering dark fruits, violets, mild earth, and meat onto the long long long finish. Can't wait to taste a few years down the road. Decanted about 2 hours, continued to change in the glass. More sweet herbs and that Cayuse funk kept coming and the finish along with more dark fruit. Delish!
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Northern Hemisphere Syrah at the Ragen's (Seattle, WA): My #4. A nose that screams of hugely charred oak barrels. Spicy with a bit of brown sugar on the palate. Pretty darned smooth actually, but this needs aeration to get past all of that oak. You could get hints of nice, peppery Syrah underneath the heavy toast, but the fruit is really battling to come out right now.
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The amount of charred that this wine must see is amazing. The nose reeks of ashtray with only a hint of dark fruit peeking through. The palate is like kissing a chain smoker. It is good in some regards, but it is not that tasty. Needless to say, the ashtray elements carry through from the nose. There is loads of ripe fruit hiding behind the char, but I doubt it will ever get a chance to surface.
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The nose is extremely off-putting. I get matchstick, sawdust, pine and a some blackberry. It is almost like an overoaked Chardonnay. Only the blackberry is un-Chard like. It shows a big front palate with a touch of Walla Walla green (asparagus) and bacon. After the big front palate there is not much else. The complete lack of structure makes the extremely blah and flabby. Disappointing.
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Cristophe Baron has hit a home run with this one. Opaque purple to magenta with a nose of bacon fat, earth and herbs. The fat, rich palate of blackberry, tabacco, coffee, meat, spice and mineral all packaged in sweet fine integrated tannin lingers powerfully for over a minute. This wine would be fun to throw in blind with some great Hermitage.
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4/8/2023 - Ron Slye wrote: 94 Points
Still seems very young. Dark color with no noticeable bricking. As with most aged cayuse the funk has nicely settled into the othe savory and fruit flavors. Did not have the same wow power as I remember years ago, though definitely not flawed as the last bottle was! Quite enjoyable and another marker of the lengthily of these wines. Curious to revisit with my last bottle a few years from now.
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12/28/2021 - Ron Slye wrote: flawed
Corked! Part of a mini vertical of 2000 and 2001 bionic frog. Both corked. What are the odds? Sigh I guess this is the danger of this hobby. This is particularly sad as this was the vintage that, when I first drank it, led to a profound wow moment.
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1/9/2019 - Gage Likes this wine: 91 Points
Cork broke 1/2 through opening, but seal was good. Filtered and aerated. Had that quintessential Cayuse nose, but initially tasted like a bit of olive brine and like Guinness. More interesting than great at first. Over the evening air brought in more smoke, meat, and mushroom. Intriguing on the palate.
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9/19/2016 - Ron Slye wrote:
This was an off bottle I think. Strong brett/band aid on the nose as well in the palate. Over time there was some nice smoky elements emerging. This was more interesting to drink than pleasant, and in fact we stopped after about 1 glass and instead ordered the wine pairing at Willows. Fortuitously they poured some great wines, so it was not a complete loss!
Will open another bottle soon. Looking at my earlier notes and that of others, I do think this was a bottle issue and not necessarily a sign that the wine is past its time.
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10/2/2014 - f22nickell Likes this wine: 94 Points
A gorgeous nose of dark cherries and other red and black fruits, game meats, olives, brine, and warm earth. Tight on the palate with real mid palate tension, provided by gorgeous acidity, with refined, fine grained tannins. Excellent structure, fruit weight and length, with a very complex flavor profile. Unique as only Cayuse can be.
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10/2/2014 - Ron Slye wrote: 96 Points
CT offline. I actually thought this was too good to be BF -- not extracted enough. :-) Really amazing bottle of wine. Nice balanced acidity. Wonderful deep flavors of roasted meats, bacon fat, dark stewed fruits. I could just savor this all night. By far my favorite Cayuse -- both then and now.
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9/20/2014 - afu wrote: 89 Points
Cayuse syrah & steak night to celebrate a special birthday. Started with the 01 Frog. Finished with an 06 Frog. The 01 is tired, while "nice", it was flat and lacking any vibrancy. Remnants of dark fruit, leather and a hint of the herbal notes this wine is known for. No particular nose and not much of a finish. Still very decent, nice starter and no mouth drying tannins whatsoever. A good table setter for what was to come. If you have any 01 remaining drink up. I don't see this lasting much longer as any special.
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5/11/2014 - Padraig wrote: 94 Points
Great wine. Love the label art on Christophe's bottle. Deep color, carefully made. Tasted with wine friends along with several other iconic Syrah/Shiraz and this rated with the best. If you can get Cayuse or some of the other Eastern WA/OR syrah's, go for it. It will take you years to get on Cayuse's list, but it's worth the wait.
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5/17/2013 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 96 Points
Brett's Birthday Tasting - 2013 (Weygandt Wines - Washington, D.C.): A simply sublime syrah. Complex and profound aromas of black plum, dried blueberry, campfire smoke, rhubarb, grilled steak and charred earth. Brisk acid on the palate, with fine-grained tannins, very elegant at 12 years of age. The blackberry and plum fruit is still rich and opulent, but the non-fruit flavors steal the show: bacon, charcoal, grilled herbs, olive brine. Always expressive, but never overbearing, and a lot of this is credit to the wonderful acid. This wine is incredibly complex and has a near endless finish. It's such an expensive and hyped wine, but like many Cayuse syrahs, I love it despite myself. I think this bottle lives up to its reputation, and it's one of the best Washington syrahs I've tasted. Brett, thanks a ton for opening this gem!
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5/16/2013 - manonthemoon wrote: 95 Points
N Black raspberry, cabbage, seared bacon, funk
P black raspberry, cherry, funk, bacon, spice
F long finish and a really silky mouthfeel
love these wines from cooler vintages with age on them
94-95
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5/16/2013 - Rob and Meg wrote: 94 Points
Brett's Birthday (Weygandt Wines - Washington, DC): Simply stunning nose. Haunting, complex aromas of dark berries, forest floor, herbs, bacon, and potpourri. The palate is expansive and similarly impressive, balancing authentic, perfect crushed dark berries with endless smoked game, dried flowers, and asian spice. Gorgeously textured and superbly balanced with fantastic fresh acidity. Really outstanding now, but will continue to improve in the cellar. Drink or Hold.
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5/28/2011 - fitchbuck Likes this wine: 91 Points
Another pop & pour, this time with the Ross'. I was worried it wouldn't hold a candle to the 2008 [my only previous Frog] ... and I was right. While the same gamey meat flavors shone through, I found it a bit thin and astringent, which subsided as we systematically polished this off to move to other bottlings. The tour de force elements of the '08 were all missing, from the breadth to the length. Still a fine offering, but for 120 smackeroos I would not buy again.
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3/30/2011 - Radboy wrote: 93 Points
Nice earthy and plum flavors that matched quite well with French food (as usual). Seems to me to be starting to fade a bit to me. I will drink up my last bottle near term.
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11/11/2010 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 92 Points
Minneapolis Wine Club does Worldwide Syrah: Should have sold this wine. Certainly a nice wine but nothing amazing with forest floor, white pepper, bacon and tobacco. Medium finish and balanced overall.
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9/11/2010 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 94 Points
Super nose with charcoal, smoke, scorched earth, minerals On the palate very concentrated wine with scorched earth, floral, forest floor, smoke and mushrooms. Medium to long finish. This is my first Bionic Frog and hopefully not the last although the price is getting crazy.
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8/12/2010 - manonthemoon wrote: 96 Points
Notes from bottle being open about 2 hours. Red to black in color. Nose of black cherry, some blueberry, lavender, a little licorice, major olive and brine, and tons of menthol smoke as well. The palate is different with boysenberry, more olive, funky earth, menthol smoke, and a good dose of milk chocolate at the end. The finish is long, the balance is impeccable, lazer and the mouthfeel is excellent without ever feeling overbearing. Really good wine in its prime IMO, worth the hype and the $$$. Drink. 50+5+13+18+10
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6/19/2010 - BigPoppaMD wrote: 89 Points
May be too late. Looked like an aged Bordeaux. Tasted rustic. Not much change on day 2.
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2/8/2009 - AllRed wrote: 90 Points
Dominant aromas of bacon and smoke, with dark fruit tones underneath. Disappointing on the palate- ripe, rasiny/prunes and oak. I'd be happy to smell this all day, as long as I didn't have to drink it.
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12/3/2008 - Jared wrote: 97 Points
Tied for my WOTN. This wine was in a perfect place. So seamless and smooth. Big nose of funk, stinky cheese, blackberries, toast, campfire. So polished in the mouth and so fresh --great acid. Integrated tannins and alcohol. My mouth just popped evertime I took a drink. So f'in good. 97pts.
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11/15/2008 - bajayngo wrote: 97 Points
quick notes from the wine dinner. meat, iodine, blood, soy, smoke, mineral, mouth feel is silky smooth. This wine made the room stop! So much going on and represents everything that is great about Cayuse and the most distinctive terrior of Washington and maybe the entire new world.
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6/2/2008 - Vinsant wrote: 95 Points
Poured into decanter and tasted a sip. Huge smokey plums, blood, meat, violets, tomat-green pepper red sauce on the nose. The palate was HUGE plum, meat, pov-iodine, minerals, sweet herbs, and dark fruit. The wine sat in the decanter about 3 hours. The wine opened up to reveal more fruit (blueberries and cooked raspberries) along with some tomatoes and charred green peppers. The wine, as with past bottles, continuously changes in the glass. Every sniff and slurp developes a new adjective. At one point all I got was a plum that had spent an hour in a smoker, then all I got was perfectly ripe blueberries.....Love me some Cayuse funk! Still has plenty of life, although no gripping tannins noticeable. Went extremely well with lamb, but made me wish the lamb was much rarer! Hard to describe the total Frog experience, but was glad to share it with some special friends!
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11/14/2007 - Vinsant wrote: 94 Points
Great mouthfeel. Huge plum, dark fruit, and earth on intial palate. Long lingering dark fruits, violets, mild earth, and meat onto the long long long finish. Can't wait to taste a few years down the road. Decanted about 2 hours, continued to change in the glass. More sweet herbs and that Cayuse funk kept coming and the finish along with more dark fruit. Delish!
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5/19/2007 - Eric wrote:
Northern Hemisphere Syrah at the Ragen's (Seattle, WA): My #4. A nose that screams of hugely charred oak barrels. Spicy with a bit of brown sugar on the palate. Pretty darned smooth actually, but this needs aeration to get past all of that oak. You could get hints of nice, peppery Syrah underneath the heavy toast, but the fruit is really battling to come out right now.
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2/5/2005 - Jason wrote: 81 Points
The amount of charred that this wine must see is amazing. The nose reeks of ashtray with only a hint of dark fruit peeking through. The palate is like kissing a chain smoker. It is good in some regards, but it is not that tasty. Needless to say, the ashtray elements carry through from the nose. There is loads of ripe fruit hiding behind the char, but I doubt it will ever get a chance to surface.
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4/16/2004 - Jason wrote: 82 Points
The nose is extremely off-putting. I get matchstick, sawdust, pine and a some blackberry. It is almost like an overoaked Chardonnay. Only the blackberry is un-Chard like. It shows a big front palate with a touch of Walla Walla green (asparagus) and bacon. After the big front palate there is not much else. The complete lack of structure makes the extremely blah and flabby. Disappointing.
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11/7/2003 - KellyW wrote: 95 Points
Cristophe Baron has hit a home run with this one. Opaque purple to magenta with a nose of bacon fat, earth and herbs. The fat, rich palate of blackberry, tabacco, coffee, meat, spice and mineral all packaged in sweet fine integrated tannin lingers powerfully for over a minute. This wine would be fun to throw in blind with some great Hermitage.
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