2011 Cayuse Syrah Armada Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (75) Avg Score: 93.0 points

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  4/8/2023 - Wingmann Likes this wine: 97 Points

  Decanted and poured a glass immediately, partly because I was excited to drink it and partly because I knew it would change in the glass. Nose: dried blueberries, wet stones, cranberry (some really similar notes to a great OR PN), a hint of forest floor, pine, leather, black pepper and a note that is reminiscent of aged wine that’s hard to describe otherwise. Man this thing kept developing from sip to sip. Palate: Initially it seemed somewhat easy drinking, but it almost seemed to get more tense for a moment and was dominated by black pepper with a subtle blueberry flavor. Alcohol was noticeable on the finish despite being 13.5% abv. I had only tasted Cayuse a few times before and they were never more than a few years in bottle. If you like old wines, this wine, usually described as a lighter vintage, is tasty now, but could go for a decade or more. It had no sediment and still very tense, primary, and tight. I only have one more bottle of this, so it’s going to be difficult, but I’m going to try and hold on to it for a while. Enjoyed with lamb T bones, beer-braised onions and crispy truffle potatoes.

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  3/18/2023 - danielbleier Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Decanted for 2 hours - meaty and rich, with flavors of plum and dark berry. Very smooth but delivers that earthy, funky counter to fruit that Cayuse is known for...should be good for years to come.

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  12/27/2022 - IanAltman Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Definite cayuse barnyard funk. Behaves more like old world than new world. Worked great after 60 minute decant. Leather, smoke, dark cherry.

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  12/25/2022 - Black Mikan wrote: 91 Points

  The fruit has dimished over time. Lots of secondary. Rocks funk, fermented soy, etc. still really interesting, but wish we’d drank earlier.

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  10/11/2022 - Ex-Ray Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Last tasted Feb. 2020, rated it 100. This bottle was less impressive, more one-dimensional. It still had the typical roasted meats, smoky, blackberry aromas and flavors, just not as intense, rich or complex as before. Possibly some bottle variation, but last bottle of this vintage, so I'll never know!
  Ric

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