September 23, 2023 - Tasted blind. Wow! I am amazed at how much this wine tastes like a great Allemand Cornas! To think this comes from Washington State. Kaboom!
June 18, 2023 - Reminds me why BF is the crown of the cayuse jewels. Very elegant with lots of savory flavors. Everything seems well integrated now. Rich dark fruit. Reminds me of the La Las a bit (I can’t remember what distinguishes them enough to say which this is more like). But a lovely wine that went really well with grilled steak.
January 23, 2023 - Dark dark dark fruit with bacon, meat, olive tapenade and funk throughout the lingering finish
January 20, 2023 - Decanted for 4-hours. The pour was auspicious, inky dark letting no light through the glass. The brooding color was no match for the palate which was soft, and fruit forward until the alcohol-dominate finish. Juicy, dark plum dominated. Some spice and bramble in the mid palate. The finish smoothed over time as the alcohol dissipated. Very nice at that point in particular. Day 2 was unremarkable and flat fruit juice as the alcohol, and its related structure vanished. It’s time to drink up.
January 6, 2023 - Pitch black. Fully integrated tannins. Full throttle alcohol. Excellent with a 2+ hour decant
December 25, 2022 - For the first 15 minutes the alcohol was overwhelming but miraculously gradually receded. Massive concentration of dark plummy fruit with just the right amount of acidity and not as feral as I expected. A bit more tannin would be welcome. Nevertheless, this is a compelling Syrah in a new world style and more successful than the great majority of Aussie pretenders which are too ponderous without any redeeming sense of balance.
November 9, 2022 - Very nice, well made wine. Still a big fella but definitely in its sweet spot. Reminds me a bit of an Alban Syrah. This would be a great time to drink these.
September 30, 2022 - Interesting wine. Initially pretty closed (no decant) but opens up beautifully over a couple of hours. Only had a large glass and drank very nicely - well balanced, smoke, olive, meat and ripe blackberry in spades on both nose and palate. Really delicious Cayuse drinking very well. Very looking forward to another glass tomorrow.
September 4, 2022 - Third tasting since 2017, has definitely evolved. No longer dark garnet and opaque, but now ruby-garnet, slight brown edge, translucent. Pronounced smoky, roasted meat and black fruit aromas but elegant and complex. Still has good fruit but has softened, now more medium-bodied and more elegant. Went perfectly with roasted beef tenderloin. At its peak, would drink up over the next 1-2 years. For my taste, the "sweet spot" for this wine is about 8 years.
Ric
December 8, 2021 - A big Syrah, very powerful. Big Black fruit bomb with very little spices one would expect from a Syrah from the west coast. Plum and dark fruit structure. Medium finish.