2009 Armada Vineyard Syrah
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Tasting notes
Rich and powerful, the 2009 Syrah Armada Vineyard offers up a boisterous bouquet of cassis, black truffle, plums and berry liqueur, complemented by savory notions of dark chocolate, loamy soil and orange. On the palate, it's full-bodied, ripe and ample, with considerable mid-palate volume and an exuberant core of fruit that conceals its ripe tannins. It's complex and compelling, but the difference between this more overtly ripe and sun-kissed wine and the more recent 2014 and 2015 vintages from Christophe—even warmer years—subtly speaks volumes.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Good deep red with ruby highlights. Distinctly decadent aromas of superripe plum, dried berries, mocha and smoked meat. Extremely dense, lush and thick, offering sweet, wild flavors of black raspberry, mocha and brown spices. Finishes very long, with big, ripe tannins. This large-scaled, mouthfilling, saline syrah will need time in bottle to express itself.
From the Armada Vineyard lying just behind the winery, the 2009 Cayuse Syrah Armada Vineyard was tasted from barrel and already shows stunning complexity on the nose with peat moss, iron, blood and sauvage notes overlaying serious minerality and crushed rocks. My notes say “Rocks, Rocks, Rocks.” The palate carries the nervous energy you get from Christophe’s wines as well as full body, awesome texture and a solid balance of acid, tannin and fruit.