2009 | Cayuse Vineyards | En Chamberlin Vineyard Syrah

Red Wine: 2009 | Cayuse Vineyards | En Chamberlin Vineyard Syrah

Rich and velvety, delivering a complex mouthful of dark plum, blackberry, black olive, smoke and spice flavors that persist on the long, expressive finish. Offers depth and subtlety to go with its power.

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Producer: Cayuse Vineyards

Ratings: WA | 97 WE | 99

Vintage: 2009

Size: 750ml

ABV: 14.2%

Varietal: Syrah

Country/Region: United States, Walla Walla Valley

Rich and velvety, delivering a complex mouthful of dark plum, blackberry, black olive, smoke and spice flavors that persist on the long, expressive finish. Offers depth and subtlety to go with its power.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: Smoky evocations of peat and black tea along with pungent, well-hung gaminess are what first tweak the nose from Barons 2009 Syrah En Chamberlin Vineyard, followed by high-toned candied lemon and orange rind; bittersweet distilled floral essences; and evocations of kirsch and framboise eau de vie, a wealth of aromatic constituents that may well arise from the relative coolness and long hang time of this site. Bourcier suggests that there might be something about the 2009 growing season that particularly favors this vineyard, and it sure tastes that way to me! Its soaring and penetrating smoky and high-toned intensity seems to billow across the palate, where dark cherry and plum preserves mingle with marrowy rich meaty savor.

• Wine Enthusiast: In a vintage that produced the finest overall lineup of Cayuse wines to date, it may seem a little nit-picky to score some higher and some lower. But the En Chamberlin deserves first place again. Brilliant aromatics of smoked meat, bacon fat and otherworldly roasted accents seduce instantly. Once on the palate, the silky, balanced, near-perfect mix of umami and fruit, plus licorice, cassis, coffee liqueur and black tea notes suggest it’s as decadent as it is delicious.

Producer Information

Cayuse Vineyards is a wine producer based in the Walla Walla Valley on the border of Oregon and Washington. Its focus is on the Rhne grape varieties, and in particular Syrah, wines from which have earned several 100-point ratings from The Wine Advocate. The company was founded in 1997 by Christophe Baron, a Frenchman from a Champagne-making family near Charly-sur-Marne. All of the vineyards owned by Cayuse are within the newly formed Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA, which is wholly in Oregon. However, Cayuse continues to label its wines with the broader Walla Walla AVA, which is usually associated with the Washington wine industry, though it straddles both states. Cayuse only uses estate grown fruit from its five vineyards totalling 24 hectares (60 acres). The first plantings were self-rooted vines but, in 2000, Cayuse introduced grafted vines as a precaution against phylloxera. Cayuse has always farmed its vineyards organically and, in 2002, became the first entirely biodynamic producer in the Walla Walla Valley. The soil is “Freewater very cobbly loam” and consists of rolled stones similar to the galets rouls of southern France, particularly Chteauneuf-du-Pape. Cayuse’s first vineyard is named Cailloux in honor of its stony soil, and it is from here that the flagship Syrah is produced. The estate’s name is a derivation of the same word, and is the name given by white settlers to the local native American tribe. Other top wines in the portfolio include the En Chamberlin Vineyard and Bionic Frog Syrahs, and the Impulsivo Tempranillo. The majority of Cayuse wines are sold to members of the mailing list, places on which are keenly sought.