2019 Armada Vineyard Syrah
Buying options
Tasting notes
The 2019 Syrah Armada Vineyard is dark and woodsy in the glass, with brambly wild berries and smoky herbal tones giving way to ash, olive brine and seared meats. This is a powerhouse, with dense textures ushering in a wave of dark mineral-inflected fruits and savory spice, yet balance is maintained by a core of saline-infused acidity. There’s an abundance of energy here, yet also grippy tannins, creating a youthfully chewy sensation as the Armada finishes structured yet surprisingly fresh. Cellaring will be required, yet also appreciated, once the 2019 awakens from its youthful slumber.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Eric Guido, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Rich, juicy and lush with a ripe dark red and black-fruited core of fruit, the 2019 Syrah Armada Vineyard offers dusty purple flowers and savory elements with notions of smoked meat. Medium to full-bodied, the Syrah is firm, focused and refined while offering wonderful savory and umami essences as the generous wine gains in complexity. Still firm and with a taut mineral tension, the wine subsides with a spicy and lingering finish that will benefit from a couple more years of bottle aging to release its tight grip. Be patient and give it time.
The 2019 Syrah Armada Vineyard comes from a higher density planting just beside the estate, and it's always a more dense, backward wine. Darker, black fruits, smoked meat, ground pepper, iron, and just subtle bloody, meaty nuances emerge from this beauty, and it's medium to full-bodied on the palate, with building, firm tannins, wonderfully integrated acidity, and a great finish that makes you salivate due to its sense of salinity and minerality. It needs plenty of air if drinking any time soon but is another tour de force in Rocks Syrah! It has 20-25 years of prime drinking ahead of it.