2018 Bionic Frog Syrah
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Tasting notes
Beginning with a brilliant and seductively aromatic nose, the 2018 Syrah Bionic Frog rockets out of the glass with a stunning array of juicy fruit tones, baked earth and a dusty, floral sensation with intoxicating elements of smoked beef and black pepper. Medium to full-bodied, the Syrah summersaults across the palate with excitement and finesse, offering up spicy flavors of black raspberry compote, spiced chutney, hints of olive tapenade and a lively mineral tension. It offers pristine tannins and a succulent mouthfeel that lavishly lays on the mid-palate. Concluding with a long, winding and ever-evolving finish, the 2018 is flirting with triple digits. The wine rested for 19 months in a mix of French demi-muids and foudre, 20% new. Outstanding! Only 6,396 bottles were made.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
The 2018 Syrah Bionic Frog comes from the Coccinelle Vineyard in the Rocks district of Milton-Freewater. It’s always one of the richest, most concentrated Syrahs in the lineup, yet it doesn't give an inch with regard to elegance and purity. The 2018 was aged mostly in demi-muids (there's often a portion aged in foudre) and hit 14.4% natural alcohol. This deeper ruby/purple-hued beauty offers a gorgeous bouquet of black raspberries, redcurrants, tapenade, bacon fat, and wood smoke, with a touch of reductive scorched earth and graphite nuances. This carries to a full-bodied Syrah with ultra-fine yet building tannins, a layered, deep, textured mouthfeel, and flawless overall balance. It's another magical, incredibly pure Syrah from the genius of Baron that will benefit from just 2-3 years of bottle age and keep for over two decades. This is a hard mailing list to crack, yet winemaker Christophe Baron continues to deliver the goods, releasing singular, exotic, incredible wines from his bevy of single vineyards in the Rocks region of the Walla Walla Valley. The 2018s show the rich yet focused, straight, elegant style of the vintage beautifully and are going to be incredibly age-worthy. While the Syrahs get all the love, don’t miss his Grenache, Tempranillo, and Bordeaux blends. His 2018 Grenache God Only Knows might be the finest Grenache I’ve ever tasted outside of France and few California releases.
Bright red-ruby. Sexy smoky aromas of dark berries, graphite, pepper and charcoal. Dense and fine-grained on entry, then rich and shapely in the middle palate, offering a lovely combination of sweet fruits and savory meat and soil tones, not to mention nicely integrated acidity. Finishes firmly tannic, very fresh and long. If this wine does not show quite the depth or intensity of flavor of the 2017 edition, it finishes tactile, classically dry, firm and long. I'd give it some time in the cellar to expand and gain in sweetness. (Tasted June 2021; Published September 2021)