2008 Cayuse Syrah En Chamberlin Vineyard
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Tasting notes
Consistent with last year’s review, the 2008 Cayuse Syrah En Chamberlin Vineyard is a wild ride of Syrah that offers up thrillingly complex aromas, a full-bodied texture, loads of concentrated fruit, and incredibly minerality that comes through more on the finish. As with all of Christophe’s Syrahs, this is a wine that I wish everyone could taste. It will be even better in another handful of years, and shine for 15+ years.
Critic scores
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Bright, deep ruby-red. Captivating aromas of boysenberry and mocha. Dense, sweet and savory, with exotic flavors of candied blackberry, hickory-smoked meat and leather. The thickness of this syrah is nicely leavened by harmonious, ripe acidity. Finishes with perfectly integrated acidity and palate-staining richness.
The 2008 En Chamberlin Vineyard Syrah offers up notes of tar, licorice, earthy minerals, blueberry, and blackberry. Dense and powerful on the palate, this appears to be Baron’s take on Hermitage. Ho hum. Just another great set of wines from Christophe Baron. Over the past 6 years, because of my coverage of Spain for this journal, I have gotten to know Tempranillo very well. My principal observation is that it does not travel particularly well although there are outposts of very fine Tempranillo in the Uco Valley of Mendoza and in South Australia. There is one exception, Christophe Baron’s small parcel of estate-grown Tempranillo. The wine’s only competition, in my opinion, is Dominio Pingus, the great Tempranillo produced by Peter Sisseck in Ribera del Duero. I would like to try the wines side-by-side, the only problem being that Pingus is ten times as expensive as Impulsivo. As a postscript of sorts, Christophe Baron has created a new label called No Girls. The origin of the name is a great story but goes beyond this journal’s purview. The two wines have been specifically earmarked for those who have patiently been waiting on the Cayuse mailing list. No, these are not at quite at the same level as those wines bearing the Cayuse label but, as the scores attest, they’re not so bad. Tel. (509) 526-0686; www.cayusevineyards.com