Cayuse garners top scores again from Wine Spectator

Harvey Steinman, the Washington wine reviewer for the Wine Spectator, was one of the first reviewers to champion Cayuse way back in the early 2000's. It was actually his review of the 2001 Bionic Frog that got me curious about a frenchman making wine in Walla Walla. Thousands of dollars later, I'm obsessed. Harvey, my wife holds you personally responsible for my unhealthy passion for what she calls, "Just a winery." Just a winery? Who the hell does she think she is? Doesn't she know Christophe makes the most unique wines in the universe? That if it wasn't for Cayuse, I may still be drinking overpriced Cali cab? She is my wife, so apparently I'm supposed to give her a pass. Don't mess with my Cayuse!

Back to the blog post already in progress...Every Wednesday afternoon, the Wine Spectator emails out this "Insider" list of just reviewed wines to their online subscribers. These are usually more well-known wineries or hot wines. Harvey usually publishes his Cayuse reviews sometime in April so I've been sitting on the proverbial pins and needls since April 1st. Yesterday, that day finally came. Six Cayuse wines were included in the report and here were the results (all wines were from the 07 vintage axcept the Armada which was the 06)...

06 Armada -- 97

07 Bionic Frog -- 95

07 Cailloux -- 95

07 En Cerise -- 95

07 En Chamberlin -- 94

07 Widowmaker -- 91

Great scores for yet another terrific vintage of wines from Christophe and the gang. Nice to see the Armada start to get its proper due. While the Frog has long been my favorite Cayuse wine, the 06 Armada practically knocked me on my ass. Here is my tasting note on it...

Splash decanted this beast for about 15 mintues and then poured it back into the bottle. Before pouring it back into the bottle, I decided some sniffs were in order. Boy am I glad my right hand was firmly planted on the counter as the smell of this wine literally almost knocked me on my ass. 100 point nose for me. Stinky animal fur, rare game meat, cabbage, sour pickles, and even a little raspberry. I showed amazing restraint (generally not a word that describes me) and did not pour myself a glass, instead waiting until dinner. After a Donnhoff and an aged CdP, I was salivating as my glass was filled. Ruby red with flecks of purple, the nose continued its display of perfection. More meat, cabbage, fur, and bacon. I finally took a taste and realized this wine possesses some kind of crazed intensity that reminded me of Mike Singletary, eyes wide, circa 1985 and I was the trembling quarterback across the line of scrimmage. Every note and nuance seems to be magnified in this wine. The fruit and game meat, especially. The length leads me to believe this wine will age for years. As good as this wine is now, it needs some time to settle down but when it does--lookout!

If you have never had the opoortunity to taste a wine from Cayuse, what is your problem? Go out and get one, drink it, and report back!!

Dynamite $20 Cali syrah and a WA State right banker...

2008 Carlisle Sonoma County Syrah
Holy hell, Batman! This is one dark, focused, and intense $19.50 wine. Who doesn't just get giddy when a new pile of Carlisle syrahs land at your doorstep? The only other $19.50 New World wine that can even step onto the mat with this baby is the 07 Carlisle RRV and while that was my QPR of the Year last year, I don't think it's as complex as this wine. This reminded me of a baby James Berry with its tightly focused concentrated fruit, bacon-ness, and touch of heat on the finish. Of course this wine is young and could use a year to integrate the alcohol, but for $19.50, it's perfect to me. Sorry my note isn't more detailed but I was enjoying this too much on a Tuesday night to be bothered! 92pts.

2005 Delille D2
Popped and poured and then left in the glass for about an hour. Deep, dark ruby color with aromas of toasty oak, vanilla, baked plums, cassis, and cream. Much to the delight of my wife and two friends but not for me. The same flavors showed up on the palate with a medium weight and nice plush mouthfeel. This is a very well-made wine and I can certainly see how someone would love it, but at this point, the oak is just too prominent for me. I had a 2002 D2 some months ago that was delicious, but it was just beginning to absorb and balance out the oak. Nice throat coating finish and went well with the beef being served. Give it some time to mellow. 89pts.

2009 Buty Beast Semillon Sphinx

Major disappointment here. Have been a fan of Buty wines sine the 01 vintage and usually enjoy the Beast wines but this was not for me. Hopefully, the Hartebeest cab will make up for it. I'll report back...

2009 Buty Beast Semillon Sphinx
Was excited when I saw this on the store shelf. I'm always on the lookout for good $10-$15 whites for easy summer drinking. This was a nice pale yellow and had initial aromas of pear, baked apple, spice, and toast. I was a bit confused as the one major thing that enticed me to puchase this wine was the blurb that stated this was 100% oak free and I'm not sure that's correct. Creamy and custard-y in the mouth, but not overly so. Nice layers of grapefruit and fig but I just couldn't get past the cream and lack of acid. Maybe 100% semillon is not my thing. I run into the same problem with most viognier, not enough acid for me. The finish had an unpleasant bitterness, so I didn't even finish the bottle. Technically a well-made wine, but not in my wheelhouse. 84pts

Value night...

Decided it was time to get back to my early wine roots with a value wine night. I picked a $9 white (South African chenin blanc) that had been recommended by a friend and a $12 Spanish garnacha. As a general rule, I've found it much more easy to find $10 whites I enjoy than $15 and under reds. The reds in this price range tend to be one dimensional and either too sweet and candied, or oaky and harsh, for my liking. The spanish red certainly lived up to that! I'll keep up the good fight trying to find value reds that rock...

2008 Kanu Chenin Blanc
This was recommended to me by a good friend as a very nice weekday white for $9. He may be wrong when it comes to politics and sports, but he was not wrong about this wine. Nice dose of citrus and stones on the nose. Tart and lively on the palate with saliva inducing acidity, which I dig. This wine just seemed to wake up your taste buds which was the antithesis of the other white I drank this past weekend. Fine South African effort and one that will find its way in my summer lineup. 88pts

2007 Bodegas San Alejandro Garnacha Las Rocas
The red wine component of my self imposed "Saturday Value Wine Night." To be honest, this wine was disappointing. Much too sweet and candied. Reminded me of several 07 cotes-du-rhones that I was geeked to drink but ended up possessing too much sweetness for me. Gorgeous magenta and fairly closed at the outset, but eventually released its candied pop rock flavor that just didn't jive with my taste buds. No real depth or layered personality. Have I mentioned that it was way grandma sweet? 84pts

Oh how the wine world has changed

I just received my daily wine offer from Garagiste and this one made me do a double take. 2006 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet for $59.99. Wow! That's a $120 wine retail and I imagine that was easily fetched a couple of years ago. Not only was the wine essentially 1/2 off, but Garagiste was allowing orders up to 25 cases. 25 cases? Having a hard time selling that over-priced Cali cab, Beringer?

Something for posterity...

Thought I'd regale you with a couple pictures of little ole' me ten years apart (okay, really 8 years apart). The first one is me in Italy during the summer of 2000. Bleach blonde hair and drinking out of the bottle...doesn't get any better! The second picture is me at the Cayuse Dinner. Two glasses are always better than one! What do you think 2020 will look like?

Can't forget this puppy...

The six or seven 07 vintage Cayuse wines I've drank thus far seem to be a bit more restrained with hints of elegance creeping in. I'm diggin' on these!

2007 Cayuse Impulsivo
Decanted for an hour...and boy did it need that hour to strut its stuff. Fairly closed at first so we decided to leave it in the decanter for an hour with aggressive swirling about every ten minutes. When it finally decided to reveal itself, boy did it ever in a hurry (kind of like when you get home from a date and you are sitting on the couch chatting with your fine lady, you excuse yourself to the bathroom, return and find her laid out in all her glory on the couch--from zero to shablam in about 30 seconds!). A pleasantly restrained funky nose gave way to ripe fruit, dark chocolate goodness, and noticeable woodsmoke. Much more on the elegant side than the primal side. More ripe fruit on the palate, specifically blackberries and plums, interwoven nicely with polished tannins and dare I say, judicious oak. All the components seemed to be very well harmonized. Much more lush and forward than the carnivorous and savory 06. This wine was a lithe, sexy, sultry, seamless beauty. 95 pts.

I am back!!

Sorry everyone for the 2 1/2 month sabbatical (I'm sure a collective "phew" spread through the audience as you realized I'm not dead! maybe even some "damns!). I am feeling frisky again and plan on writing much more than just notes on the wines I drink. Maybe even a 'wine thought of the day' may be in order or just musings upon the subject we hold dear. Enough emoting...on to the wines.

2004 Mon Aieul
Splash decanted and then let sit for about an hour. This was easily the least impressive of the MA's I've had, although still a terrific wine. Fairly closed nose but some nice red raspberry, chocolate, and fig notes eventually came out to play. Seems to have some serious structure with robust tannins and a nice dose of acid. Tight, so maybe it just wasn't ready to open as this junction. Palate loaded with herbs de provence, chocolate covered cherries, raspberries, and bits of garrigue. No alcohol on the finish, which was a good thing, but did have some strict tannins. I'd say maybe hold for another 3-5 years. 92 pts.

2007 Carlisle James Berry Vineyard Syrah
Again, splash decanted and let sit for an hour or so. This beast was deep, dark, teeth staining purple. Everything you'd want from a James Berry Vineyard wine. Ripe, concentrated blue and black fruits on the nose followed by hints of heat on the periphery. Major focused dark fruit on the palate. Hefty and in your face as you would expect it to be but very well made with a deft hand by Mr. Officer. Pepper, spice, and a little pork. A finish that lasts minutes with its only detraction being a touch of heat that will easily integrate in a year or so. I know I opened this way too early but in contradiction to James Bond, I'm only going to live once. 94pts.

2007 Cayuse En Chamberlin Syrah
Pleasure is drinking another man's Cayuse! My main man, Rico, was generous enough to bring this by to polish off one Friday night. As usual, it didn't disappoint. A little lighter in color than normal, but no less punch. Tamed down aromas of red cabbage, sour pickles, beef jerky, meat, and even some blackberries and raspberries. Not tamed down in a normal person's sense but tamed down for a typical En Chamberlin syrah. Dare I say a tad more refined than its beastly predecessors? Surprisingly lush in the mouth with layers of concentrated dark fruit and chocolate. The gaminess and savory qualities were pushed toward the edges, which made for a seamless transition to the lip smacking finish. While approachable and fantastic now, this wine will certainly get better with a few years of lay down time. 95pts.

2005 K Vintners Wells Vineyard Syrah
Well 2 out of 3 ain't bad for K Vintners! I seem to have more Jekyll and Hyde wines from Charles and K Vintners than from any other producer. The first bottle I had of this was spectacular, the second was terrible, and now the third was down right tasty. Back to aromas of gingerbread, Chinese 5-spice, huckleberries, and onion skins. More fruit on the palate than on the nose but the cinnamon and herbs keep it in check. A very distinctive wine that most likely won't ever get made again as the vineyard ownership changed hands and Charles didn't release the 06 version. Worth seeking out if you can find it. 93pts.