2018 Cayuse Vineyards Syrah En Chamberlin Vineyard Walla Walla Valley

Jeb Dunnuck: 99 points

“Lots of Graves-like smoked earth, tobacco, and cold fireplace notes emerge from the 2018 Syrah En Chamberlin Vineyard. It shows more classic gamey Syrah notes with air, offering ample amounts of bloody blue fruits, iron, and peppered meat nuances. Rich, medium to full-bodied, and nicely concentrated on the palate, with gorgeous tannins, it has the purity and elegance that's the hallmark of the vintage, no hard edges, and a great finish. It's just another spectacular, singular Syrah from this estate that will benefit from short-term cellaring and keep for 20+ years. 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.” – Jeb Dunnuck

Review Date: May 2021