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Perhaps you’ve heard the almost mythical story, how the brash, young French Vigneron visited the then little-known town called Walla Walla, and fell in love with a few acres of seemingly useless, stone-covered farmland. While the nay-sayers nayed, Christophe Baron deftly turned that field of stones into the acclaimed Cayuse Vineyards. And the rest, as they say, is history—and a whole lot of spectacular wine.
Christophe purchased the property and planted his first vineyard in the Stones of the Walla Walla Valley on March 21, 1997. “People said I was crazy, that I’d break my equipment and waste my time and money,” he recalls. “But I knew that vines need to struggle in difficult ground in order to provide their best.”
He called the venture Cayuse Vineyards, after a Native American tribe
whose name was derived from the French word “cailloux”—which means “stones.” In the following years, it has grown to five vineyards, encompassing a little more than 47 acres.
What was considered by many a foolish gamble on that field of stones has been rewarded year after year with some of the most acclaimed wines in the region—and in the nation.
| Varietal | Syrah |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 2011 |
| Rating | 98 RP |
| Bottle Size | 750 ml |
| Bottle Quantity | 1 |
| Country | USA |
| Region | Washington |
| Location | Columbia Valley |
| Producer | Cayuse Vineyards |
| Color | Red |
| Wine Type |
| Rating | 98 RP - The 2011 Syrah Armada Vineyard is spectacular, and one of the highlights of this tasting, bursting from the glass with aromas of dark chocolate, smoked duck, blackberries, licorice, cassis, burning embers, tapenade and cracked black pepper. On the palate, it's full-bodied, layered and mouthwateringly savory, with cool fruit tones, a lovely underlying line of acidity and plenty of youthful energy, concluding with a refined but gently tannic finish. The product of a cool vintage that many dismissed, Baron dropped 80% of his fruit and did a 20% saigné to produce this compelling wine that screams Syrah and Walla Walla—but also more than nods to the Northern Rhône. RP |
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| Varietal | Syrah |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 2011 |
| Rating | 98 RP |
| Bottle Size | 750 ml |
| Bottle Quantity | 1 |
| Country | USA |
| Region | Washington |
| Location | Columbia Valley |
| Producer | Cayuse Vineyards |
| Color | Red |
| Wine Type |
| Varietal | Syrah |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 2011 |
| Rating | 98 RP |
| Bottle Size | 750 ml |
| Bottle Quantity | 1 |
| Country | USA |
| Region | Washington |
| Location | Columbia Valley |
| Producer | Cayuse Vineyards |
| Color | Red |
| Wine Type |
| Varietal | Syrah |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 2011 |
| Rating | 98 RP |
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| Region | Washington |
| Location | Columbia Valley |
| Producer | Cayuse Vineyards |
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