Cayuse, Walla Walla Valley, Armada Vineyard Syrah 2008

96 points Wine Advocate 'The vintage died and another one was born,' was Baron's rhetorical flourish to describe the effect of 2008's half an inch of rainfall at harvest. Thanks to the rain, sugar levels fell and picking was delayed, giving the vines the time they needed to ripen their phenolics. The ensuing 2008 Syrah Armada Vineyard is a very singular wine, offering up a rich and sumptuously degraded bouquet of charred meats, espresso roast and cassis, notes of black truffle emerging with air, though never with the precocity of the 2007 that followed it. Full-bodied, layered and mouthwateringly saline on the palate, it's balanced by bright acids that lend it precision and tension despite its concentration and substance. (WK)(6/2016) 96 Points CellarTracker Member Last of 6 direct from winery & cellared since. PNP & consumed over 1.5 hours. This is still a stunning wine per my Mar 2022 note. More evolved in the sense that the tannins are pure silk. Nose & palate are no