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 Rh?ne.

Seeing addition barrel time compared to the other Syrahs, the 2011 Syrah Armada Vineyard will be a candidate for the wine of the vintage. Massively meaty and rich, with a wealth of raw material, it offers up a totally thrilling bouquet of plum liqueur, cedar, spice and a pot-roast-like melange of earthy root vegetables and braised meat. Full-bodied, extremely rich and concentrated, with a great texture, it too will need a handful of years in the cellar and drink nicely for two decades. Drink 2015-2031. These singular efforts are made by Champagne transplant, Christophe Baron, from his winemaking studio that lies just outside of the town of Milton-Freewater, in Oregon. I doubt these wines need any introduction, yet it is worth pointing out that it is rare to find such a complex and diverse portfolio today where all of the wines are at such a high level. Certainly, this unique terroir has something to do with it, yet Christophe falls into the realm of the Manfred Krankls and Michel Chapoutiers of the world, who stand apart from the crowd and produce a range of incredible wines that always make me scratch my head and wonder what, exactly, is going on. Having visited with Christophe and tasted these wines over the past 4-5 years now, both from barrel and bottle, I don’t believe there’s any hidden magic going on and it is a dedication to the vineyard, to low yields and to a simplistic, hands-off approach in the cellar that creates these singular wines. Looking at the recently bottled releases, 2010 is an interesting case where the wines are still tight and compact at this stage. For comparison, the 2009s at this time last year has completely filled in and fleshed out and were showing heart-rate-increasing levels of fruit and texture while these 2010s are more reserved, focused and medium to full-bodied at this stage, with supple textures and focused profiles. I don’t think they’ll hit the high of the 2007s, 2008s and 2009s, hence, they’re rated a handful of points below those wines. Nevertheless, they will continue to gain in richness and depth over the coming 3-4 years and will warrant these lofty ratings. Made in a similar vein, the 2011s actually have additional richness and concentration over the 2010s and have beautiful mid-palate density and depth, as well as ripe tannic frames. They should match, or surpass, the 2010s.Tel. (509) 526-0686; www.cayusevineyards.com