Cayuse Vineyards Wallah Wallah Special Syrah #12 2018 1.5L
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.
Cayuse is a domaine located in the Stones of the Walla Walla Valley. Over the past 20 years, Christophe has made it his mission to craft food-friendly wines of incredible depth, individuality and character—all from fruit grown entirely using biodynamic farming methods.
Dried blackcurrant, smoked meat, rosemary, peppercorn, moss, oyster shell and tangerine peel on the nose. It’s full-bodied with firm, creamy tannins. Rich, savory and spiced with lasting intensity. Chewy, lingering herb notes. Try from 2022. —James Suckling, 97 pts
Earth, funk, smoked meat, ash, black olive, peat and medicinal aromas lead to a tour de force of fruit and savory flavors that are flat-out intense. It's the finish of this wine, however, that most impresses. It grabs you and shakes you and refuses to let go. It's shockingly good. — Wine Enthusiast, 96 pts
Christophe often releases a special blend in magnum (he never says which vineyards it’s from), and the 2018 Syrah Special #12 is another gorgeous wine. Revealing a deep ruby/plum hue as well as classic Rocks notes of blue fruits, ground pepper, bacon fat, lavender, and violets, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a seamless, elegant texture, ripe yet certainly present tannins, and a great finish. It needs 4-5 years of bottle age and will cruise for two decades. —Jeb Dunnuck, 96 pts
Marked as #12 in the sequence of releases, the 2018 Wallah Wallah Syrah Special displays a dark ruby core and seductive dark fruit tones that sway with spiced potpourri, dried flowers, blackberry essence and spiced cherry compote. Medium to full-bodied, the wine offers a delicious array of fresh, ripe fruits that oscillate between an elegant and spicy nature, with flavors of dusty, worn leather, red and black peppercorns, umami and baked earth. The wine somersaults to an elongated, juicy and mineral-laced finish and will undoubtedly bring pleasure for the next few decades. It rested for 19 months in approximately 15% new French oak barrels. Christophe Baron certainly loves magnums, and this should age beautifully. The only challenge will be trying to keep your hands off the bottle while it's resting in the cellar since it's both age-worthy and crushable. — Wine Advocate, 95+ pts
