Name: Cayuse Vineyards Syrah "Bionic Frog" 2016 750ml
Brand: Cayuse Vineyards
SKU: 902955
Price: 569.95 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 97.2 (6 reviews)

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Winery

Cayuse Vineyards

Shop all from Cayuse Vineyards

Varietal

Syrah

Known as Syrah in most countries around the world, and Shiraz in Australia and certain other regions of the New World, this grape varietal has proven over the centuries to be one of the most powerful and flavorful red wine grapes there is. It is now one of the planet's most widely grown grapes, and is a favorite with wineries as a result of its robustness and versatility. It isn't easy to identify many characteristics of this particular varietal, due to the fact that it is highly versatile and shows significant differences in flavor and character depending on the terroir it is grown in, and the climatic conditions of the region. However, Syrah is most widely associated with full bodied, strong and loud red wines, packed full of fruity and spicy flavors, held in a beautifully deep red liquid.

Country

United States

Of all the New World wine countries, perhaps the one which has demonstrated the most flair for producing high quality wines - using a combination of traditional and forward-thinking contemporary methods - has been the United States of America. For the past couple of centuries, the United States has set about transforming much of its suitable land into vast vineyards, capable of supporting a wide variety of world-class grape varietals which thrive on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coastlines. Of course, we immediately think of sun-drenched California in regards to American wines, with its enormous vineyards responsible for the New World's finest examples of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot based wines, but many other states have taken to viticulture in a big way, with impressive results. Oregon, Washington State and New York have all developed sophisticated and technologically advanced wine cultures of their own, and the output of U.S wineries is increasing each year as more and more people are converted to their produce.

Region

Washington State

Since it began in the 1820s, wine-production in Washington state has gone from strength to strength, with many of the finest United States wines coming out over the past twenty years hailing from this region. Today, the state is the second largest US producer of wines, behind California, with over forty thousand acres under vine. The state itself is split into two distinct wine regions, separated by the Cascade Range, which casts an important rain shadow over much of the area. As such, the vast majority of vines are grown and cultivated in the dry, arid desert-like area in the eastern half of the state, with the western half producing less than one percent of the state's wines where it is considerably wetter. Washington state is famed for producing many of the most accessible wines of the country, with Merlot and Chardonnay varietal grapes leading the way, and much experimentation with other varietals characterizing the state's produce in the twenty-first century.

Appellation

Walla Walla

The beautiful sub-region of Walla Walla sits within the vast Washington State wine region of Columbia Valley, in the dry and arid, gently sloping lowlands which typify the area. The region has been building up a powerful reputation over the past few decades, and dozens of wineries have opened within the sub-region of Walla Walla over the past twenty years, helping it establish itself as a force to be reckoned with in the world of United States wines. Walla Walla is internationally renowned for the high quality of its Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot varietal wines, made from imported French grape varietals which adore the dry and arid soils which are found within the region. However, many grape varietals thrive within Walla Walla, and wineries are now expanding their portfolios and creating a wide array of wines.

JD 100pts

Jeb Dunnuck

Pure perfection in a glass, the 2016 Syrah Bionic Frog is another magical wine from this estate and is as good as it gets. Crème de cassis, rose petals, menthol, ash, and smoky, meaty, soy sauce notes all emerge from this singular wine. Full-bodied, expansive, and powerful yet weightless on the palate, it has ultra-fine tannins, a brilliant finish, and a singular, magical character. It matches the otherworldly 2014 and 2010 and is one of the wines of the vintage.

JS 99pts

James Suckling

There’s a darker and deeper character that sets this syrah apart from the rest at Cayuse. Staggering intensity of black-fruit aromas and woody spices, as well as dark chocolate and meaty notes. The palate has a sense of total saturation and the tannins are so polished, so long and so dense. There’s an ethereal mood here, transcending individual descriptors and delivering licorice, sarsaparilla and blackberries, all bathed in hard, brown spices. Seamless, long and silky. Best from 2022 and for at least a decade after that.

WA 98pts

Wine Advocate

The 2016 Syrah Bionic Frog needs no introduction, as its reputation proceeds it. Aromas of black fruit, olive and savory herbs with hints of mustard seed waft from the nose. The palate shows soft flavors of smoke and ash over a firm core of minerality that is very pleasurable, continuing on to the long-lingering finish and aftertaste of olive and dark berries. An instant success, only 509 cases were created.

VM 96pts

Vinous Media

Bright red-ruby. Urgent, very pure aromas of pungent dark cherry, black olive and chicory lifted by a floral topnote. Wonderfully silky and velvety in the mouth, but also with terrific definition to its alluring flavors of framboise, dried herbs, briny olive and dried Indian spices. This round, utterly seamless, mouthfilling Syrah finishes with ripe, noble tannins, staining the palate with late notes of minerals, black olive and blood sausage. It will need a while to absorb some of its baby fat and may well go through a closed stage in bottle at some point. (15% new oak; from Coccinelle Vineyard; this wine gets one of the two new foudres Christophe Baron purchases every year, with the other one used for the Impulsivo)

WE 96pts

Wine Enthusiast

The aromas fascinate, with notes of funk, earth, savory green olive, herb, soot, umami, black pepper, black olive brine, smoked meat and caper. It shows a profound sense of intensity, balance and layering to the savory and floral flavors that continue through the long, richly flavored finish of firepit and flowers.

WS 94pts

Wine Spectator

Plump, with personality, and well-structured, with vibrant raspberry, garrigue and bacon fat flavors that build richness and focus toward polished tannins. Drink now through 2027. 509 cases made.

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Cayuse Vineyards Syrah “Bionic Frog” 2016 750ml

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