Nose
From his high-density 2001 planting, Baron’s 2009 Syrah Armada Vineyard leads with a high-toned, penetrating nose that one can scarcely avoid calling Cote Rotie-like: bacon fat, fresh cherry, kirsch, framboise, and violet. But there are also black tea, caramel, and a penetrating note of sealing wax that’s reminiscent of mature Bordeaux. - David Schildknecht, The Wine Advocate
What’s more, as the wine opens to the air, a real layering and interplay emerge of diverse carnal elements alone: smoked meat, game, bloody roasted red meat, marrow, and bone meal. - David Schildknecht, The Wine Advocate
Palate
Dense, fine-grained but more evident tannins than in most of the present collection appear on a palate whose savory salinity and saliva-inducement, however, are utterly Cayuesque. The interplay of flavors here is kaleidoscopic and at the same time almost eye-squintingly bright. - David Schildknecht, The Wine Advocate
This Syrah’s phenomenal sense of energy as well as of sheer, sappy, expansive presence, make for a finish whose vibratory intensity shakes-up my entire mouth. A truly awesome effort, it will surely be worth following for at least 15 years, though I’ve a hunch – without knowing how Baron’s earliest wines (which were surely different in important respects anyway) have matured – that it will reward for significantly longer. - David Schildknecht, The Wine Advocate
Aging
Around one-quarter of the 600-liter barrels in which this was raised (following fermentation in a mixture of cement and wood) were new.
