2010 Bionic Frog Syrah

This insanely good 2010 Syrah Bionic Frog offers incredible notes of blood orange, liquid violets, cassis, seared meats, licorice and crushed rocks to go with full-bodied richness, ultra-fine tannic structure, perfectly integrated acidity and a blockbuster finish. Raised in roughly 20% new demi-muids and foudre, this is a heavenly Syrah that couldn’t get any better. Give it 2-4 years in the cellar and enjoy bottles through 2030.

Good bright, deep red with ruby highlights. Knockout Hermitage-like nose combines blackberry, gunflint, clove, pepper and rose petal. Sweet and densely packed, with dark berry and pepper flavors complemented by deeper-pitched elements of smoke and leather. The utterly palate-saturating finish features substantial dusty tannins and outstanding clarity and lift for such a rich wine.

While I wasn’t able to taste a huge number of ‘10s, it’s hard to find fault with the 2010 Cayuse Syrah Bionic Frog and it will certainly be up there with the best of the vintage. Sporting the deepest, blackest fruit in the whole Cayuse lineup, this always seems to have more oak on it than it really does. In fact, the same charred earth and chocolatey quality that could easily come from new oak is present even in samples that see only older wood and no new oak, so that’s simply what this plot delivers and is terroir at its finest. The wine exudes class with brilliant aromas of cassis, blackberry, toast, chocolate, and smoked earth like qualities on both the nose and palate. This is followed by a full bodied, amazingly structured, seamless wine that shows a focused, very long finish. I’m a fan. For those lucky enough to snag a couple bottles, this should reward cellaring and have a very long drink window.