From a vineyard that has the highest clay content of all the estate vineyards, the 2013 Syrah Armada Vineyard is a classically built Syrah that has lots of northern Rhone-like meaty, gamey notes as well as ample dark fruits, beef blood and savory herb-like aromas and flavors. Possessing a rich, multi-dimensional, layered mouthfeel, fine tannin and notable acidity, give bottles 3-4 years in the cellar and enjoy through 2033. - Jeb Dunnuck (30-06-2016)
Bright ruby-red. Blueberry, blackberry, huckleberry and a hint of peat moss on the nose, lifted by high notes of licorice and pepper. Extremely youthful and tightly wound but already delivers outstanding fruit intensity and compelling sweetness leavened by strong salinity. More horizontal than vertical in the mouth, finishing wonderfully broad, dense and long, with a whiplash of savory raspberry and spices and a sexy hint of incipient truffle. Like the Pacienca vineyard, which supplies the fruit for Christophe Baron's No Girls wines, these vines are planted to a dense 6-by-4-foot spacing.- Stephen Tanzer (11/2016)