2010 K Vintners Royal City Syrah

One of the top Syrahs out there, the 2010 Syrah Charles Smith Royal City is a 100% Syrah from the Stoneridge Vineyard, which was first planted in 2001, and consists of big stones and broken limestone soils. Borderline perfection (and I seriously considered rating it a point higher), it oozes incredible aromas and flavors of smoked herbs, olive, underbrush, game and copious black fruits. This is followed by a full-bodied, decadent, yet beautifully precise wine that doesn’t come anywhere close to being over the top. A wine that makes my heart rate increase, this awesome Syrah is worth the effort to track down! It should hit full stride around age five or six and have 15-20 years of total longevity. Don’t miss it! Drink 2015-2030. In the top tier of producers in Washington State, wild man Charles Smith fashions singular, exotic wines that never lack for richness or texture. While his wines can push the limits in some vintages and be slightly controversial, there’s nothing controversial or over the top with these 2010s and 2011s and they have beautiful purity of fruit, clean, integrated acid profiles and solid underlying structure. In almost all cases, given the quality, they represent incredible values. While this was a slight marathon tasting, when the wines are this good, it’s always easy to keep your motivation. Focusing on low-yields in the vineyards, the winemaking here is straight-forward with almost all of the wines seeing some whole cluster fermentation, time on lees and aging primarily in neutral French oak. www.kvintners.com