Aptly named (I uttered the word “beautiful” more than once after tasting it), the 2011 Syrah The Beautiful River Rock Vineyard includes 3% co-fermented Viognier, and saw a shorter elevage than normal to preserve the fruit and freshness in the vintage. Full-bodied, elegant, layered and seamless, it offers up gorgeous notes of kirsch, licorice, pepper and spice in a hard to resist, beautifully balanced profile. As with the River Rock Syrah, it’s hard to resist now but will drink nicely for over a decade.
One of the highlight (and largest) tastings for this report, the team at K Vintners consists of wild man himself, Charles Smith, and Andrew Latta and Brennon Leighton. Despite the rock star persona, when it comes to the wines, these guys are dead serious, source grapes from some of the top sites, and simply get out of the way once they’re in the winery. All of the single vineyard Syrahs are fermented with native yeasts and 100% whole cluster, and see an extended time in mostly neutral French oak puncheons. Starting with the 2013s, I was able to taste a few from barrel, and they showed plenty of fruit, with ripe, textured personalities. This was a hot vintage, and the style is closer to the 2012s than the 2011s. Moving to the 2012s, these were all still in barrel at the time of this tasting. As with most producers, these are a step up over the 2011s and possesses gorgeous richness while still showing the purity and freshness that’s common in the vintage. The 2011s, which were all tasted out of bottle, come from a cooler, more difficult vintage, yet show solid ripeness and good textures. As a whole, the 2012s are certainly stronger, but these are no slouches either.
Tel. (509) 526-5230; www.kvintners.com
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