The most northern Rhone-like in the lineup, the 2011 Syrah The Deal Sundance Vineyard exhibits gorgeous blackberry and cassis-styled fruits, olive, pepper and underbrush in its juicy, medium to full-bodied, nicely focused personality. Seamless and elegant, with solid mid-palate depth, it, too, will over a decade of prime drinking. 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

Also from the Wahluke Slope and showing the same bramble and spice undertones found in the 2010, as well as a core of sweet kirsch and plum fruit, the 2011 Syrah The Deal Sundance Vineyard flows onto the palate with a decadent, voluptuously styled texture, solid mid-palate depth and enough tannin to evolve for over a decade. It should wind up being a mid to low 90s scoring wine and represent a superb value. Drink 2015-2023. 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