Charles Smith (K Vintners), Royal City Syrah, Washington

After 3 hour decant, cabbage-like reduction didn’t blow off. Under that some nice wild flowers and white pepper. Dark fruits, licorice, green veg, and pencil lead. Drink now.

2014 vintage

What a delicious wine. In a great spot.

2014 vintage

What a difference a year makes. This has certainly settled in well in the past year, but I don't think I'll wait long to drink my remaining bottle.

2014 vintage

Gorgeous, silky smooth, Syrah. It took about 30 minutes to fully open up, and when it did, it was stunning. Very similar notes to the last time I opened a '17 Royal City: outrageously aromatic, and still velvety smooth. The nose is almost explosive with smoked meat, olive tapenade, spices, pepper, tar, wet stones, and layers of lavender. Velvety and exuberant in the mouth, with red fruit, more olives, white pepper, minerals, and seared beef. Very savory and downright delicious. …

2017 vintage

medium-high body, medium tannic. acidic and dry. 쉬라가 이렇게 부드럽고 목넘김이 좋을줄이야. 드라이하며 중간 이상의 산도를 지닌 최고의 미국 쉬라.

2017 vintage

Classic Royal City, velvety, luscious, heady, and absolutely delicious. The nose is an intoxicating experience all by itself. Black cherries and red fruits, tar, smoke, salami, freshly dug earth, pepper, and violets. And more violets. Silky, soft tannins, minerals, and super, super fine with a finish that just doesn't quit. I'd say this is at it's peak right now, but it isn't going to fade any time soon either. Enjoy this gorgeous wine for the 5-8 years.

2014 vintage

Blow out Blind night (Corkbuzz, Union Square) : Good, but no wow for me. Wood and under ripe plums. Little hot.

2006 vintage

The '17 K Royal City is a beautiful Syrah that is outrageously aromatic, and still velvety smooth. The nose is almost explosive with smoked meat, tapenade, spices, pepper, tar, wet stones, and lavendar. Lots of lavendar. Velvety and exuberant in the mouth, with red fruit, black olives, white pepper, minerals and seared beef. But still almost weightless, very savory and downright delicious. It can probably go another 10-15 years, but I like it too much right now to wait.

2017 vintage

certainly good, but I was expecting far more at this price

2014 vintage

drinking very well. big full body red. ready to go

2014 vintage

Tons of length, complexity, wowza

2017 vintage

P&P; Massive Syrah that is totally in your face with flavor. Tastes of grilled beef, violets, smoked bacon, black pepper and spices, with a lengthy sweet finish. It is drinking well now, but will definitely benefit from more cellar time or a several-hour decant. Great stuff!

2017 vintage

Tons of iron/blood, smoke, and greens. Long finish.

2017 vintage

This is drinking nicely at its tenth year. Blackberry and red currant fruit a vaguely herbal tangy note, but nicely balanced over all.

2014 vintage

At this stage, the corks in these bottles are fragile -- be prepared for them to split or break. Ample sediment. Color is starting to change, still deep purple but with some brick around the edges. Fruit is softer but still full. Smooth and long-lasting finish.

2006 vintage

The Royal City is always such a fun wine to drink. It always surprises me while being very true to its source. This time, the '14 was dark and brooding when first poured right after pulling the cork. Considerably more concentrated than a '12 I opened a few months ago. Slightly bricked around the edges but not off, at all. A strong hint of Walla Walla funk upon pulling the cork that dissipated within about 15 minutes as the wine …

2014 vintage

Medium ruby red, scorched flowers, bacon and beef notes, smoke, pepper and spices. Wonderful in your face Syrah that you gotta be in the mood for. Loads of flavors here. Awesome wine.

2017 vintage

Showed really well in rather esteemed company. Was riper and more plush than the other syrahs, but had a balanced profile and a lovely red floral note on the nose that really pushed this into another gear. Fruit leans fresh and towards a red profile despite the ripeness (I found this unique). Would like to try again.

2014 vintage

This is an outstanding wine. Very big. Leather, tobacco. Dark berries. Smooth! Perfect tannins. Drinking very well right now. We enjoyed it with a nice steak, roast potatoes, and sautéed kale.

2014 vintage

i can't say i love the new world fruit bombs like i used to. i think that ship has sailed. but, when new world producers get it right, they are wines to behold. ...the royal city just does everything right. it packs all kinds of juicy fruit and heavyweight punch. but it's not flabby or over-the-top. there's fantastic depth, complexity and balance. up front, it's blackberry and blueberry fruit which segues into an interesting savoury (is that olive?) flavour on …

2006 vintage

Blueberry pie, fresh ripe blackberries, plum and eucalyptus, and a hint of black olives. Quite aromatic. Less savory notes (tobacco, bacon fat) and more fruit forward. Enjoyable, but I enjoyed the earthy elements that were more pronounced two years ago.

2006 vintage

30 min decant before funneling back into the bottle for service at Ringside Steakhouse; paired with bone-in NY steak. First wine in the line-up and it was massive! Full bodied, showing black fruits, black tea, and pepper...very delicious and a great way to start our annual holiday dinner. Drink now - 2034.

2014 vintage

Pop and pour. Drinking at peak, I think, with balanced palate of mature but copious fruit, black tea, spices. Yummy.

2014 vintage

Minnesota Valley Fine Wine Tasting Group Syrah Tasting (Eagan, MN) : Cranberry, spice, white pepper, cherry and earth. Very subtle for a Royal City and I am fine with that. Medium plus finish. Drink now or hold for a few. 4 points

2014 vintage

Decanted but took a couple of hours to open. Northern rhone with slight funk. Very good.

2014 vintage

Minnesota Valley Wine Group Syrah Tasting (Amy & Scott's - Eagan, MN) : Decanted 2 hours, poured back into bottle and pushed in cork. Removed cork at tasting and slo-O for another 2-3 hours before consumption. Its been two years since I last tasted this wine, and what a difference! This was my WOTN! Drinking extremely well. Everything was nicely integrated. Nose was remarkable, with sweet dark fruit, roasted meat, perfumed flowers, sage and bacon fat. Palate was equally nice, …

2014 vintage

30 minute decant. Nose shows dark cherries and kirsch. Dark plum and more kirsch start the palate, adding bacon fat and wet herbs before a sharp note of sweet and sour acidity, which puts things off-kilter. Lots of tension in the finish, with long looping tannins, clay, and red fruits with a smoky note to end things. We found this bottle disappointing.

2014 vintage

I opened this to find out if the last bottle I opened a few days ago was just a bad bottle or if this wine wasn’t evolving well at all. Confirmed the last one was just a bad bottle. This one was as fabulous as the one I sampled in 2021. Cranberry infused blackberry, great savoriness with herbs, charcuterie and a backbone/structure to age a long time. I’m getting a handle on the Royal Slope terroir when it comes to …

2014 vintage

har utvecklats rejält och blivit ett väldigt snyggt vin

2014 vintage

This still takes a couple hours to open up, but then a complex and delicious Washington Syrah with full body and funky edges.

2014 vintage

[revised] Better 24 hours after double decanting. More enjoyable but still a bit sharp. Increased from 91 to 92. Decent syrah but the best flavor components are somewhat overshadowed by a sharpness. Time with air helps but not enough. I prefer the better syrahs from Carlisle and Bedrock. I find this K Vintners to be over-rated and over-priced.

2014 vintage

Past its prime

2006 vintage

Big wine that was overshadowed by other wines for the night. The wine is everything you expect from a Chuck Smith wine.

2014 vintage

Great wine. Opened and poured this along with a 2006. This was super right away where the ‘06 took time to open up. Really nice wine

2014 vintage

Outstanding. We opened and poured. At first we we underwhelmed but after about an hour it opened up and was wonderful . Had a 2014 at the same time and it was great straight away and then the 2006 improved and was better than the 2014.

2006 vintage

Yeah it don’t get no better.

2006 vintage

I’m hoping this is just a one off, but a watered down taste to this bottle. A big bummer.

2014 vintage

kaboom! glass-staining dark purple black. massive fruity nose, like blackberry compote with all kinds of earthy, tarry and spicy notes in behind. texture is weighty, soft and round without ever being jammy. palate is both savoury and sweet all at once with secondary pepper and spice. new world syrah doesn’t get any better than this.

2006 vintage

Decanted 2 hours. This is a massive wine! Full body, lots of structure and fruit, with a nice savory edge. Lots of black with this one too: Blackberry, black tea, black pepper...just a delicious wine that paired very well with pizza, but was amazing all by itself. Drink now - 2034.

2014 vintage

Pop and pour. This is a stunning, full-bodied Washington Syrah with saucy palate of black fruit, black tea, lime, kumquat peel, and long, thick finish. Starting to develop tertiary notes and showing much better than the one I gave a long decant previously.

2014 vintage

So good. Deeep dark fruit, some syrah tang, still plenty of stuffing, but likely at apogee. Delicious. Drank with the National Championship on - Go Dawgs!

2006 vintage

Delicious young Washington Syrah with typical fermented manure, licorice, dried raspberry. Very youthful with ferocious but accessible tannins. I like these but many don't.

2017 vintage

Last one from purchased lot upon release. Rich, soft, complex and layered. Nicely aged and in a good place. Popped and poured into glasses about 20 minutes before dinner. Needed a little more time but not much. Pretty much ready to drink. Served with pork ribs done right. Fall off the bone tender with a hint of heat. Wine really worked well with it.

2006 vintage

Billiet's Sexy Syrah's (Billiets Abode) : Nose of bitter chocolate, dark fruits and some tree bark. Some grainy tannins on the palate. Decent wine overall. Group 4/6 (my 5/6).

2017 vintage

A wonderful combination of black raspberry, plum, bacon fat, and roasted meat flavors. Silky tannins. Smooth and elegant finish. Lighter in body than I expected. Reminds me of crispy duck breast with a blackberry sauce.

2006 vintage

Opened far too young, but surprisingly drinkable with just a short time in the glass. Massive savoury earth flavored - olive brine, peppercorns, tilled soil, roasted herb - to go with the boysenberry/blackberry fruits and snappy acidity. Oak and tannins are well balanced. Those holding have nothing to worry about, this is going to be a long-lived wine. 93/94+

2017 vintage

K Syrahs never disappoint.

2017 vintage

Bought futures a year ago, and just received 6 bottles. Classic Walla Walla Syrah on the nose, lacking the gamey character present in many of these. Pencil shavings, black currant, lavender. Quite tannic of course. Very complex, will cellar remaining bottles for several years.

2017 vintage

A very serious medicinal wine. Deeply concentrated solving dark matter mystery of the universe problems.

2006 vintage

Outstanding uniqueness . A strong perfume of grenade, black currant, pepper and incense over all. Very decadent, subtle although strong and intoxicating . The taste is just a follow up with a strong body and structure, and an added chocolate and licorice. Long and harmonious

2006 vintage

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Charles Smith (K Vintners), Royal City Syrah, Washington

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