Charles Smith (K Vintners), Klein Syrah, Walla Walla Valley

Lighter color than i wou expect from a Syrah. Nose is very berry and fruity. Lots of cherry on the palate. Not a lot of complexity. Medium finish. Overall underwhelming relative to what I had hoped after waiting 5 years to drink it.

2016 vintage

Leather, leather, learher.

2016 vintage

This is a pretty solid Syrah. Really balanced, funky and delicious. The bouquet is deliciously herbaceous, with deep notes of dark red fruit, old leather, and mushrooms. Terrific red fruits lead on the palate, with herbs supporting. Worthy of a place in your cellar. A bit of air upon opening is called for here.

2016 vintage

90 minute Slow-Ox then 60 minute decant. Nose shows wild raspberries with roses and tulips, pink peppercorns, and notions of cotton candy or freeze-dried strawberries. Dazzling raspberry coulis and tart strawberry palate with a smoky meat streak and pleasing black pepper accents. Finish is plush with cherry, lots of bacon, bay leaf, and a long white pepper, clove, vanilla, and ash finish dotted with an oak finale. Excellent with blackened steak! New flavors seemed to appear over time.

2016 vintage

Incredible wine right in the middle of its drinking window flirting with perfection. Inviting entry, smooth and settled, showing black raspberry, muddled blueberry, start anise, iron, slight charcoal and faint espresso. Brick colored already in its appearance; this is a special wine.

2016 vintage

Blueberry and plum fruit, roasted meat, sweet chocolate finish. Was gone pretty quickly so I didn't get to spend much time with this one.

2016 vintage

Another excellent Royal City from K. The '16 is still youthful but bursting with energy and character. I didn't do the wine justice by drinking it from solo cups in a hotel room, over 2 nights, but it was still remarkable. Black and red fruits, smoked meat, pepper, spice and freshly tilled soil. Dark, dark chocolate, a hint of Asian 5-spice and minerals, all wrapped up in solid, but sweet, tannins. I'll make sure to use a proper wine glass …

2016 vintage

Liquid velvet. An amazing, ethereal, wine. Brought to a restaurant and popped and poured. It took about 15 minutes for the wine to open and blow off a touch of Rocks-like funk, then it just soared. Black fruits, raspberry, dark roasted coffee bean, spice after spice, pepper, some tar and smoke, and a dark, fresh turned earth, minerally component. No hard edges anywhere on this wine. Soft, lush, mouthfilling with plenty of silky smooth and sweet tannins. The finish went …

2016 vintage

Luscious, juicy but refined and weightless, light on its feet. Blackberry with a bit of anise. Delicious, and went well with boeuf Bourgogne.

2016 vintage

A nice evening yesterday with cheese & wine, pitted two Syrah / Shiraz wines against each other. And a third wine from my personal favorite Utopos Winery. K Vintner's Royal City Syrah 2016 Standish Wine Co The Standish 2017 A duel that Standish won quite easily on the first night. Clearer structure, more homogeneous and a fantastic finish. Royal has more animalic and paprika notes which created a bit of disharmony, still a good wine but could do better. Set …

2016 vintage

Clear pale garnet; clean medium plus nose of dill, musty leather, dirty soil and red currant; dry; high acidity; medium plus tannins; high alcohol; medium body; medium plus flavour intensity; palate is tarter with addition of tomato leaf, cocoa and soil; medium plus finish; very disappointing compared to our previous bottle - dominated by vegetal notes; hopefully an off bottle as we have 3 left!

2016 vintage

Rich, layered flavor profile and structured tannins. Notes of dark fruit like blackberry, plum, and black cherry, along with hints of spice, leather, and smoke. Suggest holding this one for another 5 yr min to fully develop its flavors and complexity.

2016 vintage

Iron, gravel and smoke notes complicate raspberry, blackberry and orange peel fruits. Challenging, complex, but still fresh and friendly. Not decanted. Waited an hour to drink after open and drank over a couple hours.

2016 vintage

Maybe just a neutral phase but this bottle lacked. Just not well integrated - woody off notes, some syrah funk ( despite royal city vinyard location) and simple. One bottle left - hoping it gets anywhere near what other comments and ratings experienced - we would def not waste our time if this is it - ROI points quickly elsewhere at this point.

2016 vintage

A stunning Syrah. Not quite as seductive as the Hidden, but richer and more substantial. Raspberry and blackberry, spice, raw steak, smokey spice, sawdust and toast on the nose. Smooth and mouth filling, the tannins are silky smooth, sweet and luscious. Evolved wonderfully over the evening, hitting a peak of decadence about 2 hours in. The finish lasts about a minute or more with the sweet tannins holding everything together. Drinking wonderfully now, I'd say it has another 2-4 years …

2016 vintage

This wine is in a great drinking window now. Decanted 2 hours. Paired with smoked picanha. Fantastic.

2016 vintage

Corked

2016 vintage

Beautiful. No clue how it could be much better. Just so smooth with a lingering finish. Every sip was enjoyable

2016 vintage

A well made wine with flavors of blue fruit, charcuterie, green olive, and Orange rind. Beautiful texture. Definitely settles on day 2 and is much more enjoyable. Very nice syrah.

2016 vintage

No notes. "Meaty" is all I remember. Should have been had with food.

2016 vintage

Clear medium ruby/garnet; clean medium plus nose of ripe strawberries, ripe red cherries, menthol, clay, balsamic and black licorice; dry; high acidity; medium plus tannins; high alcohol; medium plus body; pronounced flavour intensity; palate has fruit payoff with addition of leather and black licorice dominating; long finish; could drink now but best to wait a few more years; amazing wine - very precise and complex now but promises so much more development

2016 vintage

Terribly disappointed in this wine so I'm hoping it was an off bottle. Bought three based on universal praise but this tasted like basic table wine at the moment. My bottle didn't taste corked. The wine was thin and light garnet colored with a bit of syrah character on the nose but nothing else one typically looks for in a luxury priced syrah. (Bacon fat, smoked meats, powerful berry flavors) Really hoping this was an off bottle because this one …

2016 vintage

Vänta några år till nästa.

2016 vintage

Dark ruby. Red fruits and a green streak on the nose. More of the same on the palate. May benefit from cellaring. Try in 2025? Something’s up at K Vintners. This cuvée is very different from what it was some four or five years ago. I like it less now.

2016 vintage

It could be just a few years away from a perfect bottle. Beautiful blue fruit and black pepper on the nose. The tannins are medium and the acidity was mouthwatering. So good. So smooth.

2016 vintage

By far the best Syrah I have ever had. The fruit and acidity was marvelous, and the finnish lasted for minutes. Can't wait to buy some more of this. Drink or hold.

2016 vintage

Excellent syrah

2016 vintage

Received 99 pts from Jen Dunnuck in 2020

2016 vintage

Violet, cassis giving way to bacon fat and baking spice. A smooth and sophisticated Syrah.

2016 vintage

Impressive substance and range, which is unfortunately masked by excessive oak treatment. The most oaky of a flight of K Vintners wines, with no close comparison. It packs the substance to age for seven to ten years or longer, and the wine will need most of that time for the oak to fully integrate. It might improve. 91-92.

2016 vintage

Double decant. Blackcurrant and plum. Some floral notes. Nice texture. Slightly dry on the delicious finish. The 2015 was better but not by much.

2016 vintage

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Charles Smith (K Vintners), Klein Syrah, Walla Walla Valley

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