Today we share one of the great wines made in Washington. Nothing short of a sensational bottling, Charles Smith is most famous for crafting his wine from the ‘Stoneridge Vineyard’ near the town of Royal City and at what is now the Royal Slope AVA. This is a really special salty and stony bottling that has amazing aromatic and flavor range.
The Stoneridge Vineyard sits in an alluvial fan gravel bed, above the flood plain of the Columbia River. Under the topsoil is a layer of caliche and basalt 6-12’’ deep, creating a calcium and iron rich media that forces roots to struggle. I love the new 2021 K Vintners ‘Royal City’ Syrah (OB, 96) which is a world-class new Syrah bottling with sensational range and terroir. It is magical to consume now but will cellar well over the next eight to ten years. Learn more about this great wine at https://houseofsmith.com/brands/kvintners-wines/ Here is my review of the beautiful new 2021 ‘Royal City’ Syrah.
2021 K Vintners ‘Royal City’ Syrah- Truly one of the iconic Washington wines, the 2017 ‘Royal City’ Syrah is sourced from the ‘Stoneridge Vineyard’ in the Royal Slope AVA. This site has a wide range of soil types, including salty loam and sand. Right away the Syrah impresses with heady green peppercorn and Kalamatta olive tapendate aromatics that combine with beef drippings, Mandarin orange zest and suggestions of wet stone. The palate is dense and heady, with serious texture and good underlying verve. A joy to consume now, enjoy over the next ten plus years. Give it 30 minutes of air if consuming now. Drink 2025-2035- 96