K Vintners Royal City Syrah 2020
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Winemaker Notes
Majestic aromas arise from the glass. Suede, black tea, coal. Making way to a regal layering of black plum, tar, damp earth, and umami, teasing on the royal velvet palate.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Perfumed notes of cracked pepper, incense, rosemary stems, blackberries, white ash, graphite, black olives and mocha all leap out of the glass. Wow. What intensity, building to a crescendo on the palate. Firm, tight-grained tannins here. Full-bodied with incredible structure and depth. Try in 2026.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Syrah Royal City is still tight and firm but is instantly impressive with power, precision and finesse as seductive and juicy tones of black cherry, spiced blackberry jus and elegant floral notions waft with soft savory and spicy aromas. Full-bodied, generously layered and complex, the wine will have no problem shedding its baby fat and will be a juggernaut upon release in the fall later this year. This expressive, layered, succulent Syrah will remain food-friendly for decades; just be patient. Made 100% whole clusters, the wine saw two years of barrel aging in French oak, 60% new. It's an absolute pleasure and will age beautifully over the next two decades. Just under 8,300 bottles produced.
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Jeb Dunnuck
One of the true gems in the vintage is the 2020 Syrah Royal City, which comes from the Stoneridge Vineyard in the Royal Slope region of the state. All Syrah from tiny yields of 1.8 tons per acre that spent 51 days on skins and 28 months in 60% new French oak, it has an incredible array of red and black fruits, cured meats, toasted nuts, ground pepper, and savory flowers. Full-bodied, deep, pure, and incredibly layered, this sensationally complex, seamless Syrah is a tour de force that needs to be tasted to be believed. It’s one of the wines of the vintage and will have 15-20 years of overall longevity. Surprisingly, I think it’s better than the 2019.
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Wine Spectator
Impeccably structured and generous, with polished flavors of blackberry and raspberry laced with bittersweet chocolate, grilled herb and pepper notes. Finishes with big but refined tannins.
Other Vintages
2019- Vinous
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Located at the base of the Blue Mountains in Walla Walla Washington, K Vintners opened its doors to the public on December 3rd, 2001. The property at 820 Mill Creek Road where the winery sits was homesteaded in 1853 with the adjacent farmhouse built in 1872. The winery grounds with Titus Creek flowing through the lawn and the old pioneer planted trees, is a little slice of heartland Americana. The Winemaker: He loves to drink wine! Charles Smith, proprietor and winemaker, comes to Walla Walla after 11 years in Scandanavia. Originally from northern California, he has been involved with wine personally and professionally his whole life. And did we forget to mention... he loves to drink wine! The Vineyards: K Vintners is producing wines from 2 distinctive viticultural zones: Wahluke Slope and Walla Walla Valley. Each of these areas are unique and awesome for Syrah and the Field Blends produced. In April '02 two seperate blocks of vineyards were planted to Syrah adjacent to the winery in the rocky dry creek beds that run through K Vintners property.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
A large and geographically diverse AVA capable of producing a wide variety of wine styles, the Columbia Valley AVA is home to 99% of Washington state’s total vineyard area. A small section of the AVA even extends into northern Oregon!
Because of its size, it is necessarily divided into several distinctive sub-AVAs, including Walla Walla Valley and Yakima Valley—which are both further split into smaller, noteworthy appellations. A region this size will of course have varied microclimates, but on the whole it experiences extreme winters and long, hot, dry summers. Frost is a common risk during winter and spring. The towering Cascade mountain range creates a rain shadow, keeping the valley relatively rain-free throughout the entire year, necessitating irrigation from the Columbia River. The lack of humidity combined with sandy soils allows for vines to be grown on their own rootstock, as phylloxera is not a serious concern.
Red wines make up the majority of production in the Columbia Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant variety here, where it produces wines with a pleasant balance of dark fruit and herbs. Wines made from Merlot are typically supple, with sweet red fruit and sometimes a hint of chocolate or mint. Syrah tends to be savory and Old-World-leaning, with a wide range of possible fruit flavors and plenty of spice. The most planted white varieties are Chardonnay and Riesling. These range in style from citrus and green apple dominant in cooler sites, to riper, fleshier wines with stone fruit flavors coming from the warmer vineyards.