K Vintners 2021 'Motor City Kitty' Syrah, Yakima Valley

K Vintners 2021 'Motor City Kitty' Syrah, Yakima Valley

Item Number: 23173

UPC: 0-184745001109

Country: USA
Region: Washington
Sub Region: Yakima Valley
Appellation/AVA: Yakima Valley
Estate Grown Wine: No
Vineyard Designation: Boushey Vineyard
Vintage: 2021
Grape(s): 100% Syrah
Type: Wine - Red
Bottle Size: 750 ml
Pack: 12
Closure: Cork
Alc by Vol(%): 14.5
Total Acidity: 5.9 g/L
pH: 3.98
Viticulture: Practicing Organic
Soil Type: Volcanic sand
Elevation: 1,400 feet

Vineyard Notes: Boushey Vineyard (100%). Owned by Dick Boushey, one of the premier vineyard owners in Washington State. This is the highest elevation plot and has a southwestern slope and sandy volcanic soils. Three clones of Syrah are planted on this site: 383, 174 and Joseph Phelps.

Farming Notes: All vineyards are sustainably farmed, following organic principles. Zero pesticides, zero herbicides and zero adjuncts are used. Harvest is manual.

Winemaking Notes: 3 tons per acre. 100 % whole cluster fermentation in concrete tank and stainless steel with native yeast, 37 days on skins. 21 months aged on lees, in 25% new French oak puncheons. Bottled from gross lees, unfined and unfiltered. Vegan friendly.

Tasting Notes: Intriguing, tantalizing and desirable. Wrapped in a flutter, created by a need for more. Expectations turn into surprises of white pepper, black plum, potpourri and fresh pine needles. Melds and twists of complexity, fresh sage, grilled herbs, orange zest and nori notes.

Reviews

  • The Wine Spectator
    Rating: 93 (9/20/2024)
    Potent but structured and polished, offering expressive raspberry and blueberry flavors that take on licorice and black olive accents as this races toward zesty tannins. Drink now through 2032. 2,271 cases made.
  • Vinous
    Rating: 93 (12/5/2024)

    The 2021 Syrah Motor City Kitty is impossible to ignore. Rich and fruit-focused, it wafts up with notes of rum cake and blackberry jam complicated by black olive, rosemary and ashen stones. This opens with a balanced inner sweetness offset by tart wild berry fruits. It is quite lifted in feel, with sage and exotic spices propelled by brisk acidity. The 2021 tapers off with tremendous length, leaving a saturation of primary concentration and firming tannins that promise many years of future development.

  • Jeb Dunnuck
    Rating: 93+ (7/10/2025)
    One of the seemingly cooler climate-inspired Syrahs in the lineup, the 2021 Syrah Motor City Kitty comes from the Boushey Vineyard in the Yakima Valley (vines planted in 2007) and was not destemmed and was brought up in used oak. Smoky, gamey, Northern Rhône-like aromatics all give way to a medium-bodied, fresh, focused beauty that has fine tannins, a solid core of darker fruit, lots of peppery, meaty nuances, and outstanding length. It's tight and closed at the moment, so give bottles just a year or three if you can.
  • James Suckling
    Rating: 99 (1/3/2025)

    #7 on Top 100 World Wines The aromas leap out of the glass. Wet earth, tapenade, green peppercorns, volcanic ash and tea leaves. Hints of orange peel. It’s electric on the palate, so savory, so earthy and so minerally, with stemmy and tea-like tannins. The freshness and energy are astounding, and the finish just keeps going. Delicious Syrah. Drink or hold.