2018 La Serenne Syrah

The 2018 Syrah La Serenne comes from the Yakima Valley and is always a more gamey, complex, exotic Syrah than the Cote Rousse. All from the Boushey Vineyard and seeing 70% stems, its ruby/purple hue gives way to a great nose of blueberries, lavender, smoked game, and peppered meat. Blind, I'd have guess it was from the Rocks region in Walla Walla given it's gamey exotic, floral character. Beautiful on the palate as well, with medium to full body, building tannins, and plenty of fruit, it needs 2-3 years of bottle age and will cruise for over a decade. The style at Betz has changed subtly over the past handful of years, with winemaker Louis Skinner imparting his own style. The wines today are slightly less concentrated, and the deep, inky purple color preferred by the previous winemaker, Bob Betz, has been replaced with a more vivid ruby/purple hue that’s not always opaque. I love the overall balance of the wines today and I think taken as a whole, the new style emphasizes elegance and age-worthiness over sheer richness and power. Most of these 2018s should be given at least a few years in the cellar and will have broad drink windows. Louis is one of the most intelligent and inquisitive winemakers out there and he’s doing a fabulous job with these wines.

Bright, dark red. Slightly high-toned aromas of black raspberry, boysenberry, black pepper and licorice, accented by a violet topnote. Dense, lush and fine-grained, but with terrific peppery lift and energy to its dark berry, mineral and licorice flavors. The black pepper element adds verve to the middle palate and lifts the finishing fruit. Still a bit youthfully imploded but boasts terrific juiciness. The tannins are dusty and fine-grained but substantial and nicely buffered by the wine's sheer extract. Neither particularly sweet nor gamey, this wine's tightly coiled spring calls for some patience. Incidentally, these Betz Syrahs carry very reasonable alcohol levels in the high 13s, and there's nothing cooked about their fruit. (vinified with 70% whole clusters)

Coming from the Boushey vineyard, the 2018 Syrah la Serenne opens with a bold nose that is broad-shouldered with nuances of spice and elegant tones that waft with a black-fruited dustiness and nuances of brown baking spices, black pepper and red and purple flowers. Medium to full-bodied, this Syrah is more generous than the Walla Walla Syrah, with a mouthfeel full of expression and a bold richness across the mid-palate. The wine ends with a good, long finish with lively tannins that linger. Made with 80% whole-cluster fermentation, the wine rested in 20% new oak barrels for 14 months. Only 3,300 bottles produced.