Charles Smith K Vintners Motor City Kitty Syrah 2016

Cellar for up to 10 years. No need to decant before serving.

Charles Smith grew up just outside Sacramento in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and carved out a career travelling the world and managing rock bands. This work took him all over Europe where he fell in love with fine wine, a passion that later drove him to teach himself how to make wine and eventually found his own winery.

Smith started making wines under his own label in 2001 when he released a batch of just 300 cases crafted from top quality Washington State fruit. He’s since been named Winemaker of the Year by Food & Wine magazine, Seattle Magazine and Wine Enthusiast. Named after Smith’s pet cat, this punchy Syrah shows off Smith’s typical winemaking style with luscious dark fruit, smooth tannins and a generous and powerful full body.

The fruit for this bottling is sourced from the Oldfield and Boushey Vineyards in the Yakima Valley and fermented using wild yeasts in concrete tanks. The young wine is then matured in French oak barrels for 19 months before bottling. This extended maturation adds deep and complex hints of spice, smoked meat, and earth to the rich dark cherry, blackberry and cassis flavours. A fantastic wine to pair with hearty red meat dishes like barbecued ribs or steak, or to keep in the cellar for another decade or so.