Notes from the Winemaker:

M.C.K., aka Motor City Kitty, is one of our oldest wines, a call-back to our very beginnings when Charles was just starting out in Walla Walla.

The 2020 vintage might be the best vintage that we have ever had in Washington state history. We had an incredible growing season that was long and temperate, allowing the fruit to ripen evenly. The wines are focused, rich, complex, and lively. The reds are restrained and elegant, yet powerful with incredible tension and balance. Our white and rosé wines are wonderfully rich on the palate but balanced with enough acid to make the wines complete. We are excited to see how these wines evolve!

Tasting Notes:

All-encompassing. Dense, rich, action packed. Explosive dark cherry, huckleberry, black olive. Ash, grilled herb, wet earth. Great intensity, taut and balanced. This has it all and more!

Vineyard:
Oldfield-Boushey Vineyard (100%)
Owned by Dick Boushey, one of the premier vineyard owners in Washington State. This vineyard was planted by Dick with the help of Brennon Leighton. 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.

98 Points, #31 Top 100 of 2023 - James Suckling:
"This is a serious and intense syrah. Complex notes of chocolate, blackberries, black cherries, cedar and nutmeg here, with cracked pepper, rosemary and dried lavender. Evolving. Firm, tight and compact, with a full body. Beautiful freshness, too. More structure here. Try from 2025." (Mar 2023)

96+ Points - Vinous Media:
"Dark and viral in the glass with savory exotic spices, crushed ashen stones, grilled sage and smoked meats, the 2020 Syrah Motor City Kitty (MCK) makes a big first impression. This is texturally deep with a wave of mineral-tinged black fruits "accelerated by sour citrus, as sweet herbal tones form toward the close. The 2020 tapers off with a potent concentration of wild berries and smoky earth, as gently grippy tannins tug at the palate. There's simply so much going on here, and so much more to come through cellaring." - Eric Guido (Mar 2023)

95+ Points - Wine Advocate:
"Floral, focused and mineral-driven, the 2020 MCK Syrah offers dark red fruits with delightful red and pink peppercorn notes. Full-bodied and with 15% alcohol, the palate firms up with gripping tannins to reveal a rich mineral tension that lingers on the long, boozy finish. The MCK Syrah will remain a powerhouse and please New World Syrah lovers around the globe." - Anthony Mueller (May 2023)

94 Points - Wine Enthusiast:
"The motor on this city kitty purrs, as bushels of black cherry and boysenberry fruit flavors are backed by a massive wall of tannins. As you swirl your glass to loosen things up, aromas of blackberries, black olives and bacon fat encircle your head. The fruit party on the palate is joined by bittersweet dark chocolate and saline. Enjoy now until 2032. Meow." - Michael Alberty (Oct 2023)

93 Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
"Coming all from the Boushey Vineyard on the western side of the Yakima Valley, the 2020 Syrah Motor City Kitty boasts a deep ruby/plum hue as well as a great perfume of smoky red and black fruits, gravelly earth, and pepper. A more masculine-styled Syrah that’s medium to full-bodied, structured, and balanced, give it a few years and enjoy over the following decade. Drink 2025-2035." (Jun 2023)

Notes from the Winemaker:
John Duval began working with old vine Barossa Shiraz when he commenced his winemaking career at Penfolds in the early 1970’s. Through the 1990’s he played a leading role in trialling maturation of old vine Barossa Shiraz in new French oak hogsheads, contrary to the established winery convention of blending Shiraz from multiple regions and maturation in American oak. The early trials led to the first release of the Penfold’s RWT Barossa Shiraz from the 1997 vintage – a wine that marked a step change moment in the style evolution of Barossa Shiraz. John’s approach to making Barossa Shiraz continues unchanged, and maturation of selected parcels of old vine fruit in French oak is fundamental to producing Entity - an elegant Shiraz that is true to the Barossa.

About this Wine:
Sourced from old Shiraz vineyards in the Krondorf, Tanunda, Marananga, Ebenezer, Moppa, and Eden Valley regions comprising 75% Barossa Valley, 25% Eden Valley fruit. The parcels of fruit were fermented separately in small stainless steel fermenters some with submerged caps, and twice daily pump overs. Post ferment, the component wines were matured in oak for 15 months, with 25% in new fine grain French oak hogsheads (300L) and the balance in older French hogsheads and puncheons.

Tasting Notes:
NOSE: Attractive notes of violets, dark berries and plum supported by hints of licorice and a floral lift.
PALATE: Bright layers of focused red and blue fruits with hints of dark chocolate and peppery spice, finishing long with fine sheets of silky tannins

Ratings & Reviews:

95 Points - James Halliday Australian Wine Companion:
"Shiraz sourced from old vineyards in the Barossa (Krondorf, Tanunda, Marananga, Ebenezer and Moppa) and the Eden Valley. Vibrant and pure at heart with deep black plum, black cherry and boysenberry fruits, plentiful exotic spice, violets, licorice and wafts of light cedar and vanillin oak. Impressive fruit depth, sandy tannin support and long, plush finish of spicy black fruits and earth." (May 2023)

94 Points - Vinous Media:
"This 2021 Shiraz Entity is beautifully composed and sleek, with an engaging energy and brightness of fruit. There is outstanding detail in the form of white pepper, cloves, cocoa and woodsmoke aromas with excellent oak integration. Superb flavor precision follows with layers of blackberry and chocolate and a gentle violet lift underpinned by a core of fine yet firm tannins driving through to a long, soaring finish, The 2021 is an exceptional and brilliant value." - AH (June 2023)

94 Points - James Suckling:
"A big and rich wine but it shows freshness and energy underneath the juicy and rather thick fruit with plush tannins. Some chewiness, too. Needs two or three years to soften. Drink or hold. Screw cap." (Oct 2022)

94 Points - Wine Spectator:
"Aromatic and complex, with a plush, velvety quality to the blackberry, spiced plum and violet details. Reveals huckleberry, black cherry and bittersweet chocolate accents on the long, expressive finish, where details of fresh laurel bay leaf and Earl Grey tea linger." - MW (Nov 2023)

94 Points - Wine Enthusiast:
"Plump blood plum and juicy blackberry aromas are underscored with bay leaf and peppery spice. The succulent dark berry fruit takes front and center on the palate, creating a luscious mouthfeel that's tightened by a gentle tug of spicy tannins and fresh acidity. Classic South Aussie Shiraz sprinkled with Duval style." - Christina Pickard (Apr 2024)

For nearly a century Petite Sirah held the title of the most commonly planted variety in the Napa Valley, only surpassed by Cabernet in the late 1960’s. Known for its dark color, firm structure, deep blue and black fruit flavors, Petite Sirah has an affinity for improving blends made from Zinfandel or Cabernet— it is no wonder that this grape held the top spot among growers and winemakers for so many years.

To honor the heritage of Petite Sirah in the Napa Valley, we bottle our Petite Sirah under the name Royal Punishers. An anagram of the parent grapes of Petite Sirah, Peloursin and Syrah, the name Royal Punishers speaks to the wine’s finesse and structure.

A 100% Petite Sirah blend with components from Rutherford, the Oak Knoll, Pope Valley, and St. Helena, the Royal Punishers shows why Petite Sirah remains a vital part of Napa Valley’s grape growing traditions.

Winemaker Notes

Vintage Notes:
The 2023 season was one of the coolest vintages in more than a decade that, as time progressed, showed all the markings of the spectacular vintage that ended up in the bottle. Several years of drought were erased in a single season as rains began just after the completion of the 2022 harvest and continued through the spring of 2023. Ample ground water and cool temperatures delayed budbreak until April with flowering in mid-May. Moderate temperatures through the spring and summer allowed for balanced maturation across all vineyards - allowing us to pick at the perfect intersections of flavor, sugar, acid, and tannin maturity. Harvesting at Robert Biale began with earlier sites in September while moderate heat at the start of October accelerated picking that lasted through the end of the month.

Winemaker's Tasting Notes:
Warm and inviting with notes of blackberry, cedar, plum, and wet slate on the nose. Rich on the palate with clove, blackberry, fig, and white pepper. Elegant, mouth coating tannins frame this wonderfully complex Napa Valley Petite Sirah.

Ratings & Reviews