Winemaker Notes
Deep yet vibrant with gobs of expressive flavors: dark cherry, dried ancho chili, fresh porcini, and whispers of orange peel. On the palate, the wine is fantastically rich, long, and velvety with notes of huckleberry, smoked herbs, and fennel seed. This Boy is alluring and persuasive.
Blend: 100% Grenache
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is perfumed, with dried strawberry bush, ripe cherry, star anise, black cardamom and spiced orange peel. Lots of dried-flower undertones. Its medium- to full-bodied with layers of tight but juicy tannins and bright acidity cutting through. Its so alive and vibrant, with cocoa-dusted red berries jumping out of the glass. It shows depth and power, but in an elegant way, with a delicate, ethereal feel. Drink or hold.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming all from the Powerline Vineyard on the southern side of the Walla Walla Valley, the 2020 Grenache The Boy has a terrific perfume of wild strawberries, cherries, rose petals, and toasted spices. It’s clean, medium to full-bodied, flawlessly balanced, and has ultra-fine tannins. This is all 363 Clone of Grenache from 2012 plantings that saw no destemming, a full 51 days on skins, and aging all in neutral oak demi-muids.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Opening to a nose of candied red fruit, confected cherries and freshly opened red flowers, the 2020 The Boy offers picturesque crunchy red fruit with soft savory and spicy elements in the glass. Medium-bodied, the palate is fresh with the lift of 100% whole-cluster fermentation, offering succulent floral and confected red fruit flavors before showing hints of umami and savory notions over the focused, fine, mineral-laced finish. The wine rested for 18 months in neutral French oak barrels.
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.
Grenache thrives in any warm, Mediterranean climate where ample sunlight allows its clusters to achieve full phenolic ripeness. While Grenache's birthplace is Spain (there called Garnacha), today it is more recognized as the key player in the red blends of the Southern Rhône, namely Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône and its villages. Somm Secret—The Italian island of Sardinia produces bold, rustic, single varietal Grenache (there called Cannonau). California, Washington and Australia have achieved found success with Grenache, both flying solo and in blends.
Responsible for some of Washington’s most highly acclaimed wines, the Walla Walla Valley has experienced a surge in popularity in recent years and is home to both historic wineries and younger, up-and-coming producers.
The Walla Walla Valley, a Native American name meaning “many waters,” is located in southeastern Washington; part of the appellation actually extends into Oregon. Soils here are well-drained, sandy loess over Missoula Flood deposits and fractured basalt.
It is a region perfectly suited to Rhône-inspired Syrahs, distinguished by savory notes of red berry, black olive, smoke and fresh earth. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot create a range of styles from smooth and supple to robust and well-structured. White varieties are rare but some producers blend Sauvignon Blanc with Sémillon, resulting in a rich and round style, and plantings of Viognier, while minimal, are often quite successful.
Of note within Walla Walla, is one new and very peculiar appellation, called the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater. This is the only AVA in the U.S. whose boundaries are totally defined by the soil type. Soils here look a bit like those in the acclaimed Rhône region of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but are large, ancient, basalt cobblestones. These stones work in the same way as they do in Chateauneuf, absorbing and then radiating the sun's heat up to enhance the ripening of grape clusters. The Rocks District is within the part of Walla Walla that spills over into Oregon and naturally excels in the production of Rhône varieties like Syrah, as well as the Bordeaux varieties.