Drinking the 2000 Betz Family La Serenne Syrah
Ahh, the 2000 Betz Family “La Serenne” Syrah. I found it today for $34.99 at the local supermarket. In fact, they had both the “La Serenne” and the “La Côte Rousse” Syrah releases from 2000, both for $34.99. I went with the La Serenne release because it was 14.3% alcohol compared to 14.8% in the other. At 110 cases, La Serenne is certainly hard to track down at any price, so I’m excited to try this wine. It helps to live in the Seattle area if you’re looking for Betz wines.
Apparently the 2000 La Serenne Syrah was sourced from the Boushey vineyard in the Yakima Valley. I’ll assume that’s a good thing as I know very little about the individual quality of Yakima Valley vineyards. But I know what I like, so we’ll see how this wine fares. Here are my notes:
- Aroma: Confused at first, wants to show earthiness and black fruit but there’s something holding it all back so it clearly needs some time decanting; after about 45 minutes, things get interesting as the bouquet comes together with black currant preserves, leather, and tobacco.
- Flavor: Potent Kalamata olives, smoky bacon, black fruit, briar, and a stinging tobacco charge that’s almost like taking a drag on a really nice cigar; gorgeous, dry tannins emerge fairly swiftly, along with deep black currant, blackberry, and roasted walnut flavors. Wow.
- General impression: Stains your teeth and stings your tongue with flavors; very complex and requires a lot of time to sort itself out; after each sip, you look forward to the next one.
Overall, La Serenne rates a 9.5 on my “ball buster” scale, which I just invented as a way to describe this wine. Wow, it’s a nice wine! It’s well worth a purchase at $35, although I doubt you’ll be able to find it that cheap. All of the 2005 wines are sold out through the winery, and when you look at the aftermarket you probably see what I see: $45 is the absolute lowest price for any “La Serenne” Syrah from any year. For a single vineyard, single varietal wine, that’s about right these days. Perhaps I should go get more….
POSTSCRIPT: I went back and found no more of the La Serenne, but there was one bottle of La Côte Rousse sitting on the shelf. I grabbed it and ran. I paid first, though, before running. So I’m excited to see how these two Syrah releases compare. Also, I finished the La Serenne bottle tonight and it was dynamite! Had a nice menthol aftertaste that was really compelling…I wish I had purchased both bottles when I had the chance.