Royal City is definitely made in more of a French style than the other K wines. More akin to Cayuse with the expressiveness and funk.
I bought too much 2018 RC to warrant buying the 2019.
Vivino also. Both times.
I also tried the 2018 Royal City. It was beyond funky. Almost a moldy wet earth taste with little to no fruit profile. I purchased multiple of the 2018 and 2019 so hope the bottle I had was just corked or in need of a few more years on its side.
All other K wines I’ve had (Klein Syrah, Klein blend, Rockgarden) have been very good to exceptional.
Funny. I’ve had the 15 before these sales and while there may have been a little funk, it never struck me as anything like Cayuse. I like northern rhone, but god do I hate those Cayuse wines. I have some No Girls I’d love to get rid of eventually.
Anyone buying the Stag’s Leap Cellarius horizontal? Seems like a decent deal at $150
I bit. The $600 winery price is inflated from the holding costs I imagine as it was $380 at release. Still more than half off though and I also had an AMEX offer for $30 off $100 at WTSO, so it felt like too good a deal to pass up what should be an interesting tasting experience.
It looks like nice wine, but the wood case is being priced in. If you want the case for cork storage, or a showpiece, I think this is an easy buy. If you’re only after the wine, it is a good offer, but not outstanding.
The B. Leighton on the other hand was an outstanding QPR.
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I couldn’t resist and opened another 2018 Royal City. Some of the same funk persists but the texture is unbelievably good. Don’t expect fruit. A different wine, no doubt, but nonetheless delicious.
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Some B. Leighton Syrah and Gratitude back for $25 if you search - missed out last time so got a trio to try.
Bottle 2 opened of 2019 Royal City Syrah. 1st bottle was definitely corked. This is way nicer but still a completely different wine than the 2018 production as well as the 2015 I’ve also had. This is really more like a CdP Grenache/syrah blend. Honestly, I’m now convinced this was bottled incorrectly and is in fact grenache and not Syrah. I can’t even begin to describe how wildly different the 2018 is from the 2019. There is literally no way they are the same grapes.
I’m going out and saying…for sure, this 2019 K Vintners Syrah that went out by Vivino is mislabeled K Vintners The Boy. I’m certain. How that happened, I couldn’t even begin to speculate. Pale copper red in the glass, garrigue so prominent. Not a hint of olive brine or meat, palate carries those herbals to a strawberry core. I dunno what happened here. Either the Syrah grapes been sleeping with the Grenache grapes or someone messed up big time.
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Ok, this is wild lol. Anyone else tried one?
I say lay the 2019 down for another 2 years, but I also say good thing I only bought the 2018. 
Yeah I wish I did it the other way around. Actually I like it just fine but it’s not syrah. I enjoy a good grenache. But I wouldn’t have bought six if I knew it was grenache. And the first bottle I opened was clearly crazy corked. This one is at least a wine.
I bought (2) of the 2019 Royal City but haven’t had them yet. It may be some time before I try but I’m definitely curious.
There is no way a Royal City could be mistaken for a Grenache. I noticed that my Royal City bottle had the label sitting lower than I believe it should have. Maybe you’re onto something with the labeling issue, which would be wild.
FWIW the (2) 2018’s I’ve had from Vivino were unmistakably Syrah.
Had a bottle of the 19 couple nights ago and YES, was quite confusing! First try at this wine/producer so not any history to go on. Definitely didn’t taste like a 100% Syrah. Have 2 more left.
Would agree with your tasting thoughts.
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Yeah, it’s not a flawed wine, but it’s not like 2019 was such a wildly different growing season that it would explain it tasting like Grenache. I just had the 2018 several weeks back. One is a dark milkshake and the other is a CdP. Also, I want to say isn’t Charles Smith the producer that advocate for ingredients on bottles and never adds really anything? So, this wine is this wine, unadultered.
Same label issue on all of mine as well.
It’s actually drinking really nicely for a grenache. It doesn’t have the tannin structure to be a syrah either, even it had been an overripe style, which it really isn’t. I don’t think laying down the other bottles will change it, I’m most curious if one of the remaining 4 is actually gonna be syrah.
I happened to open one last night, decanted one hour. This was nothing like the 2014 Royal City, which is my only data point for this bottling. This wine is fruiter, rounder, more friendly, and yet also Northern Rhone in style with garrigue, forest floor, black olive and smoked meats.
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Interesting. What was the color?
Red. 
I’ll try to pay attention to color on the next bottle I open, which will likely be soonish. I think it’s drinking fairly well right now and don’t see it improving with age. Of course, I’m the worst at predicting that.
Oh, and I see that I picked up on olives and smoked meat, while you did not. My wife was the first one to mention olives. I definitely agree that it’s fruitier and seems more like grenache than syrah.
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