Boushey Vineyard, which has been the source of La Serenne since 2000, is one of the stars of the mid-Yakima Valley. Farmed by Dick Boushey, a proponent of Washington Syrah since the 1980's, this site has gained notoriety for its unique varietal expression and supple texture. The word Serenne is an affectionate name for Syrah in the local dialect of Ampuis, a town in the heart France's northern Rhone Valley. Betz family winery finds this to be a fitting name for their Syrah from Boushey, as it reminds them of the wild (or as the French say "Sauvage"), Rhone-esque character of the wine.
The fruit reflects the sum total of conditions here: location in the mid-Yakima Valley, higher elevation, cooler climate, soils undisturbed by the Missoula Floods and Dick's exemplary farming practices. Harvest is typically 2-3 weeks later than the Syrah vines planted elsewhere, indicating the uniqueness of its position.
La Serenne shines from the moment it’s poured with dark, glass-coating, black-purple color. The aromatics show the characteristic Boushey “wildness”: smoked meat, lavender, fennel, white pepper, and tarragon swirl along with inky blueberry, marionberry, and cacao nibs. The palate is rich and vibrant adding cracked espresso bean, clove, and dusty mineral tone. The polished tannic backbone indicates long cellar life, at least 15-20 years…if you can manage to resist it now.
"Aromas of blackberries, black raspberries, violets, black and white peppercorns and stones. It’s medium-bodied with fine, tightly knit tannins. Seamless and transparent with a silky texture. Very bright and pure with layers of wild berries and minerals. Tar and dark tobacco, too. Drink or hold."
- James Suckling (June 2021), 95 pts
Bob and Cathy Betz crushed their first vintage of Betz Family Wine in 1997 with the help of volunteer friends, producing 150 cases of wine in the warehouse district of ...
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"The 2018 Syrah La Serenne comes from the Yakima Valley and is always a more gamey, complex, exotic Syrah than the Cote Rousse. All from the Boushey Vineyard and seeing 70% stems, its ruby/purple hue gives way to a great nose of blueberries, lavender, smoked game, and peppered meat. Blind, I'd have guess it was from the Rocks region in Walla Walla given it's gamey exotic, floral character. Beautiful on the palate as well, with medium to full body, building tannins, and plenty of fruit, it needs 2-3 years of bottle age and will cruise for over a decade."
"Bright, dark red. Slightly high-toned aromas of black raspberry, boysenberry, black pepper and licorice, accented by a violet topnote. Dense, lush and fine-grained, but with terrific peppery lift and energy to its dark berry, mineral and licorice flavors. The black pepper element adds verve to the middle palate and lifts the finishing fruit. Still a bit youthfully imploded but boasts terrific juiciness. The tannins are dusty and fine-grained but substantial and nicely buffered by the wine's sheer extract. Neither particularly sweet nor gamey, this wine's tightly coiled spring calls for some patience. Incidentally, these Betz Syrahs carry very reasonable alcohol levels in the high 13s, and there's nothing cooked about their fruit. (vinified with 70% whole clusters) - Stephen Tanzer"
"Coming from the Boushey vineyard, the 2018 Syrah la Serenne opens with a bold nose that is broad-shouldered with nuances of spice and elegant tones that waft with a black-fruited dustiness and nuances of brown baking spices, black pepper and red and purple flowers. Medium to full-bodied, this Syrah is more generous than the Walla Walla Syrah, with a mouthfeel full of expression and a bold richness across the mid-palate. The wine ends with a good, long finish with lively tannins that linger. Made with 80% whole-cluster fermentation, the wine rested in 20% new oak barrels for 14 months. Only 3,300 bottles produced. - Anthony Mueller "
"The 2016 Syrah la Serenne hails from two acres within the Boushey Vineyard and was fermented with between 66% and 100% whole clusters. The wine is already very complex, wafting from the glass with notes of grilled meat, dried lavender, pepper and candied peel. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and lavish, with a layered mid-palate, fine-grained structuring tannins, sappy acids and a sapid, saline finish. - William Kelley"
"Refined and delicately expressive, with blueberry and smoked spice flavors that linger elegantly toward sleek tannins. Drink now through 2023. 300 cases made. –TF"
"The estate's Yakima Valley Syrah, the 2013 Syrah La Serenne spent 11 months in barrel before being bottled last November. Schedule to be released this fall, it has intense, yet fresh and lively notes of violets, spring flowers, cracked pepper, iron and sweet black and blue fruits. Full-bodied, pretty, lively and nicely focused, give it a year or two and enjoy bottles through 2028."
"Bright medium ruby. Knockout nose combines black raspberry, garrigue and violet, plus a faint gamey quality; conveys an impression of restrained wildness. Densely packed and thick but still a bit reduced, with flavors of purple fruits, licorice, bitter chocolate, mocha and game complicated by a note of Brazil nuts. Quite backward on the finish and in need of at least a couple years of patience. Like La Cote Patriarche, this wine is entirely from Phelps clones. But these shy-bearing vines were picked much later than the other two Syrahs here as they're planted in a cooler site. - Stephen Tanzer"
"The aromas of dark fruit, mineral, smoked meat, coffee and spice are brooding, not yet fully revealing their charms. Elegant yet penetrating, the fruit and savory flavors coat the palate from end to end with supple-feeling fruit flavors and a lengthy finish."
"As for the Syrah-driven wines, they do two main cuvees, one focusing on Boushey Vineyard, the La Serenne, and the other on Red Mountain, the La Cote Rousse. The 2012 Syrah La Serenne is a 100% Syrah that was aged in 50% new French oak prior to bottling. I think the greatest vintage of this cuvee to date, it boasts an incredibly inky purple color to go with notions of creme de cassis, damp earth, graphite, smoke and licorice that flow to a full-bodied, voluptuously textured profile on the palate. Despite all of the richness, it stays thrillingly focused and shows the purity and elegance of the site. Enjoy it anytime over the coming 10-15 years. - Jeb Dunnuck"
"Dense and spicy, the tannins part to make way for a rush of blackberry, blueberry and plum fruit, nicely tweaked with licorice and toast accents. Drink now through 2022.-H.S"
"(100% Boushey fruit planted to the Phelps clone in a higher-altitude site; aged in 45% new oak): Lucid red-ruby color. Aromatic scents of boysenberry and graphite. Lovely spicy, peppery lift and energy to the brooding, primary dark berry flavors. Intense and impeccably balanced wine with a light touch and lovely lingering perfume. This is a moderate 13.8% alcohol, with a relatively low pH (for this wine) of 3.62 and 6.1 grams per liter acidity. Owing to its serious inner-mouth tension, I'd wait a couple years before pulling the cork on this beauty. Incidentally, winemaker Betz cut the percentage of new oak aging from 65% to 45%, and noted that his crop level in 2011 was a good 15% lower than the previous year, partly due to the damaging frost in November of 2010."
"Bright nose features musky black raspberry, smoke, minerals, chocolate and a whiff of tar. Bright, delineated and intense, conveying terrific acidity for syrah. Proprietor Betz describes 2010 as "a return to structure in syrah" and this wine is also extremely primary, with tarry minerality and a cracked pepper quality adding nuance. Finishes with firm but suave tannins, excellent grip and terrific peppery lift. In texture, this wine is midway between Cote-Rotie and Saint-Joseph, and wonderfully fresh.- ST"
"Originating in Boushey Vineyard, Betz’s 2010 Syrah La Serenne is scented with cassis and blackberry, sage and fennel. As it takes on air, a delightfully bitter-sweet, iris-like floral dimension emerges. Palpably dense and finely tannic, it displays a sense of constriction and firmness, although its dark berry flavors are very ripe and its herbal aspect expressively pungent. Saliva-inducing salinity, an invigorating bite of black pepper, and a note of tar complement tart-edged, juicy fruit and herbs in a finish more exuberantly energetic, expansive and engaging than this wine’s mid-palate presence had led me to anticipate. This should be a delight to follow over the next 6-8 years and I would advise simply leaving it untouched for the first couple as it works through a relatively reduced (and, metaphorically-speaking, tightly-wound) condition."
