“Intriguing, tantalizing and desirable. Expectations turn into surprises of white pepper, black plum, potpourri and fresh pine needles. Melds and twists of complexity – fresh sage, grilled herbs, orange zest and nori notes. Can’t get over it…such an enticing beauty.”
–Winemaker Charles Smith
Charles has made—and makes—a ton of wine. Every one of them is the result of a personal journey, a combination of choices and personality that culminates in uniquely delicious ways. 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.
“It started back in 2000,” he recollected. “At the time I was only making three wines, and when you’re taking the wine out of the barrels and carefully bottling it unfiltered you leave a little wine behind. Considering I was at the beginning of my career, every bottle mattered. So, I racked the leftover wine together to release as a holiday barrel release in Walla Walla.”
After combining the wines into one vessel, a new problem presented itself: How to tell it apart from his other barrels?
“Considering I only made single vineyard Syrah, like I still do, I didn’t know what to write on the barrel,” he laughed. “Well, resting on one of the barrels was my cat, a tabby. She had an ‘M’ on her forehead, so I’d named her Motor City Kitty ‘cause she was such a rock & roll cat. I wrote her name on that barrel so I wouldn’t forget which one it was, and thus the wine was named for my very Detroit tabby cat, MCK.”
While MCK was no doubt a very tough and rock & roll kitty, her memory lives on in the form of a wine that has made plenty of friends over the years, with top scores every year.
MCK has continually gained notorious praise from critics since its first vintage in 2006. The 2020 vintage scored 95+ points with Wine Advocate, is noted as Wine Enthusiast’s Cellar Selection at a strong 94 points, placed at 96+ points with Vinous‘ Eric Guido and called it ‘dark and viral in the glass with savory exotic spices’, and ranked #31 in the world under James Suckling‘s Top 100 Wines in the World report for 2023 and placed #6 in his Top 100 Wines of the USA with a score of 98 points, regarding it as ‘serious, intense and evolving.’ He also awarded a stunning 98 points for the 2019 vintage along with ranking #6 out of 600 wines on his Annual Report for Washington Wine 2022, describing it as ‘deep and flavorful.’ Jeb Dunnuck also gave 95, deeming it as ‘a powerful, full-bodied, concentrated beauty,’ while Vinous’ Stephen Tanzer gushed over MCK’s ‘spectacular wild nose … wonderfully silky yet penetrating, showing a restrained sweetness.’
MCK is sustainably grown on legendary Washington vineyard operator Dick Boushey’s Oldfield Block, which was planted with help from our own winemaker, Brennon Leighton. Coming from high elevation and sandy, volcanic soils, MCK is still crafted from three distinct Syrah clones to make one of our longest running wines. Delicious, complex, and, even better, at just $40 a bottle it’s also an incredible value. Get your own bottles MCK Syrah while you can!