93 Jay Miller - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"The 2008 Syrah La Serenne is sourced entirely from the Boushey Vineyard in Yakima Valley. It is aged for 12 months in 50% new French oak. A glass-coating opaque purple color, it delivers a brooding bouquet of smoke, Asian spices, incense, lavender, game, blueberry, and plum. Dense, layered, and powerful, it manages to maintain a sense of elegance and balance. It has enough structure to evolve for several years and should drink well through 2023." (08/10)

92 Stephen Tanzer - Vinous Media

"Bright medium ruby. Crushed blackberry, pomegranate, bitter chocolate and flinty minerality on the rather wild nose. Dense and vibrant on the palate, conveying an impression of serious phenolic content. Very dark flavors of blue and black fruits, licorice and violet. Highly complex wine with a firm tannic underpinning for aging. Betz notes that these Boushey Vineyard vines are planted on very old pre-flood soils, which are more minerally and less loamy than soils rich in flood sediments." (11/10)

92 Wine Enthusiast

"Among all the new releases from Betz Family, the La Serenne is the least approachable. Almost enigmatic in its reluctance to open, the wine remains stubbornly tight after a full 24 hours of breathing. The nose shows the barrel influences in a range of toast, coffee and mocha scents. Flavors bring black cherry, cassis, hints of black olive and a little brown sugar, but overall the wine seems shortened, almost dumb. At this point, the score is a best guess, and could go even higher as the wine ages. -P.G." (04/11)

92 Jeb Dunnuck - The Rhone Report

"More soft and supple than the '08 La Cote Rousse, the 2008 Betz Family Syrah La Serenne exhibits a vibrant purple color as well as loads of juicy raspberry fruit, licorice, flowers and perfumed spice aromas on the nose. It's pure, fresh and shows beautiful clarity as well. On the palate, the wine is medium bodied with a smooth, supple texture, vibrant fruit and a seamless, long finish. Whereas the Rousse needs a year or two in the cellar to chill out, this should be approachable on release and then drink beautifully over the following 10 to 15 years." (05/10)

91 Wine Spectator

"Smooth and velvety in texture, with juicy acidity underlying vibrant blackberry and boysenberry fruit, veering toward bay leaf and cocoa on the expressive finish. Best from 2012 through 2018. 590 cases made. -HS" (12/10)