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Sine Qua Non is one of California's most famous wine producers. Based just north of Los Angeles in Ventura County, and with most of its vineyards in Santa Barbara, it eschews the usual image of top California wine as being only from Napa Valley. That is not the only thing eschewed at Sine Qua Non – the same wine is rarely made more than once, turning the idea of the American icon wine on its head.
The cult winery specializes in Rhône grape varieties, with most of the red wines based on Syrah and Grenache. White wines are typically based on Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier and are also modelled after Rhône wines. While most of Sine Qua Non's vineyards are located in Santa Barbara, the home vineyard (and the winery) is located in Oak View. Many of the wines are labeled under the more generic California and Central Coast AVAs, rather than the specific AVAs the vineyards are located in, giving more freedom when it comes to blending.
Sine Qua Non's first vintage was 1994, as Austrian-born winemaker Manfred Krankl released three barrels of Syrah as "Queen of Spades" with a label he had designed himself. Previously, Krankl had made wines with other winemakers – including the "Black and Blue" wine with Havens Cellars and several wines with John Alban of Alban Vineyards. After releasing Queen of Spades, Krankl sent a bottle to Robert Parker, who promptly gave the wine 95 points – then the highest he'd given any American wine based on a Rhône variety
| Varietal | Syrah |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Rating | 98-100 RP |
| Bottle Size | 750 ml |
| Bottle Quantity | 1 |
| Country | USA |
| Region | California |
| Location | Central Coast |
| Producer | Sine Qua Non |
| Color | Red |
| Wine Type | Table |
| Rating | 98-100 RP - Manfred Krankl did point out that the name of this wine is not definitely but probably going to be “Squeezebox.” There are still a bunch of hoops to jump through before the label is signed, sealed and delivered. He shared the artwork for the label with me, again probably final but not yet definite, but which I think fans of are going to love. Who knew Mr. K played the squeezebox? The vineyard sources for this wine are 51% The Third Twin, 43% Eleven Confessions and 6% Cumulus—all estate-owned vineyards. The 2018 Syrah Squeezebox is composed of 82% Syrah, 6.7% Mourvèdre, 5% Petite Sirah, 2.3% Grenache, 2.7% Viognier and 1.3% Muscat. “I think Muscat is the number one white grape for me to blend with reds,” Manfred said. “It kinda triples the effect of the wine.” The wine is due to be bottled in August 2020, very soon after I tasted it, and after 23 months of aging. It was reared in 51% new French oak, 46% in used barrels and 3% in terracotta. (The terracotta is only used for whites.) Very deep garnet-purple colored, the nose kicks off with bright, vivacious scents of freshly cracked black pepper, licorice, baker’s chocolate and menthol before opening out to a core just singing of Black Forest cake, wild blueberries and ripe blackberries with wafts of smoky bacon and garrigue. Full-bodied, firm and beautifully textured with perfectly ripe, velvety tannins, it has invigorating freshness and a very long, multi-layered finish. Its rock-solid structure and intensity suggest this wine will be very long lived indeed. |
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| Varietal | Syrah |
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| Vintage | 2018 |
| Rating | 98-100 RP |
| Bottle Size | 750 ml |
| Bottle Quantity | 1 |
| Country | USA |
| Region | California |
| Location | Central Coast |
| Producer | Sine Qua Non |
| Color | Red |
| Wine Type | Table |
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