Sine Qua Non Eleven Confessions Vineyard Syrah and Grenache (2 1.5 Liter Magnums in OWC) 2017
-
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert -
Parker
Robert
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
This is a two magnum OWC set from Sine Qua Non that includes:
2017 Eleven Confessions Vineyard Syrah
Blend: 88% Syrah, 3% Petite Syrah, 7.6% Grenache, 1.4% Viognier
2017 Eleven Confessions Vineyard Grenache
Blend: 88.7% Grenache, 10.6% Syrah, 0.7% Viognier
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
2017 Eleven Confessions Vineyard Syrah: The 2017 Syrah Eleven Confessions Vineyard is the wine of the vintage, and Syrah simply doesn’t get any better. Even in these more difficult vintages, I’m always amazed at what this estate is able to achieve. Dense purple-hued, with an incredible bouquet of sandalwood, dried flowers, incense, saddle leather, and assorted red and blue fruits, it hits the palate with flawless balance, a deep, full-bodied, concentrated mouthfeel, and a heavenly finish. It shows a more up-front, exuberant, sexy style, yet there’s still ample underlying structure and depth. Reminding me of Guigal’s Côte Rôtie La Mouline (maybe amped up just slightly), drink it over the coming 15-20 years. It’s worth pointing out that due to the difficulty in trademarking names today, the longer aged, 100% Eleven Confessions Vineyard Syrah and Grenache will simply bear the name “Eleven Confessions Vineyard” going forward.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
2017 Eleven Confessions Vineyard Grenache: The 2017 Grenache Eleven Confessions Vineyard, which will be the name going forward for this wine sourced exclusively form the Eleven Confessions Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills, reveals a gorgeous perfume of assorted red and blue fruits as well as iron, ground pepper, Asian spices, and herbes de Provence. Based on 88.7% Grenache, 10.6% Syrah, and the rest Viognier, this full-bodied, ultra-fine, deep, layered Grenache is just about as good as it gets. Drink it any time over the coming 10-15 years. It’s worth pointing out that due to the difficulty in trademarking names today, the longer aged, 100% Eleven Confessions Vineyard Syrah and Grenache will simply bear the name “Eleven Confessions Vineyard” going forward.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2017 Eleven Confessions Vineyard Grenache: This Grenache is all Eleven Confessions vineyard-grown fruit. Eleven Confessions is the Krankl’s estate-owned vineyard in Sta. Rita Hills. As mentioned in my report last year, 33 acres are planted here. Eleven acres of Pinot Noir were already planted when they purchased the property, about half of which has been grafted over, and a further 22 acres were planted by the Krankls in 2001. In order to fully ripen Manfred’s preferred medium—mainly Rhône varieties—in this area more commonly planted to cooler-climate grapes such as Pinot and Chardonnay, the Krankls need to go super low on the yields and long on the hang time. “This vineyard is by far the coolest of our vineyards,” Manfred recently explained. “Sometimes we don’t harvest until November.” Punitive yields of 1.5 tons per acre or less are common. In the years when it’s good and ready to sing, Eleven Confessions is used to make a single-vineyard wine under the Sine Qua Non label. “The wines have a lot of structure and presence,” Manfred commented. “The soil is mainly heavy clay, so the wines can be pretty muscular.” The 2017 Grenache Eleven Confessions Vineyard is composed of 88.7% Grenache, 10.6% Syrah and 0.7% Viognier. The winemaking includes 47% whole cluster, and it was aged for 38 months in 62% new French oak (83% were large demi-muids) and 38% in used vessels of various ages and sizes (two to five years old). Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the nose starts off a little closed, offering glimpses at stewed plums, blackberry preserves, and chocolate-covered cherries, giving way to fragrant notions of licorice, violets and cinnamon stick. While there’s no question that this is a big, concentrated, full-bodied wine, it is also incredibly elegant, well-poised and nuanced, featuring many floral and baking spice layers within the decadent black fruits and sporting firm, very finely grained tannins, finishing with incredible length and depth. I would recommend a good 3-5 years of cellaring, then drink it over the next 20 years+.
Rating: 98+ -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2017 Eleven Confessions Vineyard Syrah: This is a single-vineyard Syrah-dominant blend coming from the Eleven Confessions Estate vineyard in Sta. Rita Hills. As mentioned in my report last year, 33 acres are planted here. Eleven acres of Pinot Noir were already planted when they purchased the property, about half of which has been grafted over, and a further 22 acres were planted by the Krankls in 2001. In order to fully ripen Manfred’s preferred medium—mainly Rhône varieties—in this area more commonly planted to cooler-climate grapes such as Pinot and Chardonnay, the Krankls need to go super low on the yields and long on the hang time. “This vineyard is by far the coolest of our vineyards,” Manfred recently explained. “Sometimes we don’t harvest until November.” Punitive yields of 1.5 tons per acre or less are common. In the years when it’s good and ready to sing, Eleven Confessions is used to make a single-vineyard wine under the Sine Qua Non label. “The wines have a lot of structure and presence,” Manfred commented. “The soil is mainly heavy clay, so the wines can be pretty muscular.” The blend is 88% Syrah, 3% Petite Syrah, 7.6% Grenache and 1.4% Viognier. Twenty-nine percent was fermented using whole clusters. It was aged for around 38 months in 38% new French oak, 11% used barrels and 30% concrete. Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2017 Syrah Eleven Confessions bursts with notions of baked plums, stewed blackberries and black cherry preserves, with an undercurrent of Sichuan pepper, violets, chocolate mint and charcuterie, plus a lifted suggestion of black raspberries. Rich, full-bodied and decadently opulent, the palate explodes with pepper-spiked black and red berry preserves, framed by fine-grained tannins and fantastic freshness, finishing epically long and spicy. Very impressive.
Rating: 97+
Sine Qua Non has its own winemaking facility in Ventura, California not far from the Santa Barbara vineyards where the fruit is sourced from. In the last few years Manfred and his wife, Elaine, have begun creating their own vineyards dedicated to Rhone varietals. Their winemaking philosophy is to work in very small batches, gravity flow, natural yeasts (unless a fermentation problem is anticipated), long lees aging for the whites and repeated racking for the reds to open them up. This is a modified explanation of a very dedicated and artistic approach to winemaking. The wines are simultaneously very rich and elegant, superbly balanced and thoroughly harmonious with food, never overwhelming.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
A superior source of California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills is the coolest, westernmost sub-region of the larger Santa Ynez Valley appellation within Santa Barbara County. This relatively new AVA is unquestionably one to keep an eye on.
The climate of Sta. Rita Hills is a natural match for Chardonnay and Pinot noir, thanks to the crisp ocean breezes and well-drained, limestone-rich calcareous soil. Here, grapes ripen just enough, while retaining brisk acidity and harmonious balance.