WINEMAKER OF THE YEAR 2011

Manfred Krankl

I could easily write a book about Manfred Krankl, his life, his visions, his vineyards, his art works, and his wines. He is one of the most amazing vignerons of California, and just about everything he does, is special.

He ws born in Austria, but moved to California in 1980 (and he doesn't sound like Arnold at all!) and later opened up the Le Campanile restaurant in Los Angeles, and the La Brea Bakery company, which he sold for 20 million dollars in 2001.
Wine was always part of his life, but it wasn't until 1992 before he produced his first own wine, the 1992 Black and Blue together with Napa Valley winemaker Michael Havens. There was also a small production of wines for his restaurant Le Campanile. Two years later, in 1994, he established his own label Sine Qua Non. The idea was to produce small batches of great wines out of Syrah and Grenache. The production was, and still is, very limited and after just a few years, Manfred Krankl and his Sine Qua Non wines had become well known among wine collectors.

"I didn't have any formal education in growing vines or making wine, I learned it by trying, and now I'm too old for it anyway", he says.

He is one of the most detailed oriented wine makers of California, hence the perfection in his wines, that are huge and packed with super ripe and strictly sorted grapes. Even though he didn't had any vineyards on his own until he planted the now 8.90 hectare Eleven Confession Vineyard in the southern part of the cool Santa Rita Hills, he have always spent a lot of time in the vineyards.

He was lucky already in his first vintage (1994, unfortunately not tasted here) by being able to purchase grapes from famous vineyards like Alban Vineyard, Bien Nacido Vineyard and Stolpman Vineyard. Over the years, new great vineyard sites has been added to the program, like the great Whitehawk Vineyard in Los Alamos. Manfred did always farm the same blocks in each vineyard, hence the even quality over the vintages.

Today Manfred and his wife Elaine Krankl owns  24.10 hectares of vines in three vineyard sites. His first vineyard is Eleven Confession in Santa Rita Hills, a cool valley where he primarily grows Syrah and Grenache, but also some Roussanne and Viognier (which often is blended into the syrah wines).
In 2004 he planted various grape varieties, mostly Syrah and Grenache, but also Petite Sirah, Touriga Nacional, Mourvèdre, Roussanne and Petit Manseng in his beautiful estate in Oak View in the much warmer Ventura County. Today there are three blocks and a total of 12.3 hectares in this Cumulus Vineyard, plus the brand new state of the art winery he moved into for the 2011 harvest.

"Although much bigger and much better planned and easy to work in, it felt a bit unusual and strange after all the years in my old garage winery in Ventura", Manfred says.  

Another vineyard, the now called The Third Twin Vineyard, was added to his estate program in 2010, a total of 6.10 hectares of Syrah and Grenache in Los Alamos close to Whitehawk Vineyard and Stolpman Vineyard just north of Santa Rita Hills. The ranch covers 120 hectares, and according to Manfred, there are several slopes to be planted in the future. With this, he may be one hundred percent estate grown within a few years from now. As of 2011, the only grapes he purchase is the ones from Bien Nacido Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley.

The hype around Manfred Krankl mostly comes from the great wines, made in a ripe but still so elegant and extremely well balanced style, and in so small quantities they have been subject for second hand sales at top dollars. One may have to pay a few hundred dollars up toll 500-700 dollars for a bottle!
Another hype around Sine Qua Non is of course the names and labels of the wines. Each wine carries a unique name ("Why give all your children the same name?", Manfred ask you when you ask him about this), and an artistic label, made by Manfred himself. This have not only created a sort of collecting phenomenon, but also inspired other wine producers to do the same. The difference is that Manfred Krankl is a true artist, in that sense Sine Qua Non is one of the most unique wineries of this planet!
 

The style of his Syrah and Grenache wines is ripe, typical Californian in most ways, yet one may mistake his wines for being the exclusive "La-La's" of Guigal (particularly La Landonne or the more lush La Mouline in warmer vintages). The Sine Qua Non wines are not for those who seeks light bodied wines with high acidity and more terroir than fruit and body.

 
The wines are crafted from highly ripe grapes, they are mostly destemmed (sometimes by hand) but certain lots are whole cluster fermented in small open top fermenters with manual pigage, or in small cement eggs. Maceration is long, and the ageing takes place in mostly French oak barrels (225 and 500 liters), of which a great proportion are new. Ageing stretches over 18-22 months, until the wines are ready to blend and bottle.   To Manfred, the blending process is the most crucial. All barrels are blind tasted over a number of weeks or even months, and then small trials are made until he and his winemaker have decided how to make the blend.

I have been fortunate to follow the Sine Qua Non wines for more than a decade, I taste them regularly and I have also visited Sine Qua Non and tasted with Manfred a numerous of times. By all means, he is one of the most careful, detailed oriented and uncompromising winemakers in California. Therefore I'm proud and happy to appoint Manfred Krankl as the Winemaker of the Year 2011. 

 

Vertical of Syrah from Sine-Qua-Non 2008-1995

(all wines tasted in one vertical tasting in 2011)  

2008 B-20 / 95-96 p                

This vintage is a blend of 92 percent Syrah, six percent Grenache and the rest Viognier, and grapes are sourced from the estate vineyards Eleven Confession (all Grenache plus some Syrah) in Santa Rita Hills and Cumulus Vineyards in Ventura County, as well as from Bien Nacido Vineyard (last vintage) in Santa Maria Valley and Whitehawk Vineyard in Los Alamos. They were harvested from 24.0 to 28.4 Brix, and 97 percent av the grapes were destemmed before they were fermented. The wines was then kept in French oak barrels, around 40 percent new and the rest up to four years old, up to 26 months. In this vintage, the alcohol level reached 15.4 percent. A total of 7 920 bottles and 180 magnums were made.
”This was the first of four consecutive vintages, and we didn’t harvest until November 24”, Manfred says. The extra long hang time resulted in a high phenol ripeness, but not overly high sugars, therefore Manfred was vary happy about this harvest. ”However, it will take some years before it start to show it true potential”, he adds. 

Like all young wines from Sine Qua Non, this is compact and full of flavors, and even though there’s abundant of richness of blackberries, blueberries, dark cherries and even toffee, there’s something quite elegant over the nose. It’s not as impressive as some other vintages shown at this stage, but it’s rather av kind fresh elegance to it. Plus, I must say, some sweet and slightly spicy oak notes. On the palate it’s full bodied and rich, initially with some warmth from the alcohol, but giving it half an hour in a decanter, a more elegant structure reveals, and then the alcohol seems to soften a bit. Again, it’s not a powerful wine in that sense warmer and riper vintages are, still there’s a serious structure of tannins to balance the ripe fruit and make the finish totally dry. There’s a fine silky texture and a long finish, but also a youthful wildness that lead me to the conclusion that this wine needs several years in the bottle before it reach its very best balance and drinkability. And patience is always rewarding when it comes to the wines from Sine Qua Non.
Drink it over the next 5-18 years

2007 Labels / 96-97 p

In this vintage, the blend was made up by 89 percent Syrah, seven percent Grenache and the rest Viognier. Grapes were predominately harvested in the two estate vineyards Eleven Confession in Santa Rita Hills and Cumulus Vineyard in Ventura County, but 17 percent of all Syrah came from Bien Nacido Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley, en the same amount from the great Whitehawk Vineyard in Los Alamos. The wine spent 22 months in French oak barrels, of which 65 percent were new. The alcohol level is 15.3 percent.
”I really like the 2006 vintage, my wines are rich without being exuberant or too concentrated”, Manfred says.

If 2006 Raven was a bit difficult to judge at this young stage, the 2007 Labels is in the same position. They are also quite similar, with a mind blowing richness with abundant of perfectly ripe fruit flavors, yet so restrained and structured. It sounds like a contradiction, but that’s the way these wines are. The nose offers super ripe blueberries, almost like the finest confiture as well as crème de cassis, and it’s mostly about all those charming primary aromas.
With some aeration, some complexity showed, but it took almost 5-6 hours in the decanter before the wine really opened up and showed white pepper, violets and some sweet and spicy notes from the barrels. On the palate it’s ripe, voluptuous, there’s a slight bitterness from the oak and perhaps also from the stems, but it’s almost totally covered up by the richness. Overall it’s an impressive wine that’s far too young to even taste today. I’ll keep my bottles at least three to four more years before I touch them – Labels is a wine for the future.
Drink it over the next 5-20 years

2006 Raven / 97 p

The Raven is made of 93 percent Syrah, five percent Grenache and just two percent Viognier, most of the grapes from the estste vineyard Eleven Confession in Santa Rita Hills. The wine spent 21 months in almost all new French oak barrels, but some of them were larger, 600 liters. This very good vintage, the alcohol reached 15.3 percent.

From a stylistic point of view, Manfred think of 2006 Raven as something inbetween 2002 Papa and 2004 Poker Face, without being as concentrated as the latter.
It’s always hard to find the most elegant nuances in a young powerful wine like Raven, but already in at just one sniff, the greatness in it reveals. And that’s what I very often find in the wines from Sine Qua Non, an unlike most winemakers, Manfred has the talent to craft huge wines and blend them in a way where the richeness and concentration doesn’t end up in overwhelming wines. He is the master in maximizing power and new expensive oak barrels and still stay in balance.
Again aeration is nessicary for this young wine, and then a very fine note of white pepper and ink as well as a slight vegetal fragrance (from the stems) and notes of violts and aloe vera rises throught the compact fruit. On the palate, it's full bodied with an almost viscous texture, packed with ripe fruit and still so rich in its primary fruit flavors that I recommend a few more years of bottle age before it's opened. The tannins are important but well in balance, therefore almost silky. Complexity is not in my tasting notes of today, but I guess it will come in the coming years.
Drink it over the next 5-20 years

2005 Atlantis 1 Fe₂O₃ / 97-98 p

In this vintage, the blend was made of 93 percent Syrah (around 40 percent from Eleven Confession, almost 30 percent from Whitehawk Vineyard, some 20 percent from Alban Vineyard in Edna Valley, and the rest from Bien Nacido Vineyard), five percent Grenache from Eleven Confession and just two percent Viognier. Around 25 percent of the clusters were kept whole under the fermentation, and the maceration stretched over 17 days. Two thirds new French oak were used, the rest was used French but also a few American oak barrels. The ageing lasted for 22 months. Alcohol level reached 15.7 percent.
This was the first vintage Manfred decided to use three different labels for his wines. ”It is great fun to see how surprised people are when they unwrap the paper the bottles are wrapped in”, he says and laughs.

Although this wine is just a baby, one can clearly see the greatness in it. It’s packed with ripe, slightly sweetish and dense dark fruit flavors (cherries, blueberries and cassis), but there’s also cooler scents of crushed white pepper as well as a spicy touch of the stems, and a touch of new oak. The concentration is obvious, but even though the aromas and flavors are so intense, the wine is actually quite closed. This is more obvious when decanting the wine and one realize that it takes more than 5 hours in the decanter before it really starts to open up.
Man, this wine is really impressive, and its glycerol and silky fruitiness covers the huge but perfectly ripe tannic structure, hence giving the wine an almost velvety texture. At this youthful stage, there’s also a slight spiciness and bitterness from the stems, but that’s just fine.
Overall, there’s so much energy in the wine and taste seems to linger for minutes. As in so many wines from Sine Qua Non, it’s so impressive and good to drink already now. Knowing these wines from several tastings and vertical tastings like this one, I know that the real greatness will show with some more bottle age. The foresight for the most complex taste stretches at least 10-15 years from now. It may well be one of the classic vintages from Sine Qua Non.
Drink it over the next 5-18 years

2004 Poker Face / 98-99 p

In this warm vintage, 96 percent of the blend was Syrah, a third of that from the cooler Eleven Confession Vineyard in Santa Rita Hills and the rest from Whitehawk Vineyard, Bien Nacido Vineyard and Alban Vineyard. The 2.5 percent of Mourvèdre that added spiciness in the blend was sourced from Alta Mesa Vineyard, and the rest is 1.5 percent of Viognier. As always, all varieties and all vineyard blocks were vinified and kept separately throughout the 27 months of ageing in almost 90 percent new French oak (this vintage, 17 barrels made the cut into Poker Face). Alcohol level is 15.5 percent.

As the other young wines, this is almost opaque, unredeemed and massive fruit in a style which, oddly enough, also offers great elegance. Perhaps it is the small nuances of violets that makes the dark sweet cherry fruit so easygoing and, which I like so much, moves the focus from the youthful vanilla and smoky scents from the oak barrels. The nose is really remarkable.
The flavor is as concentrated of seductive cherry, sloe and raspberry fruit with the same elegant fragrance of violets and licorice, and both tannins and acidity gives the wine a serious backbone that promises a slowly evolving life that probably extends until 2025, at the very least. However, already today the superlatives are many, especially the remarkable balance between sheer power and seductive flavors, but with time more complexity will rise out of the dense primary fruit. The fresh acidity, which is so well integrated and balanced in the rich fruit, should not be underestimated - it will help giving the wine a long life. Poker Face is a great wine!

Drink it over the next 5-20 years

2003 Papa / 96 p

This lovely wine is made of 97 percent Syrah, two percent Mourvèdre and one percent Grenache. Grapes were sourced from Whitehawk Vineyard, Bien Nacido Vineyard, Alban Vineyard, the warmer Shadow Canyon Vineyard in San Luis Obispo County and Alta Mesa Vineyard, and for the first time also from the (now) 8.90 hectare estate vineyard Eleven Confession, planted in 2001 on a plateau above Arita Hills Vineyard (owned by Lafond Winery) in the southern part of Santa Rita Hills. The wine was matured in 90 percent new French oak barrels for 27 months, and as all wines from Sine Qua Non it was bottles without fining or filtration.
”I named this wine in honor of Matias Krankl, my dad, a very ordinary man who grew up in Czech Republic under poor circumstances – he left school after six years to work hard as an apprentice at a shoemaker, thereafter he worked even harder in the coal mines before he got a much safer job as a driver”, Manfred tells. ”Then he married a young and fantastic woman, and 22 years old, he became my father”, he adds.

Dense, youthfully purple and almost opaque, and almost equally massive in its aromas. When you try through the vintages from Sine Qua Non, you realize that Manfred Krankl is masterful in balancing the oak flavors, but in the younger vintages some sweetness, vanilla, slightly roasted and spicy oak flavors will be noted in the sweet and dense fruit. The concentration is huge with loads of ripe and lush fruit, and perfectly pure, in young vintages typically dark cherries, blueberries and blackberries as well as a dash of wild raspberries and a deliciously spicy violet note. Although the taste is so concentrated, full of ripe fruit, alcohol and glycerol to a very silky texture, there is enough of acidity, minerals and tannins to give the taste a great energy. It is not nearly mature and at its peak, not even five hours of decanting is enough to open up all the flavors. Two to three years of maturing would help.

Drink it over the next 2-18 years

2002 Just For The Love Of It / 99-100 p

This is one the best syrahs ever from Sine Qua Non, including the longer aged versions. It was made of 96 percent Syrah and two percent each of Grenache and Viognier. All grapes were sourced from Alban Vineyard in Edna Valley, Bien Nacido Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley, Stolpman Vineyard and White Hawk Vineyard in Santa Ynez Valley and just a little from Shadow Canyon Vineyard in San Luis Obispo County. Around 90 percent of the barrels were brand new, and all French. Alcohol level is 15.2 percent.
The name symbolizes the true passion and love for wine that so many – but not all – people show. ”The ones who live their lives from the heart”, Manfred says.

It has always been something special about this wine. When I tried a number of components from barrels at Sine Qua Non in 2003, I realized that Manfred Krankl with this vintage had placed himself on a level among the world's biggest stars. All barrel samples we tasted was outstanding, but Manfred said they lacked that greatness he looks for, and that he achieves by blending different grape varieties, batches of different vinification and from various vineyards. I thought of it then, by tasting several great components, as the finest wine made ​​in the modest shed in downtown Ventura.
The wine is young, still purple, deep and intense, and the nose is rich with a deliciously sweet yet tangy and fresh note of cherries, wild raspberries and strawberries, it is so rich, fruity and deep, as well as earthy and complex, that it almost resembles an astounding cuvée of the best parcelles in Chambertin Grand Cru, added the finest flavor that can come from a pure wine of Grenache. The taste is rich and almost explosive, yet so elegant and vivid in its fruit saturated and tangy style. The oak is perfectly well balanced. Again, I'm impressed by the magnificent balance between pure power and elegance that Manfred is so skilled in capturing.
There is really only one reason not to drink this wine today, and that is that it actually has the potential to evolve for many more years to come.
Drink it over the next 10-15 years

2001 Midnight Oil / 97-98 p

A blend of 96 percent Syrah, 2.5 percent Grenache and 1.5 percent Viognier from Bien Nacido Vineyard, Stolpman Vineyard, Alban Vineyard and Whitehawk Vineyard. Vinification is the same as for the other vintages with around 90 percent of the barrens new. Alcohol level this great vintage didn’t jump over 15 percent, it was ”just” 14.9 percent. The production this year was 950 cases of six bottles.

Ten years old, still young and totally vital! The aroma is open and intense, well stuffed with sun ripe dark berries, blueberries and plums, but also with a really nice touch of lavender and licorice. Compared to the older vintages, one may find traces of the oak barrels in which the wine was brought up, but not more than a shadow of vanilla and grilled bacon (that note disappears after half an hour in the decanter, and instead all focus is set on the magnificent fruit). The flavor is equally intense and deliciously fruity, still quite marked by its tannins and good acidity, which gives a vibrant energy. This oil is one of the finest lubricants Manfred Krankl has given his wine quenching crowd of supporters. Despite the youth, it's absolutely good to drink now, but with a few more years of ageing the balance will be a little more polished, and life from that date extends at least 15 years.

Drink it over the next 15 years

2000 In Flagrante / 96-98 p

In this millennium vintage the Syrah fraction was the lowest of Sine Qua Non wines ever, it was only 88 percent. The rest was ten percent Grenache and two percent Viognier. Grapes came from Alban Vineyard, Bien Nacido Vineyard, Whitehawk Vineyard and Stolpman Vineyard in Santa Ynez Valley. The juice was fermented in stainless steel tanks and was then transferred into French barrels, only 72 percent new, for malolactic fermentation and 19 months of ageing. Again alcohol level stopped at 14.9 percent. A total of 725 cases of six were made of In Flagrante.

Deep, dark purple and still young, but with some deposit which reveals the wine wasn't filtered before bottling. The nose is dense, exuberant and massive with both cool scented and sun ripe and sweet fruit flavors, added with notes of liquorices and lavender, and even if the wine is young and so concentrated, there is also a more earthy hue that adds complexity. The body is still rich with somehow viscous fruit, glycerol and alcohol sweetness, and it took almost two hours of decanting before the aromas and flavors met each other in perfect harmony.
The wine is still young and unredeemed, but with aeration it opened up to a greater complexity with notes of air dried meet, charcuteries and white pepper, yet with the fruit in dominance. If absolute power and stylish elegance manage to find each other, they tend end up in a wine of this caliber. A few hours of aeration in a decanter is recommended, but rather should wine be mature in the bottle for a more few years.
Drink it over the next 10 years

1999 The Marauder / 97 p

One hundred percent Syrah, that’s the deal for the Marauder, and this is the only single Syrah wine made here at Sine Qua Non, ever. Around 40 percent of the grapes came from Alban Vineyard, 36 percent from Bien Nacido Vineyard and 24 percent from Stolpman Vineyard. Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks and the wine was then transferred into brand new French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation and 17 months of ageing on its lees. ”My racking regime is all depending on each barrel, some barrels will remain unracked, some will be racked one time, others two or even three times”, Manfred says. Alcohol level is 14.9 percent. Only 1 998 bottles was made!

At first this was wine was a bit shy, although the dark and still slightly youthful purple color gives the impression that the wine still should be considered to be a young wine (except the fine sediment that revealed some bottle age). The nose is just lovely, after just some aeration absolutely delicious with both primary fruit aromas (sweet black currants, cherries and sun ripe blackberries) and more complex earthy, spicy and floral (violets) notes. To this, a fine acidity and a good grip of firm but ripe and to a certain extent also matured tannins are added.
Like so many 1999s, this wine shows that the vintage wine is superb and still not yet near to step into full maturity. One or two addition years in the cellar is a good thing, primarily to polish the tannins a bit more, and it will keep well until shortly after its twentieth anniversary.

Drink it over the next 10 years

1998 E-raised / 96-97 p

In this vintage, the cuvée was made of approximately 95 percent Syrah, five percent of Grenache and just a splash of Viognier. The grapes came from Alban Vineyard, Bien Nacido Vineyard and Stolpman Vineyard. The wine was aged in all new French oak barrels for around 20 months, and it was bottled without fining or filtration. In this cooler El Niño vintage, alcohol only reached 14.0 percent.
E? Well, that’s Elaine, Manfred’s charming wife. ”Without whom Sine Qua Non wouldn’t have been flying”, Manfred says.

Thanks to the cool growing season of 1998, this wine has a lively acidity that creates a beautiful and life giving structure. The fruit is brighter, still raspberry like and floral, and in fact almost unrelieved which gives the wine a great elegance, and makes it a little different than most vintages in the lineup. A delicious spicy note of fennel and liquorices root adds complexity. Due to the lighter body, some alcohol warmth is noted, but overall the wine is very elegant and lively. As in all vintages with just some age, the feeling of oak almost non-existent, and with aeration the red fruit flavors was lifted. In the aftertaste it offers an even sweeter, more lush and refined flavor of wild raspberries. Purely in terms of aromas, the E-raised could be seen as a hybrid between high quality burgundies and stylish wine of Grenache from southern France. The 1998 vintage is generally described as weak, or even bad for red wines in California, but in this particular case the wine has developed into a elegant, aromatic and well structured wine!
Drink it over the next 6-8 years

1997 Imposter McCoy / 93 p

Again, Alban Vineyard, Bien Nacido Vineyard and Stolpman Vineyard were the source of the 95 percent of Syrah and five percent of Grenache that made up this vintage. Yields was very small this vintage, and the production was around 2 900 bottles. Alcohol level is 14.9 percent.

This vintage is usually hailed as excellent and even phenomenal in Napa Valley and Sonoma, but down in Santa Barbara 1997 was one of the most difficult vintages in living memory. As in northern California it was hot, and the yields was unusually large, resulting in wines that are both a bit lighter and more fast maturing. This is evident in this wine, which certainly starts great with fine primary fruit aromas, and it even opened up a bit in the glass with some air, however it started to fade a little after a while - and even if the wine landed at a level that in other contexts might be described as really good, 1997 is one of the few weaker cards in the line up from Sine Qua Non. The fruit is a bit sweet, reminiscent of cherry liqueur with notes of blueberries and blackberries, much like a wine from Priorat in Spain, but with air it starts to dry out and thus that roughness becomes somewhat more austere than the other wines. Yet there has enough interesting flavors to the wine to be really good. There are similarities with the great wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which has reached a kind of lap time in their lives. Drink now and until 2015, or something like that.

Drink it over the next 8 years

1996 Against The Wall / 97 p

”This was a very tuff year for us, we really felt we were pushed against the wall, hence the name of this wine”, Manfred says. It is a blend of 92 percent Syrah from Alban Vineyard, Bien Nacido Vineyard and Stolpman Vineyard, and eight percent Grenache from Stolpman Vineyard. After fermentation, as always with the indigenous yeast, the wine was racked into new French and (some) American oak barrels for malolactic fermentation and ageing for 19 months.  Alcohol level is 14.5 percent. The production this year was 3 576 bottles.

The color reveals a slight nuance of maturity, still it is quite dense and yet with a deep, almost purple core. The nose is equally intense, developed in a way that many wine tasters usually describe as Bordeaux like, but there is still a sufficient power and youthful intensity in the fruit, which is both dark and a bit primary sweetish. This leads to the conclusion that this vintage has more to offer in the coming years. Nuances of fennel and licorice adds some complexity. Tannins are vital but mature and almost silky, thanks to the quite rich and slightly sweet fruit flavors and lively acidity, the aftertaste lingers for a minute or so, contributing to  finesse. This is an extremely elegant wine which initially felt almost grenache like in its seductive fruit flavors, but with aeration it develops into a greater finesse. Although a very good wine indeed, I don't believe it will evolve into something much more complex with further ageing.

Drink it over the next 4-5 years

1995 The Other Hand / 94 p

During the 90s, a lot of things changed in California. One thing was the transition from more classic styled wines into riper and fuller bodied wines with higher alcohol. Therefore, I’m not surprised to see that the 1995 vintage from Sine Qua Non only have 13.5 percent alcohol. The blend this year, the second vintage for Sine Qua Non, was 94 percent Syrah and six percent Grenache from Alban Vineyard, Bien Nacido Vineyard and Stolpman Vineyard. The wine was aged in 70 percent new barrels, alls French, for 18 months. A total of 2 100 bottles was made and they was sold in cases of five with one bottle of the grenache.

The color still shows small traces of purple, almost as if the wine is young. The nose is great, intense rather than powerful and still fruit driven with notes of both sweeter dark berries and aromatic red fruits. With some air a more mature side starts to show, with complex secondary and earthy aromas of sous bois, cedar tree and tobacco. An almost fennel like spiciness and a floral nuance is still there to create excitement. The taste is medium full with dark fruit flavors and notes of violets, the tannins are ripe but still adds some resistance in the rich and slightly viscous mouth feeling, but giving the wine more aeration the age starts to show in the aftertaste, which now begins to show some signs of drying out. I'd love to find another bottle so drink again, then just decanted prior to serving it, just because it is so complex.
Drink it over the next 4-5 years

White power from Sine-Qua-Non

Sine Qua Non is much more famous for their stunning reds of Grenache and Syrah, than their whites. A reason for that is that the reds are slightly better and more complex, another that the production of the whites is much smaller, hence the rarity to find them. However, the reds are not more impressive than the whites – the latter are wines of great power and intensity, wines with as much personality as concentration, depth and length. These are not wines for those who seeks finnesse and fine tuned fragrance. These wines are true power, yet with elegance.

While Manfred Krankl crafts his reds from either Grenache or Syrah with small proportions of the other, the cuvée of the whites is more various. The blend may be based on Roussanne (most of the times) or Chardonnay, but there’s almost always an important fraction of Viognier to add floral notes and spiciness to the blend. Every vintage will be different, and the spectrum of flavors and texture is much more various from vintage to vintage, compared to the evenness of the reds, if one compares several vintages of those. Grapes are mostly sourced from Alban Vineyard in Edna Valley, a great source of white Rhône varieties, and the juice is always fermented in new French oak barrels. One thing that surprises, is that Californian whites normally is at its best when served at around 12 degrees, but in the case of the Sine Qua Non whites, I’ve often noticed that they benefit from decanting (2-3 hours) and a serving temperature of 14-16 degrees.

2006 The Hoodoo Man / 93-94 p

This cuvée, 39 percent of Roussanne and the rest to me an unknown blend of Chardonnay and Viognier, is golden straw, and since not filtered, slightly hazy. As all white SQN’s, this one is ripe and very intense with lovely floral notes (violets and lilies, and lavender) as well as a licorice spiciness, vanilla sweetness and slightly roasted notes from the oak. I most cases, I find the oak to be too loud, but thanks to the intensity, it’s pretty well integrated here. On the palate, it’s full bodied and fruit forward, slightly sweet at first, but with a lovely acidity that lingers longer than the sweetness last, but in the long finish there’s a bit too warm alcohol that lower the score a bit. Still, it’s a delicious wine with a great personality and a very long taste with notes of sweet lemon and flowers. When served, at first it was more sweet and powerful than elegant, but after two hours in the decanter, it really showed just great! A serving temperature at around 14 degrees is recommended, but after tasting the wine five hours after it was decanted, it tastes just great at 18 degrees! I suppose this tells me the wine will benefit from another year or two in the bottle. Drink it 2011-2016.

2003 Sublime Isolation / 93 p

All grapes in this cuvée, 44 percent Chardonnay with 37 percent Roussanne and 19 percent Viognier, were sourced from the great Alban Vineyard in Edna Valley. I’ve tasted it several times before, and always liked it because it richness and honey notes, but even though the fine notes of violets, I noted this time that the oak was a bit more present than last time. Yes, it may depend on the bottle – this one may have been kept a bit warmer and therefore matured a bit quicker. At least the small note of yellow apples tells me so. Still there are enough floral notes to add elegance, and given the fact that it evolved just fine with four hours in the decanter, it’s not in any way over the top. It’s just the vintage that’s a bit more rustic than the 2006 tasted the same time. On the palate, it ripe and rich, loaded with sweet citrus notes and honey flavor, the acidity is lively and surprisingly fresh (especially after the initial sweetness has faded away after decanting), and there’s also an almost tannic sensation in the long, lingering aftertaste. I actually liked more after some hours of air, than directly from the bottle. Serve it at 12-16 degrees, depending on your tolerance for temperatures and power. Drink it 2011-2014.

1997 Twisted & Bent / 88 p?

Well, to be honest, this wine is on its way down, for sure. Still I kind of liked it, especially when it was served with rich food, which balanced its fully mature flavors and covered most of its slight oxidation. The wine was made of 60 percent Roussanne from Alban Vineyard in Edna Valley and 40 percent of Chardonnay, as always fermented in French oak barrels and bottles without being filtered. Color is deep straw towards golden, but it didn’t look too matured. On the nose, it shows maturity, honey and yellow apples as well as a slight nutty and almost smoky note is there, but all this is in balance, not on the edge of being too much. Actually, I was a very surprised over how well the wine kept in the glass, even two hours after pouring it! To me, that shows the wine, if not having more to offer, at least may keep another year or so. On the palate, it was at first rich and glycerol textured, still dry and very complex in a way that was a bit “Bâtard-Montrachet-like”, but with sweeter fruit and higher alcohol, and it also showed an almost tannin like structure. It’s quite honey like in the long, lingering and dry finish, and I have to tell it’s quite delicious as well. Drink it 2011-2012.

2004 The Rejuvenators from Sine-Qua-Non

Manfred Krankl doesn’t need any further presentation. His winery, his wines and his philosophy are well known, still there’s a lot of mysticism around him and his wines, kind of a cult. More and more, his focus has moved into the Grenache grape, still Syrah is his kingdom. Pinot Noir was given up some years ago, and since a few years, after the pass away of the noble sweet wine man Alois Kracher, there will be no more commercialized sweet whites. Sadly, in both cases. Also, the production of the fabulous whites has decreased significantly over the years, so every drop of the full bodied, intense, sweet scented but dry and complex extraordinary whites of Manfred Krankl will be rare. I just wished I could convince Manfred to keep on making more of his whites, I just love them!

2004 The Rejuvenators / 95 p
In this vintage, Manfred made his white wine cuvée of approximately 55 percent Roussanne, 25 percent Viognier and 20 percent Chardonnay, all grapes sourced from Alban Vineyard in Edna Valley and his own Eleven Confession Vineyard in Santa Rita Hills. Both sites are quite cool, which to a certain extent explains the freshness. Color is bright and golden straw, the nose intense and deep with notes of ripe tropical fruits, sweet lemon, vanilla (from the oak) and white flowers such as lilies. After four hours in the decanter, the sweeter aromas that I initially noted had faded away and evolved into more complex and sophisticated notes. On the palate, there’s abundant of fruit flavors to start with, but there’s also enough acidity to give the wine a very fine balance, sweetness or not, high and warm alcohol notes or not. The magic think about this heavy weight white, is that whatever power and depths it offers, there’s also a great portion of finesse to make the wine extremely well balanced, and the finish is phenomenal and lingers for a minute of two with a lovely licorice and bittersweet lemon touch in the very finish. I recommend decanting it at least one to two hours before serving it, and serving it at around 12-14 degrees Celsius.
Drink it 2010-2016.

True love from Sine-Qua-Non

I remember tasting through the barrels of syrahs and grenaches with Manfred Krankl in 2000. To taste with Manfred is always one of the highlights of my trips in Central Coast. Most of the winemakers I meet are of course very passionate about their wines and all there is to know and talk about from the birth of the grapes until the wine is bottled and its life after that. So is Manfred Krankl too, but even more!

Although the wines from Sine-Qua-Non are never shy, Manfred himself is surprisingly modest when talking about his wines. One quite interesting detail in his strictly focused ambition is to taste all wines blind (even the barrel samples) to be completely free in his mind and never favor any vineyard source, particular lot or clone. Therefore all barrels are given fantasy names instead of the usual information regarding grape variety, clone and vineyard or even block source (so does his former winemaker Maggie Harrison at her great winery Antica Terra in Oregon).
During the tasting in 2000, we came to a few barrels I thought were so great that I had to ask Manfred if they were to be bottled separately (they came from Alban Vineyard and White Hawk Vineyard). He told me he was of course quite happy with these wines, but that they were not complete on their own. He compared each barrel with a singular instrument – only when you put them together, there will be an orchestra. Even though many of the single barrels at Sine-Qua-Non seems to be almost perfect – at least, that’s my impression after all the barrel tastings I’ve done with Manfred Krankl over the years – it’s in the blend the last part of the magic is created. Thus the Sine-Qua-Non wines are always blends from multiple sources, and therefore carry the entry level designation of just “California”.
The result of the blending from the barrels I tasted in 2000, ended up in the 2002 Just For The Love Of It. For me, this wine was love at first sight, and has always been a benchmark for my dedication and love of Sine-Qua-Non.

2002 Just For The Love Of It / 98-100 p
This vintage, the final blend was 96% Syrah and two percent each of Mourvèdre och Viognier, and they were sourced from (almost equal parts) Alban Vineyard in Edna Valley, Bien Nacido Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley and Stolpman Vineyard in Santa Ynez Valley, with small amounts from the magnificent White Hawk Vineyard (that I fell in love with) and Shadow Canyon.
I’ve tasted this wine on several occasions over the years, and a part from the bottles I’ve poured at my house they’ve all been tasted blind. I most of the cases, I gave the wine a perfect 100 point score, in some cases 98 or 99 points, hence the spread of score above. From being a very dense, lush, ripe and slightly spicy wine in its early years, still with a tremendous finesse, it has now turned into a more complex and silky wine. Still it offers the intensity it used to, it’s loaded with ripe and dark fruit, but it seems to be less "sweet" today. The lovely notes of violets I found in the young wine are still here, as well as sweet notes of expensive oak barrels (they have always been well integrated). On the palate, its ripe och silky, intense and with just some warmth of the alcohol which doesn’t disturb me at all since the taste is so rich and lingering. There is still enough glycerol to give the wine that seductive, silky and just lovely texture, and somewhere inside all of the good stuff this wine offers, the first notes of secondary aromas are beginning to speak. When I compare my tasting notes over the years, I’ve noticed one common thing that’s worth mention … give the wine air before enjoying it, at least 30-40 minutes in a decanter.
Drink it 2010-2018.

Atlantis wines from Sine-Qua-Non

Having tasted the wines from Sine-Qua-Non on a regular basis over the last ten to twelve years, I have noticed that the grenaches have improved significantly. From early 2000s, there’s more finesse to be found in the all of the wines from Sine-Qua-Non, and from 2007, I would say the syrahs and the grenaches are at the same level (until just a few years ago, Syrah var superior).

Manfred Krankl utilizes the same techniques for both Grenache and Syrah. In both cases, a great amount of whole clusters are used, and vinification is carried out in small open top fermenters with, depending of grape variety, vineyard source and vintage, a cuvaison that stretches from ten to 18 days. During that time, both pigeage and remontage are done for extraction. After alcoholic fermentation, the wines are moved into oak barrels, normally 50 percent to two thirds brand new and the rest are one to three years old. To some 90 percent, the barrels are made of French oak, but Manfred uses up to ten percent of American oak to add some flavor to the wines. Malolactic fermentation always takes place in oak, and during the almost two years long ageing, the wines are only racked twice. Before bottling, Manfred uses to egg whites per barrel to clarify the wine, but there is no filtration.
Even though the concentration is massive, over the years more finesse have been captured in these wines. It’s not easy to understand how a dens wine like a syrah from Sine-Qua-Non can be described as transparent, because they are not if you compare them with a red burgundy, but still they have what normally is described as terroir – a sense of place! One explanation is how Manfred sources the grapes, the vineyard sites he works with today are cooler than in the 90s. Another may be the age of the vines. The dedication of Manfred – to every single detail from vine to bottle – is still the same. And I guess that’s the overall most important factor.

2005 Atlantis Fe2O3 Grenache / 96-97 p
At first, before I tasted the wine, just put my nose in the glass, I thought I was on a very high level at a more modernly influenced estate in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This wine is loaded with ripe, sweet cherries, blackberries and raspberries and there is also delicious spicy notes, very typical Grenache, but also found in other local grapes in the south parts of France, and even Spain. But I didn’t stay in either Châteauneuf-du-Pape or Languedoc, or even Spain, too long, for three specific reasons, 1) this wine didn’t have the mineral notes so often found in wines from soils rich in limestone, in France. for instance, and 2) it didn’t have the young, often very marked tannic structure found in the wines from Priorat, and 3) it was too great and powerful to be any of the finest Grenache based wines I have tasted so many times in other parts of Spain. Therefore it was California, and if so, only one producer to make this kind of wine is Sine-Qua-Non.
Although the tannins are firm and youthful, they are covered with the ripe lush fruit and glycerol, therefore the texture is smoth and silky. At this young stage, oak is of course present, but more with some sweetness on the nose and just a slight bitterness in the lingering aftertaste. It’s still very young and needs a lot of air – as with the syrahs, I’d recommend at least one hour in a decanter.
This vintage, the wine consists of 93 percent Grenache from Eleven Confession in Santa Rita Hills (which gives the most elegant fraction of the wine) and Alban Vineyards in Edna Valley, and just seven percent Syrah from the estate vineyard Eleven Confession. This year, Grenache wasn’t harvested until November 7, and approximately 50 percent of the clusters were not destemmed. The wine was kept in French oak barrels, 54 percent new, during 22 months.
Drink it 2010-2020.

2005 Atlantis Fe2O3 Syrah / 100 p
This vintage, the blend was 93 percent Syrah, five percent Grenache (only from the estate vineyard Eleven Confession in Santa Rita Hills) and two percent Viognier. Most of the grapes came from Eleven Confession, which explains the cool scented fruitiness, slightly more than a quarter came from ungrafted vines in the excellent White Hawk Vineyard, and there is still some 20 percent coming from Alban Vineyard in Edna Valley, as well as a small fraction from Bien Nacido Vineyard. What might be surprising, knowing that 75 percent of the clusters were not destemmed, is that there is just a slight fragrance of the stems on the nose. Today, that note adds to the complexity, and it will of course fade away over the coming years and be replaced with more seductive secondary aromas. So will the slightly sweetish oak flavor, which is easy to detect today but still amazingly well absorbed and integrated.
This is of course still a very young wine, dark and dense and as always with the Sine-Qua-Non wine with that almost magical balance between pure power and great finesse. Even if it’s so young, there are layers of dark fruit, some earthy qualities and a delicious touch of licorice, fennel and white pepper, which reflects both the personality of the grapes, and their birthplace. There are not very many wines on this planet that taste like the syrahs from Sine-Qua-Non (the wines from John Alban are close, as of the three premium selections of Côte-Rôtie from Guigal, particularly La Mouline, but in riper years such as 2003, even La Landonne and La Turque). A month ago, the 2005 Atlantis Syrah outclassed the 2003 Côte-Rôtie La Turque in a blind tasting among a dozen wine collectors and connoisseurs – and this was not the first time.
I’ve had this wine on several occasions, blind of course, and one thing that always amazes me, is the length of the aftertaste, and the silky texture. And even though the alcohol touched 15.7 percent, I have never written anything about it – other than a slight touch of warmth in the aftertaste. This is truly a world class wine!
Drink it 2010-2025.

Seduced by 2001 Sine-Qua-Non

Manfred Krankl is a magician. Few winemakers in the world are able to stuff as much flavors in a bottle of wine, and still make it taste delicious and even elegant. His preference is cooler sites in foremost Santa Barbara County and San Luis Obispo (Alban Vineyard in Edna Valley has always been an important source of grapes), but today his wines are almost all estate grown. Selection of grapes is a crucial key, and I actually believe Manfred when he tells me that he looks at every single grape before throwing them in the fermentation bin.
A few days of cold soak, small fermentation vessels, all natural yeast, manual pigeage and high fermentation temperatures are part of the practices, but Manfred claims there is no such thing as a recipe. Every single batch is a specific wine, and every single barrel live its own life until the very crucial blending session, almost two years after harvest. “I don’t want to be too intellectual about my winemaking”, he says, but still he is one of the most intellectual and philosophical winemakers on this planet.
Today Sine-Qua-Non is predominantly a Grenache and Syrah winery (small amounts of whites, and a few barrels of sweets wines are made every year), and production hits around 3 000 cases per year.

2001 Ventriloquist / 95 p
The 2001 vintage of the Sine-Qua-Non grenache bottling consists of 95 per cent Grenache and five per cent Syrah. As always, the two grapes are vinified separately, and both the grapes and each vineyard lot are kept apart in French oak barrels (50 per cent brand new) until time for final blend. At first, the nose was a bit closed, and it took almost 30-40 minutes before anything happened. As expected, the fruit is rich and dense with sweet and ripe flavors of baked plums, cherries and raspberries, and also the signature licorice notes of Grenache comes forward on the palate, especially in the long, silky and great aftertaste. Since Grenache doesn’t give long lasting wines, you can expect this wine to show some secondary flavors, but the wine is still surprisingly youthful and even fresh. The sweetness and tannins from the oak, seems to have disappeared, but the silky texture of the oak treatment is still there. It is a wonderful wine with a seductive and lingering aftertaste, and I do recommend a good half hour in a decanter before enjoying it. Drink it 2010-2016.

2001 Midnight Oil / 96 p
Over the years, I have enjoyed many bottles of this great syrah, and it keeps on evolving in an amazing way. It’s a pure Syrah from the great, relatively cool Bien Nacido Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley, and it has been stored in French oak barrels, two thirds brand new, for 24 months, and as with all wines from Sine-Qua-Non, the wine was bottled unfiled and unfiltered. Today the wine still shows a wide range of its primary aromas, dark berries such as blackberries, but also with some spiciness (primarily black pepper, but also some licorice and tar), and a slightly toasty note from the barrels. It’s young and quite firm, and really need some time in the decanter before opening up, and this is also the way do handle the wine to get all the quality flavors out of the wine. Tannins are still firm, but as expected from the to the smallest details concept Manfred Krankl follows, the tannins are ripe and offers a great structure that is needed in a wine with this concentration. Drink it 2010-2021.

Sweet kisses from Sine-Qua-Non

I adore Sine-Qua-Non, and I admire the hard work and focus for details owner and winemaker Manfred Krankl puts into his handcraft. However, there are some sad things about Sine-Qua-Non. One is that Manfred decided to reduce production of his white wines, to give more focus on his outstanding wines of Grenache and Syrah. The other is that he decided to end his small but highly exciting production of sweet wines. The reason is the death of his friend and partner in sweet wines, the great Alois Kracher of Austria. However, tiny amounts of sweet wines (one or two barrels per year) are still made, but not in a commercial scale – if anything from this ultra cult winery could be considered to be of commercial volumes.

2005 Mr K The Noble Man / 96 p
This is a very late harvest wine made entirely from Chardonnay grapes in Santa Barbara. The juice is fermented in brand new French oak barrels, but alcohol only reached a level of 12.1% in this case. Color is golden, quite deep and brilliant, and the nose is almost overwhelming with the same intensity you normally find in the Aszú Essencia of Tokaj, or high end passito whites from Italy. There is loads of ripe peaches, sundried apricots, sweet tropical fruits such as pineapple and mango, as well as orange blossom honey on the palate, but only a small fragment of the oak. On the palate, it’s full bodied, ripe and intense with a rich sweetness that gives the wine a silky texture and viscosity, and there is just enough acidity to make this compote well balanced. Again, the oak is just there – like a ghost in a haunted castle, and you’ll hardly see it. This is pure nectar. Drink it 2010-2015.