Sine Qua Non > California

The intense, distinctive wines of Elaine and Manfred Krankl are highly sought after for good reason: they are some of the very best wines being produced in the United States. And though the wines are already of the highest quality and sell out quickly each vintage, the Krankls continue to strive to make improvements. For those who have had the pleasure (and luck) to taste these wines over the years, one can notice even more refinement and harmony in each new release.

Sine Qua Non was created after the 1994 harvest of a Bien Nacido Syrah which was named The Queen of Spades. Manfred feels strongly that each year, each vintage, is a completely unique wine and thus he gives each wine a unique name. He also creates the artwork for each new label himself. Previously, Manfred had made wines with Bryan Babcock and John Alban. The basic wines have always been a white blend of Chardonnay, Roussanne and Viognier and a red wine based on Syrah plus some Grenache. There are at times small quantities of Rose and a Grenache-based red. They also embarked on a fantastic project with the renowned winemaker Alois Kracher of Austria. The wines are called Mr. K and represent sweet wines made in the world's greatest styles: Eiswein, Vin de Paille and TBA.

Sine Qua Non has its own winemaking facility in Ventura, not far from the Santa Barbara vineyards where the fruit is sourced from the region's best vineyards. In the last few years Elaine and Manfred have begun creating their own vineyards dedicated to Rhone varietals and now their Cumulus and Eleven Confessions estate vineyards are contributing the majority of the fruit for their wines. 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 simplified explanation of a very dedicated and artistic approach to winemaking. The wines are at once very rich and elegant, superbly balanced and thoroughly harmonious with food, never overwhelming.

Labels Syrah

89% Syrah, 7% Grenache, 4% Viognier

Two thirds of the grapes were sourced from their estate vineyards with the addition from Bien Nacido and White Hawk.

The harvest occurs in numerous pickings beginning as early as September 3rd and finishing at the end of October. 95% of the lots were destemmed and fermented in small, open-top fermenters; 5% were whole-cluster fermented.

63% new french barrels, 37% neutral barrels, bottled unfiltered.

"a beautiful bouquet of graphite, spring flowers, blueberries, blackberries, and wood spice. It possesses fabulous fruit, layers of silky tannin, and good acidity – all seamlessly melded into the wine’s structure. Already delicious, it should put on weight and add additional nuances after bottling."

PARKER

Pictures Grenache

87% Grenache, 11.5% Syrah, 1.5% Viognier

96% of the grapes were sourced from the estate's Eleven Confessions Vineyard, the rest from Bien Nacido. Harvested in several passes at the last week of October. 20% whole-cluster fermented, all in open-top bins.

Manfred Krankl uses an interesting mix of barrel sizes to best express the Grenache fruit: 13% Hogs (300 liter), 40% Barriques (228 liter) & 47% Demi-Muids (600 liter). Bottled unfiltered.

"Its inky/purple color is followed by sweet kirsch, raspberry, pepper, spice, roasted herb, and licorice aromas. Full-bodied with beautiful richness, precision, and purity, this is another terrific effort already displaying tremendous aromatic presence as well as a freshness that is pure genius given the wine’s size and richness."

PARKER

The Noble Man

This is the Sauternes-style wine affected by noble rot (botrytis). Usually made of Chardonnay from the superb Alban Vineyard. Chardonnay has thin skins and is thus easily affected by botrytis.

11.2% Alcohol – 11 grams per liter of acidity – 25% Residual Sugar

The Straw Man

This is their Vin de Paille styled sweet wine. Semillon from the Brander Vineyard. The carefully-harvested clusters are air-dried for forty days. This wine is always the richest of the three. 4 tons of fruit yielded only 1500 half bottles which translates into 5.6 pounds of fruit for each half bottle produced. 10% Alcohol – 8.7 grams per liter of acidity – 37.1% Residual Sugar

The Ice Man

Gewurztraminer from the Babcock Vineyard. 12% Alcohol – 7.7 grams per liter of acidity – 25.7% Residual Sugar

Atlantis Fe203 Syrah

This cuvee is 95% Syrah, accompanied by the smallest hints of Grenache and Viognier, with most of the grapes coming from SQN's own Eleven Confessions Estate Vineyard. Reminiscent of the 2003 "Papa" and 2004 "Poker Face" yet still unique, the wine has all the character and interest one would expect from a wine bearing the SQN label.

The fruit is 75% destemmed and 25% whole cluster fermented with fermentation occurring in small, open top fermenters. Barrel aged in 64% new oak. Egg white fined but not filtered.

Atlantis Fe203 Grenache

Virtually all the fruit used in this bottling comes from SQN's own Eleven Confessions Estate Vineyard -- 93% Grenache and 7% Syrah, with the smallest bit of Syrah from Alban Vineyard. Half of the fruit was destemmed and the other half whole cluster fermented in small, open top bins. The wines are barrel-aged, 54% in new French oak. The wine is unfiltered, and fined only with egg whites. Dark, powerful and lovely, the Atlantis Fe203 Grenache is clearly a sibling of 2004's "Into The Dark", though it shows more forest floor and garrigue, and spritely Grenache fruit.

Raven Series Syrah 2006

93% Syrah, 5% Grenache, 2% Viognier

21 months in French oak barrels, most of them new.

As dark as a Raven, with aromas of black cherries and plums, as well as some graphite and underbrush.

Raven series Grenache 2006

90% Grenache, 10% Syrah

21 month in casks (25% of them demi-muids, 50% "hogs" -300 liters barrels- and the rest in barriques).

3/4 of the cuvee lot were destemmed and the rest was fermented whole-cluster.

Black and red cherry and darck chocolate character, both in the nose and on the palate. Broad and expansive but seamless and superbly slipper. Long and persistant, like a powerful Pinot, like Grenache "should be".