SINE QUA NON Syrah "Distenta IV"

WA: 94+

The 2022 Syrah Distenta IV contains 6% Grenache, 5% Petite Sirah, 3.3% Mourvèdre and a small amount of Petit Manseng and Muscat. It was aged 23 months in 56% new French oak and fermented with 31% whole clusters. The nose opens with weighty, smoldering, blue-fruited aromas with pleasantly lifted notes of fennel, anise and white pepper quickly building in intensity. The palate is plush, opulent and immensely extracted, wrapped in a suave, precise texture that gives way to a taut, inward finish that unfolds similarly to the nose. While I suspect this will gain additional depth and complexity after a year or two, the style of these wines makes their youthful hedonism quite tempting—and there will be more than enough of that to make this enjoyable from its release in January 2025 on.

VM: 96+

The 2022 Syrah Distenta IV is a potent, tightly wound wine. Interestingly, the Syrah is also much less accessible than the Grenache in this vintage. Readers will have to be patient with the Distenta IV as it is not all forthcoming, its notable textural richness notwithstanding. I tasted the 2022 from a sample prepared just prior to bottling. I expect the finished wine to be more giving. Dollops of Grenache, Petite Sirah, Mourvèdre, Muscat and Petit Manseng round out the blend. The last pick was on October 31.