Sine Qua Non

The soon-to-be-released 2006 A Shot in the Dark is composed of 96.5% Syrah and 3.5% Viognier from the 11 Confessions Vineyard in the cool Santa Rita Hills. Performing better from bottle than it did from barrel, this prodigious... Read More

The recently bottled 2020 Syrah Distenta 11 is a blend of 82.9% Syrah, 7.5% Grenache, 3.9% Mourvèdre, 3.4% Petite Sirah and 2.3% white grapes (1.5% Muskat and 0.8% Petit Manseng, to be precise). It comes entirely from estate... Read More

An extended barrel-aged release, the 2009 Syrah This Is Not An Exit is 100% from the Santa Rita Hills Eleven Confessions Vineyard and checks in as a blend of 80% Syrah, 12% Grenache, 7% Roussanne and 1% Viognier that saw 41.5... Read More

In addition to these new releases, I was also able to taste through a number of older vintages, including the 2001 Albino, 2006 Hoodoo Man, 2003 The Inaugural, 2004 Ode to E, 1998 E Raised, 2001 On Your Toes, 2005 Nail in My Cranium... Read More

After aging just nine months in 300-liter barrels, the 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape (a blend of 92% Mourvèdre, 5% Grenache and 3% Roussanne, from 50-year-old vines in La Crau) offers bold aromas of black cherries accented by... Read More

Deep garnet-purple in color, this wine has a very serious nose of game, fertile soil, crushed rocks and new leather over a wonderfully pure, well-defined core of crushed black cherries and ripe blackberries with wafts of unsmoked... Read More

More up-front and open-knit, the 2004 In the Dark (Grenache) checks in as a blend of 84% Grenache, 8% Mourvedre, 7% Syrah and 1% Viognier that comes mostly from Manfred’s 11 Confessions Vineyard, yet includes small portions... Read More

The 2009 Next of Kyn - No. 3 comes across as a mix of the 2007 and 2008, with the sensual richness of the former and the darker profile of the latter. Because of its impeccable balance, the 2009 is hugely rewarding today. Succulent... Read More

The opaque purple-black colored 2016 Cumulus Vineyard No. 10 is a breathtaking WOW wine, from start to finish. It strides confidently out of the glass with bold, profound scents of preserved plums, blackberry coulis, blueberry... Read More

This cuvée comes entirely from the Krankl’s “home” vineyard—the Cumulus vineyard in Oak View, just south and inland from Santa Barbara, on the road to Ojai. There are now just over 12.5 acres planted... Read More