2022 Sine Qua Non - Grenache Eleven Confessions (750ml)

Sine Qua Non is the work of Manfred and Elaine Krankl, who founded the label in 1994 and helped define California's Rhône Ranger movement. Nearly every wine gets its own name, bottle shape, and hand-drawn label, released in tiny, rarely repeated lots. Their Eleven Confessions Vineyard, planted in 2001 in the Sta. Rita Hills, has grown into the heart of the operation, with its own dedicated winery completed in recent years.

Eleven Confessions is planted mainly to Grenache and Syrah across 33 acres of heavy clay soil, one of the coolest, latest-ripening sites the Krankls farm, with harvest sometimes stretching into November. Yields rarely exceed a ton and a half per acre, concentrating flavor in every cluster. The 2022 Grenache, made almost entirely from this fruit, spent well over three years aging in French oak, a treatment reserved for the vineyard's most special bottlings.

Quite dark for a Grenache, the 2022 offers kirsch, sweet wild strawberry, and sandalwood over a base of leather and dried lavender. The palate is broad and supple, expanding steadily across the tongue with fine-grained, velvety tannins and a cool-toned sense of precision. Pour it with seared foie gras or a wild berry tart.