Sine Qua Non
About Sine Qua Non
There really is no winery quite like Sine Qua Non (means “something essential”). Manfred and Elaine Krankl followed in that noblest of Californian winery traditions in 1994, building one of the world's greatest estates from the ground up in Ventura County (Central Coast AVA). Founded from passion for the land and a relentless desire to produce simply the best wines that they could, Antonio Galloni (Vinous) declared that "the sheer drive for perfection and attention to detail at Sine Qua Non is something I have rarely witnessed anywhere else in the world".
Today, Sine Qua Non is probably the quintessential tiny production, cult winemaker, producing just 4,000 cases a year across a number of wines made from different vineyards. The huge global demand is based on the critical acclaim for almost the winery produces. It takes years to get onto the mailing list, and the wines almost never come back onto the market once purchased. Older vintages are occasionally sold at auction for stratospheric prices.
Sine Qua Nons' Wines
Manfred Krankl (an Austrian immigrant in California) and his wines break all the rules. There is no standard label, every wine is named differently (every year). There is no marketing. The wines are sold via mailing list and have grown via word of mouth (and critical acclaim). Even the grapes are different – predominantly Rhône Valley varietals like Syrah and Grenache.
| Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
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California | 1 | - | HK$41,390.00 | |||||
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The Eleven Confessions vineyard is a 33-acre plot located in the Santa Rita Hills AVA, which is widely known to be a cool climate region. True to their spirit of being non-conformists, the Krankls chose to focus primarily on Rhône varietals, dedicating 22 aces to Syrah, Grenache and some Rhône whites - while leaving the remaining 11 acres to Pinot Noir planted by the former ranch owner. The cool climate allows a longer hang-time for the grapes to develop full phenolic ripeness. Also, the Krankls kept yields very low, resulting in the phenomenal concentration that their wines are well-known for.
Made of a blend of approximately 97% Syrah with Roussane and Viognier completing the blend, the 2011 Syrah Patine earned a massive 98 points from Jeb Dunnuck and 96 pointsfrom Antonio Galloni, delivering “Guigal La Landonne like aromas and flavors of graphite, sweet oak, smoked meats, pepper and black raspberry and cassis-like fruit " (Dunnuck). Galloni finds “mocha, plums, violets, bittersweet chocolate and dark spice” from this “deep, powerful and intense” wine that he thinks will drink well out to 2035. |
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California | 1 | - | HK$9,245.00 | |||||
