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Syrah Dark Blossom 2011 150cl

Central Coast | California | United States of America
CHF 1’145.85

All vintages

2011
Critics scores
99 Robert Parker
The 2011 Syrah Dark Blossom showed even better from bottle than barrel. A blend of 84% Syrah, 8% Grenache, 4% Petite Sirah and the rest Roussanne and Petite Manseng, this beauty was fermented with 17% whole clusters and aged in equal parts new and used French oak. One of the shining successes in the vintage, it’s a full-bodied, concentrated and layered Syrah that has awesome aromatics of blackcurrants, Peking duck, pepper, licorice and charcuterie in its seamless, thrillingly pure profile. As with Manfred’s other 2011s, the tannins are certainly present, yet they’re sweet, polished and have no hard edges. Give this beauty 2-3 years in the cellar and enjoy bottles through 2031. These latest releases from Sine Qua Non and Next of Kyn are at the pinnacle of wine, and it’s simply impossible to taste through these and not be blown away. While I think the star of the show at the moment is the 2010 vintage, the 2011s aren’t far behind, and the 2012s should rival them as well. In addition, to give you an idea how these wines age, don’t miss the recent 2004 retrospective on these wines that was published at eRobertParker.com. We finished the tasting with Manfred’s Next of Kyn releases, and these are the strongest set of wines yet to come out under this label. The focus here is exclusively on his estate Cumulus Vineyard planted around the estate in Oakview. Tel. (805) 649-8901; www.sinequanon.com
Producer
Sine Qua Non
Sine Qua Non is arguably the most “culty” producer of California. Extremely rare, their wines are micro-produced with sometimes only a few barrels made, not to mention they have a waiting list to even buy their wines. But perhaps more importantly, this domaine is owned by iconoclastic Austrian artist and restauranteur, Manfred Krakl. Krakl launched this domaine with his wife, Elaine in 1994 in Ventura, California, a town that lies an hour north of Los Angeles. Each wine has a story, a different name and its own and, needless to say, quirky label, each created by Manfred himself. Such unique cuvée names have included “Esto No Es una Salida” with an accompanying English version, “This Is Not an Exit” as well as “The Hoodoo Man”, “Poker Face" and “The Hussy”. He is known as a “Rhône Ranger”, meaning that he forms part of a group of Californian wine producers that have embraced Rhône varieties such as Syrah (his most famous varietal), Grenache, Roussanne and Viognier. His singular wines, most notably his reds, have ratings that are almost off the charts, and regularly receive scores of 98 points or over. These are incredible wines that are worthy trophies in any cellar…though they are much more pleasurable to drink!