SINE QUA NON

2019 Estate Syrah, Eleven Confessions Vineyard | Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Barbara County California 750 ml

This sophisticated Hercules has a plethora of pleasing attributes. It is a supermodel comprised of 82.0% Syrah, 13.1% Grenache, 3.3% Petite Sirah, and 1.6% WHITE, roughly evenly split between Viognier and Petit Manseng. Only 13% of that fruit was fermented whole cluster (you know the gig). For a reason I suppose I will never fully understand, Syrah seems more sensitive or more quickly impacted by stems and so typically a little less is used...
I always think of Syrah as more masculine or burly and broadly speaking this actually is the case, but now and then Mother Nature, in connection with our doings and insight, produces something that is perhaps extra elegant, extra smooth, extra sophisticated. This is one such wine I believe.
It too was tasted with my uncompromising E. Here are the notes from that brave endeavor of mine:
Day 1:
Super dark color, but brilliant and almost shining. A dark burgundy tint (like the color, not the wine region). Hyper creamy in the nose (I know what comes off weird, but I don't know how else to express what I mean, so please forgive me) and the mouth too of course. Off-the-charts great!! Yes, that's what I wrote. Forgive me again for the boast. Very complex and multi-layered, but without annoying, silly arrogance. Just absolutely all-around pleasing and wonderfully lush and long beyond belief.
Day 2:
The same as the day before or even better...if that's even possible.
Day 3:
The same as Day 1 or even better yet. Mind blowing and fantastically age worthy for sure.
Most definitely nothing meager here, but this wine is very elegant, so very distinctive so very polite, that the muscle is almost unnoticed. If you let this get away from you...then you can't be helped...I really am not drawn to hyperbole, in fact I hate it, but when something is uncommon, unique, or special it should be noted. I think 2019 is an uncommonly great vintage and this wine makes that point.
| Manfred Krankl for SQN Wines

A borderline perfecdt wine...and if there was a version of Guigal's Cote Rotie La Mouline from California, this would be it. Red and black fruits, flowery incense, iron, cured meats, spice box, and background oak all define this sensational wine, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a layered, ultra-fine mouthfeel, no hard edges, and a great finish. It's already just about impossible to resist... | 99 points, Jeb Dunnuck for jebdunnuck.com