The wines of Sine Qua Non are made by the eccentric Manfred Krankle in the outer suburbs of Ventura California, in a winery described by Robert Parker as "a set scene from the movie Mad Max". Each is produced in minute quantities from impossibly low yields, bought in from trusted vignerons in the central coast area. With little estate fruit to speak of and constantly changing tastes, Manfred Krankle rarely makes the same wine twice, prefering to be able to chop and change vineyards as he sees fit. While this is an unorthodox approach for a quality producer it doesn't seem to affect the quality of his wines, which regularly receive Parker scores in the high 90's, very often reaching the mythical 100 mark. As Krankl himself says, "People buy Sine Qua Non, they don't give a toot where it's from".
Sine Qua Non Distenta IV Syrah 2022
15% abv
Vol- 75cl
The 2022 Syrah Distenta IV is a potent, tightly wound wine. Interestingly, the Syrah is also much less accessible than the Grenache in this vintage. Readers will have to be patient with the Distenta IV as it is not all forthcoming, its notable textural richness notwithstanding. I tasted the 2022 from a sample prepared just prior to bottling. I expect the finished wine to be more giving. Dollops of Grenache, Petite Sirah, Mourvèdre, Muscat and Petit Manseng round out the blend. The last pick was on October 31.
96+ points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous, July 2024
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2022 | California | Duty Paid | Grenache (Garnacha/Cannonau) | Mourvedre (Mataro / Monastrell) | Muscat (Moscato/Moscatel) | North America | Petit Manseng | Petite Sirah | Red | Shiraz / Syrah | Sine Qua Non | Still | USA | Wine- Reference #:
- 24296
- Strength
- 15 ABV
- Bottles per Case
- 6 bottles
- Grapes
- Grenache (Garnacha/Cannonau), Mourvedre (Mataro / Monastrell), Muscat (Moscato/Moscatel), Petit Manseng, Petite Sirah, Shiraz / Syrah
- Organic
- No
- Biodynamic
- No
- Vegan
- No
- Vegetarian
- No
- Sparkling
- No

