Sine Qua Non, Patine, Eleven Confessions Vineyard, Grenache 2011 (3)
Sine Qua Non, Patine, Eleven Confessions Vineyard, Syrah 2011 (3)
Both in original wooden case

6 bottles per lot

ABOUT THE WINE
A partner at Campanile restaurant, Manfred Krankl made his first wine, Black and Blue, in 1992 under the larger Havens label as a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Sine Qua Non, which could alternatively mean, without equal or something indispensable could both apply to the wine and the appreciation held for it by its fans as there is now a waiting list for the waiting list to acquire the freshest grape concoction. Sine Qua Non officially hit the scene in the mid-1990s, with heavy, odd-shaped bottles, gaudy labels and ostentatious proprietary names such as Omadhaun Poltron, Imposter McCoy and The Other Hand. Brilliant pieces of marketing, there are often serial like stories attached to each. Yields are incredibly miniscule often under one ton per acre from a combination of old vines, canopy management and shoot thinning. In the winery, processes utilized include indigenous yeasts, lengthy cold soak, traditional open top fermenters, several punch downs, extended skin contact, malolactic fermentation in new oak casks, and just one racking prior to bottling. The wines are outrageously rich yet have subtlety and definition of flavor. Not only just a different moniker each year it is a different wine each year as the wine is sourced from the usual vineyards in the proportion for which they are producing. Originally, the Rhône varieties were sourced from the Alban, Bien Nacido, and Stolpman vineyards with the pinot juice being sourced from the famed Shea Vineyard of Oregon. Although each year there is an increasing emphasis to use fruit solely from the Santa Rita Hills, particularly the Eleven Confessions estate vineyard. With artisanal practices and acute attention to detail in the vineyard, winery and canvas, production is exceedingly minute with most cuvées hovering around 500 cases a year and even less for the late-harvest wines. Each vintage, the Krankls fully invest their body and soul into each bottle, making wines just for the love of it...