SINE QUA NON

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

No question you know that we are absolute Grenache fanatics. We are Rhone variety (or Rhone wine) lovers, but Grenache might top that pyramid... This unreal beauty is composed from 89.4% Grenache, 5.5% Syrah, 4.1% Petite Sirah and 1.0% white Muskat. Gelber Muskateller to be obnoxiously precise. That's just who we are - obnoxiously accurate folks...
No critic has tasted them yet if you don't count mighty E as one...and that would be a mistake. I did taste it with her and all the while made pretty eyes at her and told her how young she looked and that I never realized just how intelligent she was. But these kind of moves don't really work on her, annoyingly enough, leaving me with the bare truth.
Here are the comments - my own and hers too...woven in:
Day 1:
Great color...like the most amazing Pinot Noir should be, but virtually never is. It all starts with a very deep, broad and rich nose. There is some rosemary mixed with an exotic fruit cobbler of sorts. Superbly satiny or maybe silky in the mouth. Wet stones too and again mouth filling broad and lush.
Day 2:
Even better than on the first day. More open even and that certainly indicates a good decant is great if the wine is consumed...say in the first eight years of life.
Day 3:
Hard to believe as it is, it is better YET. To us it was the best, the most voluptuous of the three days and that might be a good indicator of longevity.
Like most wines we craft, this is certainly no weakling. We definitely feel that Grenache needs to be fully ripe to exhibit its full potential and show what it can be. THIS cuvee certainly does. If Grenache hasn't been your thing, this one will change your attitude. If it has been your thing...you'll go nuts.
| Manfred Krankl for SQN Wines

...another undeniably great wine from this incredible estate and it tops out my scale...it's a powerful, full-bodied, opulent Grenache that brings to mind a great vintage of Domaine de Marcoux's Vieilles Vignes with its gorgeous red and black fruits, smoked herbs, leather, and assorted spicy, sandalwood, and peppery nuances. Full-bodied on the palate, it has flawless balance, a deep, layered mid-palate, and velvety tannins. It brings that rare mix of richness and elegance that only Grenache can... | 100 points, Jeb Dunnuck for jebdunnuck.com