2016 | Sine Qua Non | Next of Kyn X

Awesome notes of blackberries, ground herbs, violets, loamy earth, and chocolate notes give way to a full-bodied, powerful red that has moderate acidity.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: It strides confidently out of the glass with bold, profound scents of preserved plums, blackberry coulis, blueberry pie and dried lavender, giving way to notes of espresso, spice cake, crushed stones, black truffles and beef drippings, plus a lifted waft of kirsch intertwined with red roses. The full-bodied palate is built like a skyscraper, featuring a solid line of firm, perfectly ripe, densely pixelated tannins and seamless freshness, taking all those complex dark fruit, earth and floral layers to a very long finish. Quite frankly, this is a monumental achievement for the Krankls—a formidable culmination creation that is simply without peers.

• Vinous: The 2016 Next of Kyn is a rich, heady wine. Implosive and deep, the 2016 comes across as a wine that is still finding its balance in bottle. Time in the glass brings out swaths of dark fruit, grilled herbs, espresso and licorice. Readers need to be patient with the 2016, as it is going through an awkward stage today. In 2016, the blend is 46% Syrah, 19% Grenache, 18.3% Petite Sirah, 15.3% Mourvèdre and 1.4% Petit Manseng. The wine saw 34 months in oak, with 75% new oak.

Producer Information

Sine Qua Non is one of California's most famous wine producers. Based just north of Los Angeles in Ventura County, and with most of its vineyards in Santa Barbara, it eschews the usual image of top California wine as being only from Napa Valley. That is not the only thing eschewed at Sine Qua Non – the same wine is rarely made more than once, turning the idea of the American icon wine on its head. The cult winery specialises in Rhône grape varieties, with most of the red wines based on Syrah and Grenache. White wines are typically based on Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier and are also modelled after Rhône wines. While most of Sine Qua Non's vineyards are located in Santa Barbara, the home vineyard (and the winery) is located in Oak View. Many of the wines are labeled under the more generic California and Central Coast AVAs, rather than the specific AVAs the vineyards are located in, giving more freedom when it comes to blending. Sine Qua Non's first vintage was 1994, as Austrian-born winemaker Manfred Krankl released three barrels of Syrah as "Queen of Spades" with a label he had designed himself. Previously, Krankl had made wines with other winemakers – including the "Black and Blue" wine with Havens Cellars and several wines with John Alban of Alban Vineyards. After releasing Queen of Spades, Krankl sent a bottle to Robert Parker, who promptly gave the wine 95 points – then the highest he'd given any American wine based on a Rhône variety. The brand has become a cult favorite since its beginnings. Small volumes mean that demand has consistently outstripped supply and, like many top Californian producers, Sine Qua Non has employed a mailing list to sell wines directly to customers. The wines fetch top prices on the secondary market, often reaching more than $1000, and occasionally much higher: in 2014, a single bottle of Sine Qua Non rosé from the 1995 vintage fetched $42,780 at auction.

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