1998 | Sine Qua Non | Backward & Forward

Thick, penetrating and solidly structured; rich, nuanced flavors of vanilla, minerals, apricot and superripe peach. Wonderful sweetness and chewy texture more akin to the Southern Rhone than to Southern California. Great building length on the finish.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: The 1998 Roussanne and Chardonnay Backward and Forward is a blend of 30% Roussanne, 40% Chardonnay, and 30% Viognier. This effort is almost over the top, but I suspect when it is put together it will be sumptuous. The color is evolved, but the wine has surprisingly lively acidity for its richness and massive power. Notes of white peaches, honeyed apricots, coconut, and exotic fruits (was it mango or passion fruit?) challenge the olfactory senses. Full-bodied, dry, and thickly-textured, it should be a remarkable and individualistic white wine from Elaine and Manfred Krankl.

• Vinous: Pale peach skin color. Deep, complex nose of apple, nut skin, apricot and minerals; this somewhat resembled a bottle of 1990 Pol Roger Winston Churchill I had tasted 15 minutes earlier. Thick, penetrating and solidly structured; rich, nuanced flavors of vanilla, minerals, apricot and superripe peach. Wonderful sweetness and chewy texture more akin to the Southern Rhone than to Southern California. Great building length on the finish. Close in quality to the extraordinary '95 Sine Qua Non white blend labelled The Bride.

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.

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