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2017 Sine Qua Non The Hated Hunter Syrah

Not Currently In Auction

Latest Sale Price

June 2, 2024 - $195

Estimate

RATINGS

98-100Jeb Dunnuck

...looks to be another magical wine from this estate... ...My notes are sprinkled with a few expletives, but it does everything right, offering incredible purity of fruit, notes of white flowers, cured meats, spice box, and blackcurrants, full-bodied richness, and a seamless texture. It shows the pretty, perfumed, ripe style of the vintage yet is flawlessly balanced...

97-100The Wine Advocate

Deep garnet-purple, this nascent Syrah-dominant blend pings exuberantly out of the glass with a veritable POP—offering expressive notes of chocolate-covered cherries, blueberry compote, licorice, violets, black licorice, spice cake and tilled earth with hints of wild sage and tar. Full-bodied, super concentrated and wonderfully savory in the mouth, it features firm, rounded tannins and just enough freshness, finishing very long and perfumed. 1,800 cases and 600 magnums will be bottled.

95-97Vinous / IWC

...laced with the essence of black cherry, plum, new leather, tobacco, menthol and licorice. Striking aromatic top notes add nuance to this potent, beautifully resonant Syrah from Sine Qua Non. A whole range of blue/black stone fruits, lavender and licorice build effortlessly. A marvelously complete and promising wine, the 2017 offers a striking interplay of aromatic intensity, rich fruit and structure.

PRODUCER

Sine Qua Non

Founded in 1994 by Manfred and Elaine Krankl in Ventura, on California's Central Coast, the winery is the epitome of an artisanal, cult winery. The husband-and-wife team makes mostly Rhone-style reds and whites in very limited quantities using such grapes as Syrah, Grenache, Pinot Noir, Roussanne, and Viognier. The couple pays meticulous attention to their winemaking and uses little or no fining or filtration. Robert M. Parker Jr. has called Sine Qua Non "one of the world's most creative wineries" and one that "is turning out world-class wines of extraordinary complexity and individuality. The Krankl husband-and-wife team remains wholly dedicated to the pursuit of perfection." Sine Qua Non is also unusual in that the Krankls like to give wild, sometimes outlandish names to their wines, and they often change wine names with each vintage. They have christened their wines with such names as "The Hussy" and "In Flagrante," and the labels generally are as distinctive as the wines.

REGION

United States, California, Central Coast

Central Coast AVA is a huge wine producing area that extends from Santa Barbara County in the south to San Francisco in the north. With more than 100,000 vineyard acres, it includes parts of six counties near the Pacific Ocean. Nearly 20 smaller AVAs lie within the Central Coast AVA. Central Coast earned appellation status in 1985. Included in the appellation are parts of the counties of Contra Costa, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz. Nearly every grape varietal grown in California is grown somewhere in the Central Coast AVA, though Chardonnay accounts for nearly 50% of the entire wine grape crop.

TYPE

Red Wine, Syrah (Shiraz)

This grape is grown in milder climates and produces a medium-to full-bodied wine. It is also known as Shiraz, but should not be confused with Petit Sirah, which was developed by crossing Syrah with Peloursin.