2016 Dirt Vernacular Grenache
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Tasting notes
I called the 2016 Grenache Dirt Vernacular a perfect wine last year, and it’s still straight-up heavenly stuff that tops out on my scale this year. A blend of 78% Grenache, 11.5% Mourvèdre, 7% Touriga Nacional, and the rest Petite Sirah, it comes mostly from the Eleven Confessions Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills yet also includes fruit from the Third Twin, Cumulus, Bien Nacido, and Molly Aida vineyards. Aged 23 months in 38% new French oak, it offers awesome notes of kirsch liqueur, blackberries, ground pepper, leafy herbs, and graphite as well as a full-bodied, powerful, yet weightless style on the palate. It’s one of those wines that offer incredible intensity and depth, yet stays weightless, seamless, and elegant. It’s a magical wine and one of the greatest Grenache releases to ever come from California. The tasting at Sine Qua Non with Manfred, Elaine, and family, has been one of the highlights of my year for coming up on a decade now. It seems little has changed here, with low yields, impeccable farming and attention to detail, and no compromises in the cellar being the norm. I also don’t think I’ve had a tasting where at least one wine (and in most cases more than one) doesn’t merit a perfect rating. Looking at the vintages reviewed here, the 2017s are largely in the style of the 2015s, with slightly tighter, more focused, and structured profiles that are going to reward bottle age. The 2016s are perfection in a bottle, and these wines offer powerful, full-bodied, incredibly sexy profiles as well as the purity and class that’s the hallmark of the vintage. While they have plenty of upfront charm due to their wealth of fruit, they have the balance, concentration, and purity to evolve for two decades or more. Lastly, the Eleven Confession/extended aged cuvees currently being released are the 2015s, and these are ripe, powerful, structured wines. All of these vintages reaffirm Sine Qua Non’s status as one the benchmark estates in the world of wine today.
Critic scores
Average Score
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Sine Qua Non’s 2016 Grenache The Vernacular is a classic Sine Qua Non wine. Rich, powerful and aromatically deep, the 2016 has so much to offer. A rush of sweet dark cherry, plum, mocha, licorice, lavender and spice builds in an opulent, flamboyant wine that hits all the right notes. Mourvèdre, Touriga Nacional and Petite Sirah add striking sepia tones throughout. This is a stunning showing. (AG)
The label of the 2016 Dirt Venacular is based on a picture of a stone imbedded in another stone. The wine is composed of 78% Grenache, 11.5% Mourvèdre, 7% Touriga Nacional and 3.5% Petite Sirah, fermented using 43% whole cluster with the whole cluster mostly used on the Grenache component. The vineyard sources are 42% Eleven Confessions Estate, 25% The Third Twin Estate, 22% Cumulus Estate, 9% Bien Nacido and 2% Molly Aida Estate. It was aged for around 23 months in 38% new French oak, 53% used French oak and 9% concrete. Medium to deep garnet-purple, this Grenache beauty sashays out of the glass with stunning kirsch, black raspberry, stewed tea, red roses, Chinese five spice and redcurrant jelly notes with nuances of wild blueberries and candied violets plus enticing cardamom, chargrill and black pepper undertones. Full-on decadent and full-bodied, the palate is also so vivacious, possessing amazing freshness and velvety/fine-grained tannins, finishing with tons of floral and red fruit layers. Pure hedonism. 1,208 cases and 600 magnums were made.
Sine Qua Non’s 2016 Grenache Dirt Vernacular is a classic Sine Qua Non wine. Rich, powerful and aromatically deep, the 2016 has so much to offer. A rush of sweet dark cherry, plum, mocha, licorice, lavender and spice builds in an opulent, flamboyant wine that hits all the right notes. Mourvèdre, Touriga Nacional and Petite Sirah add striking sepia tones throughout. This is a stunning showing.
About the producer
The brainchild of Manfred Krankl, Sine Qua Non (commonly known as SQN) is a cult California producer whose wines are avidly collected. The winery focuses on Rhône-inspired blends, however is famously non-conformist with each release totally unique.