2020 SQN 11 Confessions Syrah
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Tasting notes
One of those singular, powerhouse wines that will stop anyone in their tracks (well, its stopped me anyways), the 2020 Syrah Eleven Confessions Vineyard offers an insane nose of bloody red and blue fruits, ground pepper, graphite, cured meats, and baking spices, with some classic Sta. Rita Hills marine/salty sea breeze-like nuances. With a dense, powerful mouthfeel, full-bodied aromas and flavors, massive fruit, and building tannins, this beauty is going to benefit from 2-4 years in the cellar and blow you away over the following two decades. It reminds me of the 2005 Nail in my Cranium with its massive, powerful, yet flawlessly balanced style, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this evolve along the same trajectory as that wine. The 2020 is 84% Syrah, 12% Grenache, and the rest Petite Sirah and white varieties, fermented with one quarter whole clusters and aged 38 months in 58% new oak.
Critic scores
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Matthew Luczy, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Fermented with 25% whole clusters and aged for 38 months in 58% new French oak, the 2020 Syrah Eleven Confessions Vineyard contains 11.5% Grenache, 2.3% Petite Sirah and a combined 2.2% of Gelber Muskateller and Viognier. The nose is a deep, nearly impenetrable mixture of opaque fruits, chocolate cake, tar and subtle hints of savory, meaty complexity. The palate is luxurious and highly polished, with seemingly endless concentration that somehow escalates with time in the glass. The finish is expectedly thunderous, laden with gigantic dark fruit flavors flanked with exotic spice accents, vitamin-tinged acidity and rich, swelling tannins. This wine is impressive in its scope, and I have no doubt that fans of this style will find more than enough to love, but it is ultimately so sumptuous as to appear monotonous.
The 2020 Syrah Eleven Confessions Vineyard is a dark, exotic beauty. Rich, sumptuous and layered in the glass, the 2020 is classic Sine Qua Non from start to finish. Silky tannins wrap around a core of inky red/purplish fruit, lavender, rose petal and mint, building into a stunning crescendo of aromas, flavors and textures. What a wine. The blend is 84% Syrah, 11.5% Grenache, 2.3% Petite Sirah and 2.2% Viognier and Golden Muskateller.
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.