2014 Sanguis Syrah The Bossman

Containing just a splash of Viognier (7%), the 2014 Syrah Bossman has a deep garnet-purple color and gives a beautiful nose of baked blackberries, preserved plums and crème de cassis over nuances of violets, dark chocolate, Sichuan pepper, dried mulberries and smoked bacon. Medium to full-bodied, rich and decadent on the palate, it has a firm backbone of grainy tannins and just enough freshness supporting the black fruit and perfumed layers, delivering a long and multilayered finish. You really want to give this one another two to three years in bottle and then consider drinking it over the next 20+.

I loved the 2014 Bossman, and this blend of 93% Syrah and 7% Viognier was mostly destemmed and spent 26 months in new 400-liter French oak barrels. It’s inky colored, concentrated and layered, with awesome darker Syrah fruits, terrific balance in its fruit, acidity and tannin, full-bodied richness, and a moderately tannic long finish. Forget bottles for 3-4 years. Based out of Santa Barbara, Sanguis’s Matthias Pippig continues to make a singular lineup of wines that run the gamut from rich, unctuous Syrahs, to old-school Pinot Noirs, to borderline orange wines. There’s some true gems in the lineup, with the 2014 1/1 Syrah being the best wine I’ve tasted from the estate.

One of the highlights in this range, the 2014 Bossman is shaping up to be a real beauty. Vibrant, powerful and intense, this super-expressive Syrah brings together the classic Sanguis intensity of fruit, but also retains terrific verve and cut to balance some of the more extroverted elements. This is going to be a fun wine to watch.