2018 Syrah Eleven Confession Vineyard

The deep garnet-purple-colored 2018 Syrah Eleven Confessions Vineyard is composed of 82% Syrah, 10.6% Grenache, 5.3% Petite Sirah, and 2.1% Viognier. After a little swirl, a tornado of black cherry compote, blueberry preserves, dried mulberries, and Indian spices storms out of the glass, followed by sparks of potpourri, star anise, and dried lavender, with touches of charcuterie and crushed rocks. The full-bodied palate is built like a brick house, featuring firm, ripe, rounded tannins and bold freshness to support the tightly packed black and blue fruit layers, finishing with long-lasting exotic spice layers and a refreshing lift of red berries. Epic. This vintage was made using 28% whole clusters. It was aged for 38 months in French oak barrels, 50% new. 978 cases and 276 magnums were made. In 2001, the Krankls planted this first of their estate-owned vineyards in Sta. Rita Hills. “We named the vineyard ELEVEN CONFESSIONS,” Manfred said, “because 11 different scions are planted there, and all of them will at some point have to speak the truth. Confess, as it were. And you shall be their judge.” Today, Eleven Confessions has 33 acres planted. Eleven acres of Pinot Noir were already planted when they purchased the property, about half of which have been grafted over, and the Krankls planted a further 22 acres in 2001. To fully ripen Manfred’s preferred medium—mainly Rhône varieties—in this area, more commonly planted to cooler-climate grapes such as Pinot and Chardonnay, the Krankls need to go super low on the yields and long on the hang time. “This vineyard is by far the coolest of our vineyards,” Manfred explained. “Sometimes, we don’t harvest until November.” Punitive yields of 1.5 tons per acre or less are typical. In the years when it’s good and ready to sing, Eleven Confessions is used to make a single-vineyard wine under the Sine Qua Non label. “The wines have a lot of structure and presence,” Manfred commented. “The soil is mainly heavy clay, so the wines can be pretty muscular.”
100/100 Lisa Perrotti-Brown