Santa Barbara Sine Qua Non Le Chemin vers l'Hérésie Manfred Krankl 2015

The Sine Qua Non winery was founded by Austrian born Manfred Krankl, who immigrated to California in the 1980s. After a few years spent opening restaurants, he settled in Ventura to make wine as a hobby. Encouraged by friends and family who enjoyed his wines, he started marketing it in 1994. His first wine was awarded an excellent 95/100 by Robert Parker. The famous American wine critic subsequently awarded him a multitude of 100/100 scores and even dubbed him “One of the most creative and multidimensional winemakers on planet Earth”. In 2004, he began growing his own vines and gradually stopped buying in grapes. His vineyard is a reference for Santa Barbara County, but his limited output means that his wines are extremely sought after.

This cuvée, ‘heresy' in English, is a blend of Mourvèdre, Touriga Nacional and Petite Syrah, quite an unusual blend! Yet it makes for a beautiful wine, with a voluptuous texture, well-integrated tannins, rich flavours of blueberry, black cherry and wild herbs. The wine is then matured for almost two years in oak casks (11% new oak).