Sine Qua Non Distenta IV 2022

The 2022 Syrah Distenta IV is a blend of 83% Syrah, 6% Grenache, 5% Petite Sirah, and the rest Mourvèdre and white varieties. It sports a dense purple hue and offers stunning aromatics of ripe blue fruits, framboise, liquid violets, white pepper, game, bouquet garni, and spice. These carry to the palate of a full-bodied Syrah that’s concentrated yet balanced, with a broad, layered mouthfeel, velvety tannins, and a great finish. I was able to follow this bottle over multiple days, and it only improved with air, gaining both complexity and texture. While this is clearly a more accessible vintage compared to the 2021s, it still deserves 3-4 years in bottle and should have 15-20 years of prime drinking given its balance, purity, and harmony. Drink 2028-2045. The latest releases from Manfred and Elaine Krankl at Sine Qua Non show once again why this estate remains at the very top of California wine, and I always leave my tastings here utterly floored by what they consistently put in bottle. Looking at the wines reviewed here, the 2021s come from a hot, dry drought year that produced structured, concentrated wines reminiscent of 2010, 2013, and maybe even 2018. These are built for the cellar. The 2022s are riper and more extroverted, bringing to mind a slightly less concentrated version of the 2009s, 2012s, or 2019s. Drink these while you wait on the 2021s. The estate has also performed well in the cooler, longer 2023 growing season, with wines that are inky hued, concentrated, and nicely structured, yet supple enough to show well right out of the gate.

The 2022 Syrah Distenta IV is a potent, tightly wound wine. Interestingly, the Syrah is also much less accessible than the Grenache in this vintage. Readers will have to be patient with the Distenta IV as it is not all forthcoming, its notable textural richness notwithstanding. I tasted the 2022 from a sample prepared just prior to bottling. I expect the finished wine to be more giving. Dollops of Grenache, Petite Sirah, Mourvèdre, Muscat and Petit Manseng round out the blend. The last pick was on October 31.

The 2022 Syrah Distenta IV contains 6% Grenache, 5% Petite Sirah, 3.3% Mourvèdre and a small amount of Petit Manseng and Muscat. It was aged 23 months in 56% new French oak and fermented with 31% whole clusters. The nose opens with weighty, smoldering, blue-fruited aromas with pleasantly lifted notes of fennel, anise and white pepper quickly building in intensity. The palate is plush, opulent and immensely extracted, wrapped in a suave, precise texture that gives way to a taut, inward finish that unfolds similarly to the nose. While I suspect this will gain additional depth and complexity after a year or two, the style of these wines makes their youthful hedonism quite tempting—and there will be more than enough of that to make this enjoyable from its release in January 2025 on.