and Taransaud barrels. Marked on the nose by red berries, cherries and cedar, plus delicate cinnamon and clove shadings, this is a plush, concentrated full-bodied wine with a core of firmness to it and a long, lingering finish,... Read More

Made from a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the 2011 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon is a sexy, upfront, precociously styled wine exhibiting a dense ruby/purple color as well... Read More

The 2019 Screaming Eagle is a wine of mind-blowing elegance and finesse that stand apart from the generally more potent style of so many wines in this vintage. Deep, sensual and beautifully layered, the 2019 is simply magnificent... Read More

The 2021 Screaming Eagle captivates the senses with its remarkable depth and complexity. Gleaming in the glass with an intense, opaque hue, it entices with a seductive aroma that unfolds layers of dark cherries, ripe plums, and... Read More

They explained how the 2017 Seña was produced with 'grapes that were handpicked in the morning and transported to the winery in 12-kilogram boxes for a careful inspection on a double sorting table. The grapes fermented... Read More

The 2020 Seña is a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Malbec, 15% Carmenere and 7% Petit Verdot (a little higher in search of acidity) from grapes harvested early, the second week of March, and fermented mostly in stainless... Read More

One of the finest vintages of the iconic Seña wine, the 2021 Seña comes from a cooler year, following the path of 2016 and 2018, certainly cooler than 2020 and 2019. It has a super expressive nose that is elegant,... Read More

This is concentrated with cherry, blackberry, plum, iron, sweet spice and tar flavors. Muscular tannins leave a firm grip on the finish, yet overall, this red feels balanced and crunchy. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot... Read More

The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select performed even better this year than it did in 2007. It possesses an inky/ruby/purple color, a juicy perfume of black currants, black cherries, graphite, charcoal, and toasty oak, superb... Read More

Like with the 2013 Grenache, I was thrilled to be able to taste the 2013 Syrah Male again (twist my arm), and it continues to impress. Giving up fabulous blackberry, bouquet garni, peppery herbs and minerality, this full-bodied,... Read More

Like with the 2013 Grenache, I was thrilled to be able to taste the 2013 Syrah Male again (twist my arm), and it continues to impress. Giving up fabulous blackberry, bouquet garni, peppery herbs and minerality, this full-bodied,... Read More

2006 A Shot in the Dark is composed of 96.5% Syrah and 3.5% Viognier from the 11 Confessions Vineyard in the cool Santa Rita Hills. Performing better from bottle than it did from barrel, this prodigious red exhibits incredibly... Read More

The 2007 Grenache Dangerous Birds, from the Eleven Confessions Vineyard, is a big, huge wine loaded with dark cherries, plums, licorice and smoke, all of which come together in a sensual, captivating wine of the highest level.... Read More

In addition to these new releases, I was also able to taste through a number of older vintages, including the 2001 Albino, 2006 Hoodoo Man, 2003 The Inaugural, 2004 Ode to E, 1998 E Raised, 2001 On Your Toes, 2005 Nail in My Cranium... Read More

The 2011 Syrah Dark Blossom showed even better from bottle than barrel. A blend of 84% Syrah, 8% Grenache, 4% Petite Sirah and the rest Roussanne and Petite Manseng, this beauty was fermented with 17% whole clusters and aged in... Read More

The 2011 Syrah Dark Blossom showed even better from bottle than barrel. A blend of 84% Syrah, 8% Grenache, 4% Petite Sirah and the rest Roussanne and Petite Manseng, this beauty was fermented with 17% whole clusters and aged in... Read More

The 2019 Grenache Distenta I is composed of 76% Grenache, 8% Mourvèdre, 9.3% Syrah, 4.3% Petite Sirah and 2.4% Viognier. The vineyard sources are 11% Cumulus Estate, 39% The Third Twin Estate, 32% Eleven Confessions Estate,... Read More

The 2019 Syrah Eleven Confessions Vineyard is elegant and perfumed and includes 13.1% Grenache, 3.3% Petite Sirah and just a splash—0.8%—each of Viognier and Muskateller (a.k.a Muscat). It was crafted with 13% whole... Read More

Manfred's 2013 Grenache Female checks in as a blend of 78% Grenache, 19% Syrah and 3% Mourvèdre that is mostly from his Eleven Confessions estate vineyard in Sta. Rita Hills, yet has smaller portions from his Cumulus,... Read More

The 2010 Syrah Five Shooter is straight up gorgeous. A massive wine that somehow holds everything together, it offers a wild array of cassis, blackberry, white chocolate, underbrush and pepper that flows to a full-bodied, layered... Read More

The 2010 Syrah Five Shooter is straight up gorgeous. A massive wine that somehow holds everything together, it offers a wild array of cassis, blackberry, white chocolate, underbrush and pepper that flows to a full-bodied, layered... Read More

The 2017 Grenache The Gorgeous Victim (first tasted last year as a barrel sample and before it had been named) is composed of 76% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre, 9% Syrah, 3.8% Petit Sirah and 1.2% Viognier. The vineyard sources... Read More

The 2011 Grenache Dark Blossom is probably the best Grenache-based blend in the vintage. A blend of 75% Grenache, 12.5% Syrah, 11.5% Mourvedre and a splash of Roussanne (fermented with 11% whole clusters), it has a perfumed, complex... Read More

The 2018 Grenache Eleven Confessions Vineyard is a barrel selection and is composed of 83.7% Grenache, 9.1% Syrah, 6% Petite Sirah and 1.2% Viognier. It was fermented with 45% whole clusters and matured for about 38 months in... Read More

The 2020 Grenache Eleven Confessions Vineyard is another absolutely heavenly wine from this estate, and it's easily one of the top wines from California in 2020. Darker berries, tapenade, roasted herbs, and a bloody, iron-like... Read More

A dead-ringer (at least aromatically) for Guigal’s single vineyard Cote Rotie La Mouline, the 2002 Just For The Love of It is the greatest California Syrah I have yet tasted. A one-thousand case blend of 96% Syrah, 2% Grenache,... Read More

Coming entirely from the Eleven Confessions Estate Vineyard and composed of 89% Syrah, 6% Petite Sirah, 3% Grenache and 2% Viognier, using 28% whole cluster, the 2013 Syrah Le Supplement is just starting to evolve into beguiling... Read More

This is a single-vineyard Syrah-dominant blend coming from the Eleven Confessions Estate vineyard in Sta. Rita Hills. It bears Manfred Krankl’s initial and a provocative self-portrait on the label. The blend is 90.6% Syrah,... Read More

Coming all from Manfred's Eleven Confessions Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills and a blend of 77% Grenache, 22% Syrah and 1% Viognier (fermented with 25% whole clusters), the 2011 Grenache Patine spent a full 33 months in almost... Read More

A wine that needs to be forgotten in the cellar for 5-6 years, the 2011 Syrah Patine checks in as a blend of roughly 97% Syrah and the balance Roussanne and Viognier. It too comes all from the estate's Eleven Confessions Vineyard... Read More

Blended of 81% Syrah, 8% Petite Sirah, 6% Mourvèdre, 4% Touriga Nacional and 1% Graciano, sourced from 34% The Third Twin, 35% Eleven Confessions and 31% Cumulus (all estate vineyards), the provocative, inky purple colored... Read More

Starting off the Syrah-based wines, the 2004 Poker Face (Syrah) is aging beautifully. A blend of 96% Syrah, 2.5% Mourvedre and 1.5% Viognier (from the Eleven Confessions, White Hawk, Alban, Bien Nacido, and Alta Mesa vineyards)... Read More

Starting off the Syrah-based wines, the 2004 Poker Face (Syrah) is aging beautifully. A blend of 96% Syrah, 2.5% Mourvedre and 1.5% Viognier (from the Eleven Confessions, White Hawk, Alban, Bien Nacido, and Alta Mesa vineyards)... Read More

The 2014 Grenache Shakti is blended of 88% Grenache, 6% Mourvèdre, 4% Petite Sirah and 2% Touriga Nacional, coming 51% from the Cumulus (Estate) Vineyard, 18% from The Third Twin (Estate) Vineyard, 9.5% from Bien Nacido... Read More

The 2018 Grenache Profuga is composed of 77.5% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre, 8.3% Syrah, 3.3% Petite Sirah and 0.9% Viognier. The vineyard sources are 38% Cumulus Estate, 35% The Third Twin Estate, 23% Eleven Confessions Estate and... Read More

The 2008 Syrah B-20 is a cool, inward wine graced with layers of beautifully delineated, chiseled fruit. This is a distinctly mineral, precise style relative to the more outgoing 2009, but both are striking. Floral notes add lift... Read More

A similar blend (75% Grenache, 16% Syrah, 2.5% Mourvedre, 4.5% Roussanne and 2% Viognier) and also a brilliant bottle of wine, the 2010 Grenache Five Shooter spent 20 months in 75% used barrels, with the balance in concrete and... Read More

The 2015 Grenache Le Chemin Vers L'Heresie is a blend of 75% Grenache, 13% Mourvèdre, 8% Touriga Nacional and 4% Petite Sirah, coming 35% from The Third Twin (Estate) Vineyard, 9% from Bien Nacido Vineyard, 28% from... Read More

More up-front and open-knit, the 2004 In the Dark (Grenache) checks in as a blend of 84% Grenache, 8% Mourvèdre, 7% Syrah, and 1% Viognier that comes mostly from Manfred’s 11 Confessions Vineyard, yet includes small... Read More

The mind-boggling 2003 The Inaugural Syrah is an emotional experience to taste as well as drink. Aged 38 ½ months in French oak, it was fashioned entirely from the Eleven Confessions Vineyard, which is planted with Syrah... Read More

he recently bottled 2020 Grenache Distenta 11 is a blend of 77.9% Grenache, 9.4% Mourvèdre, 7.9% Syrah, 4.3% Petite Sirah and 0.5% Viognier. Fruit comes entirely from the Krankls' estate vineyards: Eleven Confessions... Read More

The current release of the estate vineyard (a.k.a. the extended barrel-aged cuvee), the 2010 Grenache Stockholm Syndrome is an incredible effort that I couldn’t find a fault with. A blend of 75% Grenache, 22% Syrah, 2% Roussanne... Read More

The 2005 Syrah The 17th Nail In My Cranium, a blend of 96.5% Syrah and 3.5% Viognier which is aged 38 months prior to bottling. (I always wonder what Marcel Guigal would think of a wine like this which seems to tip its hat in... Read More

A prodigious effort that possesses overflowing richness and depth, the 2008 Syrah The Duel (88% Syrah, 6% Grenache and 6% Viognier, all from the Eleven Confessions Vineyard) delivers an off-the-hook drinking experience with decadent... Read More

An extended barrel-aged release, the 2009 Syrah This Is Not An Exit is 100% from the Santa Rita Hills Eleven Confessions Vineyard and checks in as a blend of 80% Syrah, 12% Grenache, 7% Roussanne and 1% Viognier that saw 41.5... Read More

Lastly, the utterly perfect 2012 Syrah Touche reminds me of a great vintage of Guigal’s Cote Rotie La Landonne. A blend of 93% Syrah, 5% Petite Sirah and 2% Viognier, all from the Eleven Confessions Vineyard in the Sta.... Read More

Brick red in color with aromas of plum and cedar on the nose. The palate is full, with dense tannins and layered flavors of black licorice, fennel, and tobacco.

Our longstanding practice of picking our estate fruit when perfectly ripe meant that, serendipitously, our fruit was harvested by September 26. While our yields were down due to drought conditions, the quality and concentration... Read More

Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of 2024!