2022 Sine Qua Non ‘Distenta IV’ Grenache

We both loved it. It got better and better the longer it was open and the less cold it was…starting out from the fridge. There is a lovely, perfumed, vivacious nose. Tones of the fleshy inside rind of a melon and that’s also present on the palate. Creamy and very nicely balanced. Lush and teasing in the mouth, but again wonderfully in sync…without any edges and beautifully woven. GREAT.
I said it last year, but I have to say it again, we have had an amazingly terrific streak of great WHITE wine vintages. Forgive me for the repetition and for coming off as a nauseating salesman, but it just is so much of a pleasant fact that I can’t help myself. The 2021 vintage was a little bit like 2019 in that it was very mild and even, without any outlandish temperatures. By Californian standards one could even call it a cool year. Fairly little precipitation all around and none during the growing season. But the consistently mild climate made for wines that are exciting, harmonious, radiant and expressive, but without being over-the-top or perverse. I think these wines will have staying power, although I don’t know who will be able to resist them long enough to prove my point. We once again kept the wines in this cuvée in barrel and on the original lees for +/- 23 months and I am more and more convinced that this is a good thing with our whites. This year the cuvée is a seemingly wild make up of… 33% Chardonnay, 27% Viognier, 24% Gelber Muskateller, 12% Roussanne and 4% Petit Manseng.78.8% Eleven Confessions, 13% The Third Twin and 8.2% Cumulus.
ALL of them our OWN Estate vineyards ~ no more fruit from anyone else. Nothing wrong with other vineyard sources we have used, but it’s still something we’re proud of and it still feels like an accomplishment worth noting.