2010 Next of Kyn Syrah No. 10 Cumulus Vineyard

Inky, almost black purple in color, this is all about the balance of power between waves of fruit, walls of tannin, round, opulent textures and palate staining, in your face, dark, incredibly ripe, sweet, juicy, smoky berries that just don\'t quit. The wine was made from a blend of Made from 44% Syrah, 32% Grenache, 12% Petite Sirah, 8% Mourvedre and 4% Touriga Nacional. 97 Points

The 2010 Cumulus Vineyard #4 is an off-the-hook effort that showed even better than last year. Made from 44% Syrah, 32% Grenache, 12% Petite Sirah, 8% Mourvedre and 4% Touriga Nacional, it’s mostly destemmed (24% whole cluster) and aged 30 months in 30% new French oak. It boasts incredible aromatics of cassis, blackberry, white chocolate, flowers and spice-box to go with a full-bodied, incredibly pure, seamless and textured feel on the palate. Still a baby, this puppy has a long life ahead of it; give it another year or so and enjoy bottles through 2030. These latest releases from Sine Qua Non and Next of Kyn are at the pinnacle of wine, and it’s simply impossible to taste through these and not be blown away. While I think the star of the show at the moment is the 2010 vintage, the 2011s aren’t far behind, and the 2012s should rival them as well. In addition, to give you an idea how these wines age, don’t miss the recent 2004 retrospective on these wines that was published at eRobertParker.com. We finished the tasting with Manfred’s Next of Kyn releases, and these are the strongest set of wines yet to come out under this label. The focus here is exclusively on his estate Cumulus Vineyard planted around the estate in Oakview. Tel. (805) 649-8901; www.sinequanon.com

The 2010 Cumulus Vineyard #4 is an off-the-hook effort that showed even better than last year. Made from 44% Syrah, 32% Grenache, 12% Petite Sirah, 8% Mourvedre and 4% Touriga Nacional, it’s mostly destemmed (24% whole cluster) and aged 30 months in 30% new French oak. It boasts incredible aromatics of cassis, blackberry, white chocolate, flowers and spice-box to go with a full-bodied, incredibly pure, seamless and textured feel on the palate. (JD)