Sanguis Six White Horses Syrah 2009

[Joe H]

This may be the equal of any red wine that I have ever had.  It is a huge, alcoholic (15.6%), fruit bomb that is absolutely mindblowing.  Below are the comments from the Wine Enthusiast which includes this remarkable comment:  "one of the best syrahs the state has ever produced."  They also believe it is "the best California syrah of the vintage."  
 

It is.

 

We tasted it side by side with a 97 point 2005 Elderton Command Shiraz and thought this was more dramatic, had more depth and character.  Phenominal wine.

 

Now the problem:  finding it.

 

A seriously allocated wine that is long gone...almost everywhere.  I bought the last two bottles from MacArthur a month ago and then faithfully, persistently followed Wine Searcher for anyone in America that might have a bottle or two.  After a couple of weeks of daily searching I found two more bottles at Hart, Davis in Chicago.

 

Today, I found a case in San Francisco.  I bought six bottles and they have six left.  As it turns out they claim to be the largest outlet for Sanguis on earth outside of the Santa Barbara winery.  If anyone wants to take a shot @ $75 a bottle this is the link.  Below is the Wine Enthusiast review.

 

The Wine Vault

216 Linden Ave

South San Francisco CA 94080

T 650-588-9463

F 650-588-1768

www.sfwinevault.com

 

97 Sanguis 2009 Six White Horses Syrah

(California). Winemaker Matthias Pippig

brings Syrah to a whole new level with this stunningly

dramatic bottling. Don't worry about the California appellation,

a peculiarity of the winery's ownership. It's

made entirely from Santa Barbara grapes, namely from

Watch Hill in Los Alamos and Bien Nacido in Santa

Maria Valley. The intensity of fruit defies description. It

suggests enormous blackberry and creamy-sweet chocolate,

larded with bacon and sprinkled with black pepper"”

and that doesn't even begin to describe the toasty

sweetness of the 100% new oak barrels. This is the best

California Syrah of the vintage, and one of the greatest

Syrahs the state has ever produced. This opulence

comes at a cost, however: The alcohol is high. "”S.H.

abv: 15.6% Price: $75