1 bottle per lot
Details
RARE AND IMPORTANT SINE QUA NON FROM A PASSIONATE COLLECTOR
It is always a pleasure to be part of a collector's life-long passion. From helping collectors discover a new direction for their collection, or in this case, helping find a passionate new owner, there is much pleasure in sharing the stories and passion in any stage of collecting. This passionate collector has spent over a decade sourcing and building this collection and through the process has realized that, just as he was inspired and guided by his mentor, his stewardship has come to an end and it is now time to pass on and share the years of pleasure and passion from each bottle with another (and hopefully equally) passionate wine collector.
Christie's is proud to offer one of the greatest collections of Manfred Krankl's Sine Qua Non wines. This collection not only lists the rarest bottlings over two decades, but also offers quantity, rare formats, and original wooden cases. Don't miss this rare chance to fill in the missing bottles from your collection or to start collecting.
Photo requests can be made by contacting the wine department. Please allow at least 48 hours before the sale.
SINE QUA NON
A partner at Campanile restaurant, Manfred Krankl made his first wine, Black and Blue, in 1992 under the larger Havens label as a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Sine Qua Non, which could alternatively mean, without equal or something indispensable could both apply to the wine and the appreciation held for it by its fans as there is now a waiting list for the waiting list to acquire the freshest grape concoction. Sine Qua Non officially hit the scene in the mid 1990s, with heavy, odd-shaped bottles, gaudy labels and ostentatious proprietary names such as Omadhaun Poltron, Impostor McCoy and The Other Hand. Brilliant pieces of marketing, there are often serial like stories attached to each.
Yields are incredibly miniscule often under one ton per acre from a combination of old vines, canopy management and shoot thinning. In the winery, processes utilitized include indigenous yeasts, lengthy cold soak, traditional open top fermenters, several punch downs, extended skin contact, malolactic fermentation in new oak casks, and just one racking prior to bottling. The wines are outrageously rich yet have subtlety and definition of flavor. Not only just a different moniker each year it is a different wine each year as the wine is sourced from the usual vineyards in the proportion for which they are producing. Originally, the Rhône varieties were sourced from the Alban, Bien Nacido, and Stolpman vineyards with the pinot juice being sourced from the famed Shea Vineyard of Oregon. Although each year there is an increasing emphasis to use fruit solely from the Santa Rita Hills, particularly the Eleven Confessions estate vineyard. With artisanal practices and acute attention to detail in the vineyard, winery and canvas, production is exceedingly minute with most cuvées hovering around 500 cases a year and even less for the late-harvest wines. Each vintage, the Krankls fully invest their body and soul into each bottle, making wines just for the love of it
VERY RARE BLACK AND BLUE
Black and Blue--Vintage 1992
Napa Valley, Havens Wine Cellars for Manfred Krankl
Intact ribbon and wax caspule. See photo.
55 Syrah 45 Cabernet Sauvignon
275 cases
1 bottle per lot
It is always a pleasure to be part of a collector's life-long passion. From helping collectors discover a new direction for their collection, or in this case, helping find a passionate new owner, there is much pleasure in sharing the stories and passion in any stage of collecting. This passionate collector has spent over a decade sourcing and building this collection and through the process has realized that, just as he was inspired and guided by his mentor, his stewardship has come to an end and it is now time to pass on and share the years of pleasure and passion from each bottle with another (and hopefully equally) passionate wine collector.
Christie's is proud to offer one of the greatest collections of Manfred Krankl's Sine Qua Non wines. This collection not only lists the rarest bottlings over two decades, but also offers quantity, rare formats, and original wooden cases. Don't miss this rare chance to fill in the missing bottles from your collection or to start collecting.
Photo requests can be made by contacting the wine department. Please allow at least 48 hours before the sale.
SINE QUA NON
A partner at Campanile restaurant, Manfred Krankl made his first wine, Black and Blue, in 1992 under the larger Havens label as a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Sine Qua Non, which could alternatively mean, without equal or something indispensable could both apply to the wine and the appreciation held for it by its fans as there is now a waiting list for the waiting list to acquire the freshest grape concoction. Sine Qua Non officially hit the scene in the mid 1990s, with heavy, odd-shaped bottles, gaudy labels and ostentatious proprietary names such as Omadhaun Poltron, Impostor McCoy and The Other Hand. Brilliant pieces of marketing, there are often serial like stories attached to each.
Yields are incredibly miniscule often under one ton per acre from a combination of old vines, canopy management and shoot thinning. In the winery, processes utilitized include indigenous yeasts, lengthy cold soak, traditional open top fermenters, several punch downs, extended skin contact, malolactic fermentation in new oak casks, and just one racking prior to bottling. The wines are outrageously rich yet have subtlety and definition of flavor. Not only just a different moniker each year it is a different wine each year as the wine is sourced from the usual vineyards in the proportion for which they are producing. Originally, the Rhône varieties were sourced from the Alban, Bien Nacido, and Stolpman vineyards with the pinot juice being sourced from the famed Shea Vineyard of Oregon. Although each year there is an increasing emphasis to use fruit solely from the Santa Rita Hills, particularly the Eleven Confessions estate vineyard. With artisanal practices and acute attention to detail in the vineyard, winery and canvas, production is exceedingly minute with most cuvées hovering around 500 cases a year and even less for the late-harvest wines. Each vintage, the Krankls fully invest their body and soul into each bottle, making wines just for the love of it
VERY RARE BLACK AND BLUE
Black and Blue--Vintage 1992
Napa Valley, Havens Wine Cellars for Manfred Krankl
Intact ribbon and wax caspule. See photo.
55 Syrah 45 Cabernet Sauvignon
275 cases
1 bottle per lot