2020 750ML Box Set (3 bottles of "No-14" & 1 bottle of Touriga Nacional "Número Seis")

Blend: (No.14) 41% Grenache, 27% Petite Sirah, 25% Syrah, 5.5% Mourvèdre, 1.5% Petit Manseng

Blend: (Numero Seis) 84% Touriga Nacional with 7.4% Syrah, 6.8% Petite Sirah, 1.8% Petit Manseng

Vintage production: 538 cases

Manfred’s Next of Kyn label is based solely around the Estate Cumulus Vineyard surrounding his home in Ventura County. It made its debut in 2007, quickly becoming one of the World’s most collectable Rhône-varietal blends.

In 2015, Manfred took things to the next level when he added the Touriga Nacional to the line-up, making one of the most incredible single-vineyard duo’s in California. Perhaps most famous in its native Portugal, the Touriga Nacional varietal thrives in Ventura County and this is the West Coast’s greatest example.

Touriga Nacional

(WA 100) I tasted the 2020 Touriga Nacional Número Seis on July 6, not long after it was bottled on March 23. Entirely from the Cumulus Vineyard in Oak View, it is blended with 7.4% Syrah, 6.8% Petite Sirah and 1.8% Petit Manseng. It was vinified using 30% whole clusters and matured in 39% new French oak for around 30 months. Although the entire Krankl portfolio this year is excellent, the Touriga Nacional stands apart in its superb balance and singular expression. It has a wild, perfumed core reminiscent of Zinfandel with a kaleidoscope of Griotte cherry, wild berry jam, rooibos tea, autumn leaves, orange peel and graphite. The full-bodied palate is jam-packed with perfumed fruit, which has already subsumed most of its new oak. It has loads of ripe, grainy tannins to support all that flavor, and it sports a very long, nuanced finish. This gives me goosebumps! The equivalent of 113 cases and 222 magnums will be released in the fall of 2023; it will be sold as part of a Next of Kyn four-bottle box set.

Jeb Dunnuck

JD100

Lastly, and a perfect wine if there ever was one, the 2020 No 14 Cumulus Vineyard comes all from the estate Cumulus Vineyard in Oak View and is based on 41% Grenache, 27% Petite Sirah, 25% Syrah, and the balance Mourvèdre and a tiny amount of Petit Manseng. Aged 30 months in just 23% new French oak, it just about jumps out of the glass with its ripe blackberries, spice, leather, sandalwood, and peppery, savory herb-driven aromas and flavors. With full-bodied richness and depth, building, velvety tannin, a stacked mid-palate, and awesome length on the finish, it's a wine I wish I could pour for every reader, it's that singular and impressive. I love it today yet see no reason it shouldn’t evolve gracefully for two decades.