Lovely fragrance of smoke, black fruit (currant, berry, damson plum), and a hint of cinnamon.  Flavors are huge but perfectly balanced, supported by fine-grained tannins.  The palate offers berry preserves, dark fruit, hints of smoke and carob, and oak, all interwoven and showing great texture.  Full bodied with a very long finish.

Curt Schalchlin is the owner, winemaker, and only employee of Sans Liege Wines.  He is a SoCal native who spent time at a number of wineries, collecting knowledge about vineyards and winemaking up and down the Central Coast.  His wines combine the freedom of expression of the New World with the traditions of the Rhône, making him one of California’s earliest Rhône Rangers.  The Offering is his flagship wine, taking Châteauneuf-du-Pape as its model.  In its early days, it was made by co-fermenting the Grenache and Syrah; today, they’re fermented separately, and along with the Mourvèdre, bottled as a gift package of four wines.  The German Expressionist label art is the work of Buffalo, NY resident Gene Ploss.

In sourcing his fruit, Curt seeks vineyards of character rather than fame, though many are quite well known.  The Grenache provides the personality and comes from Alta Colina, Santa Barbara Highlands, Derby, Pipestone, and Bien Nacido.  Syrah gives backbone and comes from Bien Nacido, John Sebastiano, Laetitia, Larner, White Hawk, and Zotovich.  Mourvèdre, the soul, is sourced from Alta Colina, Santa Barbara Highlands, Alta Mesa, and Derby.  White Hawk provides the Viognier (actually about.4% of the blend), adding humor.  In each of these sites, Schalchlin tends his own blocks.  Grapes are harvested manually; 20-30% are whole-cluster fermented and the rest destemmed.  The wine ages 22 months in French oak: 18% new puncheons (500-L barrels), 18% neutral puncheons, 4% new barriques (225 L), 11% second-use, and the rest neutral barrels.  This wine checks in qt 15.4% alcohol by volume and will age for7-9 years, according to the winemaker.

Charcuterie, Cheese, Duck, Mushrooms, Pork, Vegetables, Wild Game