This was our last vintage. People ask me why we quit and there are lots of reasons. It would be cool if I could say one of our co-owners was dating Yoko Ono and it was her fault but actually it was more mundane. We all had day jobs that we liked. The winery was taking more and more time and it was clear that we would need to hire someone to do some of the work and that had its own issues. The initial project was supposed to be all about fun but that euphoria had worn off. In any event, we knew before we bottled this wine that it would be the last vintage. For some reason, this lack of focus allowed us to bottle this as Persona. It should have been Unmasked. We were unable to get any Whitehawk fruit this vintage and we didn't look for a replacement. We had the Halcon fruit which was again gorgeous, so we resolved to use that along with a touch of Sonoma Syrah and some Central Coast Petite Sirah. The result of the wine was really quite good but it took some time before I could get excited about it. Kind of like buying tickets for a concert but then breaking up with a girlfriend or boyfriend but going anyway. it's just not the same. Anyway, tasting this wine now, at age 9, reminded me, this wine doesn't suck either. It is outstanding. Purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose is excellent with black raspberries, boysenberries, char, black pepper, gravel, slight bacon fat and roasted herbs. Medium to full bodied. Great acidity. Medium tannins. On the palate, this is delicious. Kind of like a mythical blend of Northern Rhone Syrah and California Syrah. Flavors of boysenberries, gravel, char, black raspberries and spices. Long finish. The wine drinks well now but it should improve a bit more. It has fifteen years left in it. Better with food but nice on its own. It would work well with a spicy sausage cassoulet.
Epilogue. The six of us who were SonkinCellars had a blast. We learned so much and some of it was even about making wine. I think for us, we got in at a great time, with a great shared vintage of what we wanted in our wines. I think the last ten years has proven we were on to something as alcohol levels in many wines have come down but not to crazy, lean levels. The use of blends and a California Appellation is more common and not considered a bad thing any more. And, for us, we got out at the right time. Although as was pointed out, Unmasked might have been a killer name for our 2022 wines!
