Sanguis 'Bossman' Syrah Blend 2017
(Santa Barbara, California) - [JD 94] [VM 93] [WA 93]

About the Winery:

Located in a converted warehouse in the heart of Santa Barbara’s industrial zone, Sanguis uses grapes from the Central Coast's Santa Ynez and Santa Maria Valleys to produce wines that are composed of any combination of a dozen or so grape varieties ignoring traditional rules by crossing the lines between Rhone, Burgundy, and Bordeaux varietals.

About this Wine:

Founded by Mattias Pippig in 2004,  Bossman was inaugurated in 2005. It is composed of those Syrah barrels that embody the spirit of its title.  Always a Syrah-focused composition with various supporting components whose ratios change with each vintage to produce consistency of the signature Bossman character – dark, brooding, with an elegant authority and manifest strength.

Powered by 383-clone Syrah from an always-windy*-always-mystery-producing north-facing block at John Sebastiano, co-fermented (about 30% whole cluster) with dollops of Viognier, Petit Sirah, and Grenache and lovingly raised for 26-ish months in a combination of new and seasoned large French Oak and Acacia barrels.

Food: Tacos al pastor would be ideal; or tea-smoked duck (with plum sauce and scallion wrapped in those paper-thin Chinese rice-tortillas), or some pork-belly sliders.

Music: Growin’ Up (live in Dublin version), “The Boss”; Empty House, Delta Spirit; Fare Thee Well, Oscar Isaac & Marcus Mumford; Love Me, Flat Duo Jets; Change, Blind Melon; Narrow Escape, Ray Lamontagne; New Saint Jude, Andrew Bird

Ratings & Reviews

94 Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
"Lastly, the 2017 Bossman is mostly Syrah yet includes 17% Petit Sirah, 10% Grenache, and 3% Viognier. This spicy, perfumed beauty offers up lots of redcurrant and blackberry fruits as well as lots of peppery spice, cedar, chocolate, and loamy earth. Medium to full-bodied and beautifully balanced, with ripe tannins, it's a wild, complex Syrah blend to enjoy over the coming 10-12 years. I don’t think it matches the 2015 or 2016, but it’s not far off and is a stunning wine." (8/4/20)

93 Points - Vinous Media:
"The 2017 Bossman is rich, ample and enveloping. An infusion of inky dark fruit, licorice, dark chocolate, spice and lavender saturates the palate. The 2017 is unctuous, full-throttle and incredibly persistent. There is not a ton of subtlety here, but there is certainly tons of punch." - Antonio Galloni (Aug 2020)

93 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"The 2017 Bossman is a blend of 70% Syrah, 17% Petite Sirah, 10% Grenache and 3% Viognier. Medium to deep ruby, the nose opens with touches of flint and scorched earth with cassis fruit and accents of mushroom powder and dried flowers. The full-bodied palate has dark, floral-laced fruits with a firm, fresh frame and long finish. 275 cases produced." - Erin Brooks (Oct 2020)