This month we present a choice of two very special wines from Sanguis. Sanguis, or blood in Latin, is the life project of Mathias Pippig and his wife Jamie Kinser. The project is deeply personal, artisanal, and completely handmade. The wines are made in very limited quantities (400 cases total in their inaugural vintage of '04, and not much more today ) and provide absolute intellectual drinking and discussion. The bottles are oddly shaped and oversized glass with wax closures and label art by Matthias himself.
This project is reminiscent of Manfred Krankl’s Sine Qua Non wines, both in the uniqueness of the packaging and the concentration and ripeness of the wines.
You have a choice between a bottle of Sanguis Infidels ($80) or Sanguis Novilerro ($70). There is enough on hand to purchase one bottle of each, if you wish. 
Infidels: From Robert Parker: "The 2006 Infidels has come on like gangbusters since I rated it from barrel last year. It is a provocative wine that may be controversial to many people, but I fell in love with it this year. It tips the scales at 15.5% alcohol and is a blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Grenache from vineyards in the Santa Barbara area.
Sweet ripe cassis, melted licorice, chocolate, blueberry pie, and spring flowers are all present in this dense, full-bodied wine that, despite its massive size and full-bodied power, has surprising elegance, purity, and depth. This may well turn out to be the best wine I have yet tasted from Sanguis, and I am still aghast at how I didn’t see this much quality coming from the barrel sample I tasted last year. 94 points." 
Novilerro: From Robert Parker "The 2006 Novillero is also showing slightly better than it was last year. An even more powerful wine at 15.6% alcohol, it is another intriguing blend of Syrah, Grenache, and Viognier, which gives uplift to the spicy, meaty aromatics, which also include creme de cassis, blackberry, licorice, and earth. It is a powerful wine, layered, extravagantly rich, and dark ruby/purple in color, as one might expect. This wine should drink beautifully for 7-10 years.
According to the winemakers:
Sanguis is a young California Central Coast based winery, and long-held dream come true. Our focus is on farming unique vineyards planted to (mostly) Rhone varietals in the Santa Ynez and Santa Maria Valleys and creating limited production blends from the grapes we grow there. We love the process – from growing the highest quality grapes to long barrel aging and creating unique blends – and tend to all aspects of it with an artisan approach to detail. As we grow our production each year (in small increments of about 100-200 cases), we seek out more unique vineyards and have begun to plant new vineyard blocks in existing sites that are best suited to our ideals of what a finished wine should be.
Our wines attempt to express both, the unique characteristics of the sites we farm, as well as our personal stylistic preferences – which seek to combine power and richness with balance and finesse, and the inherit beauty that the fruit possesses when harvested at optimal ripeness. There are no formulas and no sequels.
Each wine is a unique blend, so made to coax the best out of the ingredients with which the vintage provides us. Each blend bears a different name, the labels – which are unique to each one of these – are ‘homemade’, and we choose a particular bottle to suit the character of each wine.
Sanguis wines have garnered praise from acclaimed wine critics, sommeliers and buyers at a select few wine shops alike.
German-born Matthias Pippig is the vinegrower, winemaker, and creator of the labels. He was the head of sales, marketing and business development for the country’s leading artisan bread maker, La Brea Bakery and was previously involved with Campanile, and several other Los Angeles-based restaurants, as well as West Coast importer of the Marc DeGrazia Selections, Estate Wines Ltd. Jamie Kinser also has an extensive background in the restaurant business in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. She gets to do all the fun stuff (to do with TTB compliance, etc.), keeps us organized, is the contact for our mailing list customers, as well as full-time mom of two wild children.
Recipe (from Andy Carthy) Grilled Rib-Eye Steak with Heirloom Tomato Salad Serves 4
The smoky, meaty, rich and indulgent flavors of the rib-eye steak will be a match made in heaven for these brooding, spicy, ripe and incredible wines from Sanguis.
* 1 pound ripe heirloom tomatoes, cored and cut into small wedges
* ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
* 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
* 1 bone-in rib-eye steak (1 ½ to 1 ¾ pounds), 2 inches thick
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 3 cloves of garlic
* 1 sprig rosemary, leaves removed
* Coarse sea salt and cracked black pepper
* 1 tablespoon chopped mixed herbs-rosemary, thyme, parsley and oregano
Combine the tomatoes with extra virgin olive oil and vinegar in a bowl, toss gently and keep at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Prepare the grill. Let the steak stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Process the olive oil, garlic and rosemary leaves in a blender until combined and rub all over the steak. Season the steak with salt and pepper.
Cook the steak on the grill for 4 minutes and rotate 90 degrees, cook a further 4 minutes and flip the steak. Grill for a further 6 to 8 minutes and move to a cooler part of the grill for about 3 to 5 minutes for medium rare (135 F).
Remove to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Season the tomatoes and sprinkle with the herbs. Slice the steak and serve on large dinner plates with the tomato salad.
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