Sine Qua Non, the California syrah that reduces even the most hardened wine collectors to spent lees, has no equal in more ways than one. First, it is probably the most collectable wine on the market even though it sells for more than $200 a bottle. No one seems to drink it — I recently read a story that estimated far less than 30 percent are consumed. Most sit like museum pieces in cellars of the most elite collectors who either sell them for profit or prominently display them for visitors to see.

Its winemaker and owner don’t agree to interviews or allow for any visitors. They don’t need any marketing or promotion — just the frustration of not being able to buy the product. Some people have been on the waiting list for years.

For years I wanted to taste the wine just to see what the fuss was all about. Finally, got my chance when a good friend and collector opened a bottle after I put together a program and tasting of the wines of the Languedoc-Roussillon region. He and his wife were headed there for a month. It was quite a generous reward.

Now that I’ve tasted the wine, I get it. I don’t think I have ever tasted a syrah of this caliber and that includes some the best wines from the northern Rhone Valley. Of course, stylistically it quite different from the massive syrahs made in northern Rhone. The Sine Qua Non is more extracted, more hedonistic. The 2011 Dark Blossom, blended with grenache and petite sirah, was loaded with forward and young black fruit flavors and layers of herbs and spice. Big tannins make it a keeper for sure. Even at 11 years, this wine could last at least another 10.

I may not be able to afford to buy it — if I lived long enough to get off the waiting list — but I’m blessed to have tasted it. It will go down as one of my favorite all-time wines.