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2008
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| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 93.4 pts. and median of 94 pts. in 158 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Rbhan12 on 12/14/2023 & rated 94 points: Part of a steakhouse dinner. We had this with some lobster bites, onion rings, and scallops. PnP and chilled. Note copied below.
"GORGEOUS nose. Beeswax, white fruit and white stone, lemon oil. Palate is voluptuous and very full. Dried apricots, yellow florals, beeswax. Acidity is rather quiet but that’s what Rhone varietals offer. Great quality but not my preference. 94+ quality. " (339 views) | | | Tasted by I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine on 10/20/2023 & rated 95 points: Marvin (WineBurrowingWombat) Visits Minnesota; 10/16/2023-10/23/2023 (Jason's House): Amazing wine for a 2008 white wine....of course, it is SQN, and therefore a Rhone blend. I like this wine; it is a nice alternative to Chardonnay! Every bit as good as last bottle!
TN: Nose shows plenty of citrus, stone fruit and honeysuckle. Palate shows lots of rich, unctuous citrus oil and stone fruit (apricot and peach) with hints of honeycomb and some spice. Nice medium-long finish....love SQN! 95-95+ for my discerning palate! Drinking extremely well right now...I will likely drink my last bottle in the next 1-3 years. (598 views) | | | Tasted by WineBurrowingWombat on 10/20/2023 & rated 96 points: Cracking the whip; 10/16/2023-10/23/2023 (Eagan, MN): N: Peeled, fresh and ripened clementines with a subtle injection of dark honey. A bit of zest as well that adds nice complexity to the aromas, giving it some nice bitterness and an additional boost of citrus.
P: A gentle creaminess with a fresh lift coats the palate with deep white and dark yellow melons, aged citrus notes (while still maintaining freshness), a touch of honey and bitter wax. Everything leads into the finish, where a bit of spiced tree bark gets introduced.
The palate has an essence of orange and other citrus notes, with a nice intensity and freshness at the same time. These seem to age really well. If the weightiness can thin out as this ages more, while keeping the freshness, this would be amazing with even more time. (854 views) | | | Tasted by galewskj on 9/18/2023 & rated 95 points: Non-chardonnay white wine (Craig's yard): Unctuous, the nose is insane, rich, dense. Absolutely fantastic if you like big wines. Regrettably, it did get woody, slightly bitter and alcoholic as the bottle warmed up. (519 views) | | | Tasted by I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine on 9/17/2023 & rated 95 points: This was a treat! Typical SQN texture, i.e., viscous, honey-like mouthfeel that coats the tongue. A Rhone blend that features lots of Roussanne and other white varietals. Cork was saturated and crumbly, but wine was superb!
Color was medium golden yellow. Nose showed white flowers, tropical fruits and some mild spice and spring rain. Palate showed lots of tropical fruits (pineapple and honeyed mango seemed prominent). Wine had a hint of sweetness, but enough acidity that it was more of an after-thought. The wine also showed layers of beeswax, some bread dough and some mild cedar notes. All in all, a pleasure to drink, and squarely in my wheelhouse!
95, and likely peaking right now! I would suggest drinking up in the next year or so based on this bottle. A very pleasant surprise for an American white wine with this kind of age on it! (682 views) | | | Tasted by Sennma on 9/18/2022: This has become a wine that is more about its lovely texture than the fruit components. (805 views) | | | Tasted by Peech on 12/13/2021 & rated 94 points: Wow! So fragrant! A little acetone and alcoholic on the nose. Ripe on the palate. (905 views) | | | Tasted by bettyandrodger on 4/4/2021: How lucky am I to receive this gift from a friend! Beautiful caramelized mango and burnt honey notes. A true joy to sip and savor. (1334 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 3/5/2021 & rated 95 points: Mature golden yellow color. Notes of tangerine, quince, ripe orchard fruit, citrus and pear. The palate follows the bouquet in terms of flavors, with a rich, weighty texture. Terrific. (1619 views) | | | Tasted by eadsaaron on 10/20/2020 & rated 93 points: Past peak, but still rather good. Long finish, with matches, pineapple, marzipan, coconut. (1768 views) | | | Tasted by ews3 on 1/25/2020 & rated 92 points: Dried pineapple, still some fresh tropical fruit, spice (allspice, white pepper). Temperature important here — too cold and it doesn’t show enough, too warm and the alcohol is prominent). Long finish (1931 views) | | | Tasted by Burgundy Al on 8/17/2019 & rated 87 points: SQN & BBQ (The Krengels - Bannockburn IL): Small glass, brief note from memory. Very ripe with moderate structure, giving it fleshy textures that are rich and nicely dense, just slightly lacking brightness. Drink up. (2547 views) | | | Tasted by RAD2626 on 7/26/2019 & rated 92 points: Honey colored. Complex taste. Can taste the Viognier highlights. Beautiful distinct wine. (1390 views) | | | Tasted by Zweder on 6/29/2019 & rated 94 points: Occasional dinner group; Best bottles in white and red. (@ Bottles; Sas van Gent, Netherlands): In the bouquet some glue and yellow fruits. On the palate caramel, butter, a lot of sweetness and acidity. Very full bodied and a great length, but the wine lacks refinement imho for a higher score. (1782 views) | | | Tasted by wineismylife on 3/6/2019 & rated 95 points: WIML95
Tasted non blind. Followed over about two and a half hours.
Yellow color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of Graham crackers, brown spices, waxy yellow pears and lychee. Flavors of yellow pears, lychee, creme brûlée and minerals on the lengthy finish. Medium to bright acidity, full bodied. Drink now. Might be able to hold longer if you wish but I can't imagine this wine getting any better than it is right now. Drinking beautifully and picked up a point since my last visit. (1584 views) | | | Tasted by beezer6 on 3/3/2019 & rated 94 points: Braxton Cellars Cellar Raid (Libertyville, IL): Robust. Moderate dark yellow color. Funky nose with some nicely integrated oak.
Peach fuzz, sense the white pepper from the Viognier with some age. Palate is lighter and more supple than many SQN whites.
Nice lift on the finish. A uniquely elegant SQN white this time around. Really enjoyed. (1081 views) | | | Tasted by Burgundy Al on 3/3/2019 & rated 88 points: Raid the Braxton Cellar (Braxton Cellar - Libertyville IL): Small glass, brief note from memory. Very ripe and lots of butterscotch coming through at this age that I thought detracted from the overall balance vs when tasted a few years back. Still enjoyable, but absolutely time to drink up. (1806 views) | | | Tasted by Rosengoo on 12/23/2018 & rated 94 points: This clear and mid golden coloured wine was poured using the Coravin. The nose was dominated by honey and some wheat. In the glass were lighter citrus flavours of lemon, peaches, graham crackers mixed with some honey which gave it a lovely warmth. I really enjoyed this wine. (1015 views) | | | Tasted by Seafoam Manor on 9/22/2018 & rated 95 points: At ten years of age, I was really worried that this might be falling apart, but this was a really strong showing. Pretty massive and rich, but in a way that is totally appropriate to the style. The fruit skews very tropical, with big mango and pineapple notes, that all have a cartelized air to them, along with smoke notes, oak notes, baking spice and a touch of honey. The acid is pretty squarely medium, but there is enough to keep this from getting bloated. This does a very good job of handling the high alcohol, which seems totally integrated and was a big improvement from the bottle I had several years ago. Given the overall concentration, this seems to have several good years left in it, but it was drinking very well right now. (1238 views) | | | Tasted by Christoffer78 on 8/3/2018 & rated 94 points: The 2008 Kolibri is actually quite amazing stuff and a totally adorable effort. It builds upon a voluptuous heritage with balance and integration as keywords. This effort is certainly very well balanced and expresses an almond, lemon oil like palate and a rich profound texture. Like most whites from SQN, this effort reminds me of a northern Rhône white, but it is actually so much more than that... Most likely, this wine has a decade to go in the cellar. Bravo! (score is 94+) (1195 views) | | | Tasted by Ishara on 3/24/2018 & rated 95 points: Impeccable bottle. Rich notes of honey, melon, apricot. (1426 views) | | | Tasted by Ricky99 on 2/20/2018 & rated 95 points: drank side by side with body and soul 2007.... this was the better of the two but both were fantastic.. this showed its bouquet and its many layers of flavor much more clearly and was less "hot" (1488 views) | | | Tasted by Mrbuzz on 8/1/2017 & rated 94 points: My last bottle, open in bottle for 4hrs...69% Roussanne and 31% Viognier...last had this in 2011, noticed some heat, and wasn't up to the high standards. This bottle at age 9 is going out in style! Beautiful youthful aged shimmering gold with green hue... rich and buttery mouthful of pitted orchard(apricot, peach) fruit, as well as baked apple. The acidity is still intense, nice cut through the rich fruits. Still shows some heat though, little cocktail fume at times, noticeable but not offensive. Exotics abound! Smoked hazelnuts, white honey butter, flint strike...as well as the florals...honeysuckle, jasmine, agave. This is a great age for these wines...and letting them come to room temp from the fridge is key. Always a pleasure! (2532 views) | | | Tasted by bengti on 5/18/2017 & rated 95 points: Opened 30 min to stand and air, stored nicely at 12-ish degrees C and probably served 14-15C. At first, on the nose it has intense jammy summer fruits, alongside honey, sandy minerals, hint of camphor and spice. The palette is equally good, with a wide range of notes and flavors - apple slices, nuts, glycerin, savory compote, buttered shellfish, woodfired oak - it keeps evolving in the glass. Excellent length to carry through the flavours, and seamless integration with oak which was present but not overpowering. (2336 views) | | | Tasted by Peech on 5/17/2017 & rated 96 points: nice and toasty nose, with a little manuka honey, very ripe and alcoholic, floral, almost a little peachy and stone fruit. After opening up more, there was more sweetness and became so buttery. Beautiful. (381 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Sine Qua Non Producer website
Ken Vastola's cool Sine Qua Non pages.
An Interview of Manfred Krankl - PodcastWhite Rhone BlendA white wine containing two or more Rhône varieties, including: Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne, Clairette, Grenache Blanc and Bourboulenc. USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Central Coasthttp://www.ccwinegrowers.org/links.html
http://www.discovercaliforniawines.com/regional-wine-organizations/
http://beveragetradenetwork.com/en/btn-academy/list-of-winegrowers-association-in-central-coast-california-274.htm
Central Coast AVA WikipediaSanta Barbara County Santa Barbara County |
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