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2008
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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 94.5 pts. and median of 95 pts. in 277 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Geoff on 4/20/2024 & rated 95 points: Deep dark luscious fruit, multiple layers of complexity in the background, firm but mollified sweet tannins, full bodied, smooth mouthfeel with a long long finish. Very pleasing wine. Appeared to have a lot left in the tank, both fruit and structure. Consumed over two nights and seemed best or improved the second day. Not Coravined, just recorked. (154 views) | | | Tasted by Minnesota on 3/18/2024 & rated 88 points: Monochromatic, pruney, one-note. Decanted two hours, no improvement over course of an evening. Shame has evolved into food-only wine. (333 views) | | | Tasted by melvinyeowq on 1/27/2024 & rated 91 points: Park90 / Grand Cru SQN Masterclass: 92% Syrah, 6% Grenache, 2% Viognier; 14% alcohol. Most old-world and palatable of the reds - at least I could decipher this to be a Syrah. Northern Rhone-like savoury bacon notes which I enjoyed, but why not buy a case of Levet instead (which would age better too)? (756 views) | | | Tasted by stayhappy21 on 1/27/2024 & rated 90 points: Tasted at the Sine Qua Non Q.E.D. The Masterclass Experience, part of the Fruits of the Vine 2024 at The Singapore Edition organised by Grand Cru.
Burnt rubber on the nose. Lean in style. Style is close to Northern Rhone. Elements are not in sync in the glass; not sure if the wine needs more time in the bottle or more time in the glass. (465 views) | | | Tasted by tcarter on 11/27/2023 & rated 96 points: In a wonderful place. Not sure this gets any better so I plan to drink my last couple bottles soon. Had with a grilled porterhouse pork chop and it was fantastic together. (669 views) | | | Tasted by konadog on 11/24/2023 & rated 93 points: Blackberry asphalt anise (572 views) | | | Tasted by buckeye76 on 9/10/2023 & rated 96 points: Definitely better than our last bottle based on my notes from 2018. This is not as big as some SQNs we've opened but this was drinking beautifully right now now. Deep color, blackberries, blueberries, and licorice, with floral, spice, and mineral notes in the nose. Rich black fruits in the flavor with nice complexity and great balance. A full bodied wine with a long lingering finish. Impressive. (765 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 8/26/2023 & rated 97 points: 4th Saturday Brown Bagger (R&D’s): Blind. Crimson color. Aromas of eucalyptus, black fruit, coffee, black raspberry and roasted meat. Well-balanced, showing just the slightest hint of tannin beneath the flavors of black and red fruit, pomegranate and white pepper. Long finish. Adds pine needle and kirsch notes with air. The most complex and nuanced wine in the flight, and a favorite of many around the table. I correctly identified this as the B20.
This bottle was opened a little over 8 hours before the flight was poured and was quickly double decanted off its sediment just before we left for the tasting. I think this was the perfect treatment- pull the cork anywhere from 8-10 hours before tasting, gently decant off its sediment and serve. In lieu of this, perhaps 3-4 hours in a decanter?
Plenty of life left here as well- this looked quite youthful for its age and cruised through the night without losing a step. With two bottles left, part of me wants to pull another right away as it's drinking so well, but I just may try and hold them for another 5+ and see what becomes of them. (914 views) | | | Tasted by csimm on 7/27/2023 & rated 94 points: Giuseppe's (Scottsdale, AZ): I’ve written quite a bit on this wine. It was a little misplaced in the spattering of wines at the table; so for that, it suffered a bit. That said, it did pair extraordinarily well with pork in wine sauce. Black and red fruited mostly, with some funky dusty blueberry peeking in and out of the profile. It'll hold for a while, but I'd personally drink sooner. (2556 views) | | | Tasted by canan on 7/25/2023 & rated 96 points: Lovely dark plum and cherry fruit but it is starting to show some complexity. Chocolate, tobacco and a fine florality. Velvety texture and an amazing acidity that balances the wine in a great way. Compared to previous experiences with this wine, it perhaps lacks a bit of overall intensity. It is however still a huge wine that I simply adored! (686 views) | | | Tasted by kzkpt on 7/22/2023 & rated 98 points: Astoundingly lovely and sensual. Sex in a glass for sure. Completely mature, with everything in balance, but could go another 10 years easily. Wow, just wow. (654 views) | | | Tasted by rustyRudy on 7/8/2023 & rated 98 points: Wine of the night, dark fruits, balanced, drinking great, bright cherry, tart, great acidity and just lovely (643 views) | | | Tasted by andrewdodd86 on 7/8/2023 & rated 99 points: Seabrook Beach Trip 2023; 7/8/2023-7/15/2023 (Seabrook Island, SC): More bright red fruit than the Dark Blossom. Cherry, plum, raspberry. Chocolate and tobacco. Fully mature tannins. White pepper. Drink now. Should last another 5-10 (664 views) | | | Tasted by I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine on 6/21/2023 & rated 96 points: Another Grand Tasting in Arizona! (Guiseppe's in Scottsdale): Splashed and slo-O for 3 hours. What can I say, it's SQN, decadence in a glass! Like drinking liquid velvet wrapped in dark fruit, anise, iodine and some forest floor. I love these wines, and it is always a treat to drink one! No hurry, still plenty of fruit and no heat. I don't know how they keep doing it, but SQN rocks! Solid 96 for my palate. (1117 views) | | | Tasted by Peech on 5/12/2023 & rated 95 points: Served 2 hour after opening without decanting. Really big wine, very woodsy, a little metallic, minty. More than 3 hours after opening the nose was even more open and showed more cedar notes. Drinking very well. (320 views) | | | Tasted by walkerjfw on 4/22/2023 & rated 97 points: Zurich Supper Club (London Finale) CVA/Christine/Andrew/Po Lin/Valerie, special guest Ethan! (67 Pall Mall - London, UK): One of my contributions for the evening. Andrew is a fan of GSM wines, SQN being a unique and sought after American version, this made the trip for a crew I was confident would appreciate the experience. I had decanted 6 hours prior, re-bottled for the trip to 67-PM.
Dark plum/purple, opaque. Nose showing signature dark fruits, baking spice, forest floor. Decadent palate...plum, dark cherry, black raspberry, savory, Christmas spice, crushed stone/mineral. Fruit showing through the mid palate Full body, long finish.
I think of SQN as a hedonistic wine, each one unique, requiring some patience in the cellar and the decant. this one went according to script. Truly special experience. Nice to share this with Andrew on this evening. Candidate for WOTN (520 views) | | | Tasted by I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine on 4/9/2023 & rated 96 points: This was the second wine the little urchins picked to drink.....who am I to argue!? PnP (decanted to remove sediment) and this was actually slightly disjointed on the PnP, but integrated in around 30 minutes aerating in the glass (and decanter, to a slightly lesser extent). Nose was perfumed and wonderful with lilac, some bacon notes, spice and hints of green pepper and tar. Palate showed plenty of dark fruit, some chocolate and some licorice, with spice, black pepper and roasted meat. As the flavors integrated, the licorice dissipated and flavors started melding together in an ultra-smooth fruit pie with hints of smoked meat and earth. A delicious wine that should be consumed slowly and savored, IMO! Solid 96 for the ride and flavor profile! (1338 views) | | | Tasted by Papies on 4/4/2023 & rated 94 points: The return to The Ledbury, (The Ledbury, London): A very good wine for sure albeit we felt it was lacking the charm and intensity of great SQNs. We are not exactly sure what was missing but we all felt it including a great SQN lover that we are glad to call a close friend. Big and bold and with rich core of fruit and big in all aspects. Just was not at par with the best and excellent SQNs that we have tried over the years. Still a solid 94 of course as it is an SQN too. (1166 views) | | | Tasted by wine-eau on 2/12/2023 & rated 94 points: This bottle was singing right out of the gate! Blackberry, crushed stone, black licorice, smoked meat. Well-integrated with a lovely mouthfeel. Tasted over the course of 4 hours, it remained solid but I can't say it improved at any point. (1170 views) | | | Tasted by csimm on 11/6/2022: This could certainly go another 3-5 years with no problem. Showing a meaty but finessed profile, with a bit of flex for the initial pour. Three hours in the decanter made for marked improvement overall. A beautiful wine that shows that the “regular” bottlings of SQN not only have the ability to age, but pretty much demand it.
I always pop these too young (looking at you 2018 Z) just to find out what’s under the hood, and they have the ability to perform young with proper service and aeration, but it’s that 10 year from vintage mark (and beyond, especially with 11 Confessions) where they seem to find a nice glide. I’ll always pop these in varying stages and typically too young, but I think any idealist with one bottle should almost always consider holding for a decade. (3630 views) | | | Tasted by Mbad77 on 6/25/2022 & rated 94 points: Has barely moved in the 3 years since my last bottle. The high alcohol possibly shows up a little more. Still a very good bottle (1820 views) | | | Tasted by hoservin on 4/2/2022 & rated 95 points: Decanted for one hour. Nose of blackberry, smoked meat, garrigue, licorice, cedar and spice. Black fruit, smoked meat, licorice, garrigue and fine tannins on the palate. Very long, layered finish. Waves of flavor. Full bodied. Served with reverse seared strip steaks and a green peppercorn cream sauce. (1815 views) | | | Tasted by Jzboxtas on 2/12/2022 & rated 94 points: Phenomenal. My first of two bottles, jam on the nose and palette. Finish goes on and on. Loved (1981 views) | | | Tasted by warrenpeace on 1/28/2022 & rated 98 points: Wow ! Full throttle fruit indeed but, as is the SQN trademark, pushed to the limit of ripeness but still great balance. Numerous years at peak for this one. (1914 views) | | | Tasted by kzkpt on 1/1/2022 & rated 97 points: Holy shit! Opened but not decanted for 2 hours. Dark red fruits, full-bodied no-kidding Cal syrah with 15%+ alcohol. and moderate acid. No burn, but the alcohol is all there. Over a minute finish, likely even longer. Astounding. (1820 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Gary Walsh
The WINEFRONT (3/15/2013)
(Sin Qua Non ‘B20’ Syrah) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jeb Dunnuck
JebDunnuck.com, Issue #10 (12/4/2011)
(Sine Qua Non Syrah B 20) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Exploring California's Central Coast (Aug 2011)
(Sine Qua Non Syrah B-20 Central Coast) Subscribe to see review text. | By Josh Raynolds
Vinous, November/December 2010, IWC Issue #153
(Sine Qua Non Syrah B-20 California) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of The WINEFRONT and JebDunnuck.com and Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Sine Qua Non Producer website
Ken Vastola's cool Sine Qua Non pages.
An Interview of Manfred Krankl - Podcast2008 Sine Qua Non Syrah B 20 91% Syrah
6% Grenache
3% ViognierSyrah Varietal article (Wikipedia) | (Wines Northwest)
Note that some producers in the Northern Rhone distinguish between simply Syrah and "Serine", the latter described as ‘an ancient clone of Syrah, the berries of which are more oval-shaped and less deeply pigmented than Syrah’ by producer Tardieu-Laurent. 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 Wikipedia |
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