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2008
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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 96.3 pts. and median of 97 pts. in 54 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by csimm on 1/21/2024: Boy has this clamped down on itself since I last had it in 2018. Back then, it was gushing 100 points all day long. This bottle was sleepy and strict. Even with air, it was still kinda angry and in a 'pillow over the head leave me alone' kind of mood. Shoot for 2028 and see if 20 years from vintage will prove to be less sleepy-eyed? Fruit transitioning a bit too much? Flavors and focus seem on-point in terms of "stuffing," but they are cloaked under a flat and starchy blanket at the moment. Patience? I hope to think it’s not losing its fruit already.
The 2008 Duel Grenache served next to it was much more expressive. (1762 views) | | | Tasted by RMundell on 12/10/2023 & rated 96 points: Monster wine. Silky, spice dark fruits. Still has plenty of time left. (597 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 8/26/2023 & rated 97 points: 4th Saturday Brown Bagger (R&D’s): Blind. Deep color. Aromas of licorice, blackberry liqueur, roasted game and spice. Full-bodied. Flavors of spice, black fruit, pepper, rose water and cured meat. Medium tannins with a lingering finish.
This too had been opened just over seven hours before the flight was poured, and decanted for three hours in that stretch. There's still plenty of life left in this and the grenache. (1138 views) | | | Tasted by Quiet Lion on 12/9/2022 & rated 96 points: Pop and pour. Showing beautifully with fine tannins, silky black fruit and integrated acid, herbs, long finish. (1511 views) | | | Tasted by Ex-Ray on 10/13/2022 & rated 89 points: Blind tasting of 12 syrahs from Washington, Oregon, Paso Robles and Australia. This didn't get a single vote as the favorite. Deep and dark but one-dimensional, without complexity of aroma or on the palate. A big, still tannic and closed wine without much charm.
Ric (1504 views) | | | Tasted by Volleyball on 10/2/2022 & rated 95 points: Amazing power and complexity as expected. I wasn’t quite as blown away as with the Dark Blossom though. (1113 views) | | | Tasted by rustyRudy on 5/22/2022 & rated 99 points: Part of the post birthday celebration. Burgers and by itself. Deep purple. Spicy blackberry cobbler , menthol albeit subtle nose , fully throttle blueberry, ripe black cherry, vanilla, moderate tannins with a touch of heat on the dark fruit filled long finish (1531 views) | | | Tasted by andrewdodd86 on 5/22/2022 & rated 100 points: Sweet Jesus. Absolutely perfect zero question. Blueberry compote, açaí, nose is transcending. Touch of meat, in a Rhone way not a funky way. Chocolate. Transporting. Ethereal. Perfect. At peak but not fading. 2022-2030?+ (1258 views) | | | Tasted by Elkcims on 4/17/2022 & rated 97 points: Super delicious! Notes as last time except with a 3 hour decant and consumed over 2 hours. (1193 views) | | | Tasted by Elkcims on 7/27/2021 & rated 97 points: Tasting every couple hours, it took an 8 hour decant to fully blossom. Full bodied, deeply extracted, yet luxurious. Deep black fruit, black raspberries,grilled meat, earthiness, black olives, semi sweet chocolate, pepper. A real sipper that carried the high alcohol well. (1874 views) | | | Tasted by dcwino on 7/16/2021 & rated 95 points: Annual gathering with Chicago winos in Chicago (Smyth and The Loyalist - Chicago IL): Another big scale wine displaying concentrated rich black fruit, blackberry jam, sour cherry, dark caramel, milk chocolate, licorice, strong oak and earth. Exceptional concentration, layers upon layers of concentrated black fruit, opulent, round, creamy and warm, good acidity and mineral, and a long ripe black fruit driven finish. I am not sure how this will develop. Another impressively concentrated wine. There is a hint of heat at the end. (2250 views) | | | Tasted by Lord of the Bottles on 7/13/2020 & rated 96 points: Double decanted about an hour and a half before dinner. Nose was more muted than expected yielding red fruit and smoke. Palate more open, thick almost syrupy raspberries, white pepper, aniseed and licorice on a medium to long finish. Young and would benefit from some ageing but nice to drink now. I’m no expert on Manfred’s wines but after some vintages of SQN and NOK I think I prefer the NOK. 95-96 (2572 views) | | | Tasted by Quiet Lion on 9/25/2019 & rated 96 points: Decanted over cocktails. Still very young with thick, silky notes of blackberry, orange peel, and bitter chocolate. With about 90 minutes in the decanter it really blossomed and the nose became generous, with berry cobbler and light tobacco. The palate integrated and the bitterness faded. If drinking now I would give it a two-hour decant and I think there is still plenty of room for improvement. (3251 views) | | | Tasted by dcwino on 5/1/2019 & rated 97 points: Jailbreak Wine Dinner - 08 Cristal, 16 PYCM Remilly and etc. (St. Anselm): En magnum. This is the quintessential SQN Syrah. If you are a fan of extended bottle age SQN wines, you will find everything you love in this wine. Big but controlled, noticeable oak via coconut, cream and mocha. It is what it is. If you are a fan, this should be a three digit wine. (3754 views) | | | Tasted by tcarter on 4/29/2019 & rated 98 points: Needed some time to open up but then this was singing. Really glorious stuff. But don’t approach it for at least an hour in the decanter. Preferably two. (2549 views) | | | Tasted by csimm on 8/4/2018 & rated 100 points: Sine Qua Non (SQN) Magnum Extravaganza + Bevan, Mike Smith, Sparkling/Champagne, and others (Calistoga): From magnum. One of my favorite wines of the night. Off-the-charts intensity, concentration, and power (especially for a decade-old wine). Unbelievably complex. Notes of wild blackberry, camphor, campfire, sea foam, incense, baking spices, Brachetto d'Acqui, asphalt/dried tar, and some oyster shell. Smokey and salty, elevating the core fruit with a cut of saline-driven minerality and funky eucalyptol/creosote notes.
A fascinating wine that was similar to the 2007 Pictures, but with more complexity and a uniqueness of flavors that set it apart from all of the SQNs tasted. This was WOTN for many of us. Drinking amazingly well right now. A few hours in the decanter helped improve the depth and broaded the flavor spectrum a bit more. Probably good to hold for a few years, but having this from magnum (and decanted/aerated) was optimum at this juncture. A perfect and beguiling example of the varietal. (6559 views) | | | Tasted by Rosengoo on 7/11/2018 & rated 97 points: Drank at a friend's home with minimal decanting. Wow, this bottle was showing exceptionally well tonight. Clear and deep red in colour with a nose of dark cherries and peppery spices, the wine had flavours of these same cherries along with some blueberries, dark chocolate and a pleasant amount of pepper. Both the tannins and acidity were still very much present but in a good and balanced way. The finish on this wine lingered for quite a while on this lovely wine. (2930 views) | | | Tasted by JonnyG on 8/13/2017 & rated 93 points: Some Eclectic, Spectacular Wines; 8/13/2017-8/14/2017 (Santa Ynez Valley): One-hour decant, could have used more. Perfumed nose of violets, smoke and bacon fat. Rich, powerful and lush palate (no surprise), with notes of concentrated, sweet blue fruit, smoked meat and baking spices. Would have shown better with 4+ hours of air, and should improve further with more time in the bottle IMO. Not something I'd reach for every day, but impressive for what it is.
Update from Night 2: The wine is stubbornly unbudged. Time failed to move this big boy one iota... (3863 views) | | | Tasted by sevo on 6/9/2017: Opened four hours in advance and kept in cellar. Paired with a grilled and marinated flank. Still needed an additional thirty minutes before really blossoming. Everyone at the table truly enjoyed the wine, very silky on the palate with raspberry and cassis on the nose.
I had one bottle of this in my cellar. Would I purchase another at the current price? Good question. (3451 views) | | | Tasted by pdemaio on 5/23/2017 & rated 96 points: Classic SQN goodness. Great high notes, and wonderful complexity on the nose. Meat and berries on the body. Long, meandering finish.
PDQ96+ (3498 views) | | | Tasted by Rosengoo on 5/12/2017 & rated 95 points: This bottle was opened 4 hours before drinking at home with friends. The wine was deep garnet red in colour and clear and had a very strong nose of pepper and some caramel and chocolate. I tasted these same flavours although the pepper was thankfully not as strong as I thought it would be. There was also some vanilla in the glass and both the tannins and acidity were quite strong. This was a very flavourful wine tonight. (2822 views) | | | Tasted by pakabear on 3/6/2017 & rated 97 points: Improved since last time, but it was great every time I've been lucky enough to have this wine. No formal notes for this other than impression and I wrote down a score... Not helpful, I know. (3105 views) | | | Tasted by phenricsson on 1/15/2017 & rated 96 points: Similar flavor profile as B20 (tasted side by side) but more open and tasting more mature. (maybe the longer barrel aging?) This also improved with longer opening time. Decanting is good. (2653 views) | | | Tasted by tcosgriff on 9/27/2016 & rated 96 points: Deep purple color with a bouquet and flavor of ripe plums and vanilla. I do not detect any pepper notes, so often found in Syrah. Very good balance with no off notes and nice intensity. Very long finish. Another Wow wine from SQN. (2555 views) | | | Tasted by Rosengoo on 9/3/2016 & rated 95 points: This clear and deep garnet red wine was very approachable with minimal decanting. With quite a bit of candied cherries as well as a not overwhelming amount of spices on both the nose and in the glass, I really enjoyed this. The wine had mid to strong acidity and mid level tannins. Finally, it also had a long and fruitful finish to it. I'd like to try one of these with a longer decanting time and see how it shows. (2576 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Vinous Table: California Classics at Bar Boulud, New York (Jan 2015) (1/1/2015)
(Sine Qua Non Syrah The Duel Sta. Rita Hills) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Vinous Table: California Classics at Bar Boulud, New York (Jan 2015) (1/1/2015)
(Sine Qua Non Syrah The Duel Sta. Rita Hills) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, California Syrah on the Big Stage (Jun 2013)
(Sine Qua Non Syrah The Duel Sta. Rita Hills) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, California's Central Coast: Better than Ever (Aug 2012)
(Sine Qua Non Syrah Estate The Duel Sta. Rita Hills) Subscribe to see review text. | By Josh Raynolds
Vinous, November/December 2011, IWC Issue #159
(Sine Qua Non Syrah The Duel Sta. Rita Hills) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Exploring California's Central Coast (Aug 2011)
(Sine Qua Non Syrah The Duel Sta. Rita Hills) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Sine Qua Non Producer website
Ken Vastola's cool Sine Qua Non pages.
An Interview of Manfred Krankl - PodcastSyrah 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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