An evening with Chave, SQN, Captain Kirk and others

Where to begin. This was an amazing night of wines, food and friendship. Over two years in the planning, five couples met at the Greenhouse Tavern to enjoy put our meals in the hands of Jonathon sawyer and his staff. Jonathon is one of the great chef's in the world and Cleveland is so lucky to have him. His staff does him proud. Special thanks to Jonathon, Bridget, and Veronica for really making this a great night. We were seated in a semi-private area next to the open kitchen. It was a blast. As were were finishing, they set up a small bar area for some guests. It turned out to be William Shatner and his wife who were in town and wanted a small private but great meal. While we were stealing looks at him, they were stealing looks at the number of glasses on our table. On to the wines:

• 1996 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 96 Points

  France, Champagne

  Great showing for this wine. Got one WOTN vote and a crowd favorite. Also a sentimental vintage for Jonathon. The nose is slightly toasty with some orange peel. Nice acidity. Slightly sweet on the attack. Incredible balance. Seamless. Worked well with food. Very special Champagne. I was hoping for very good, and this well exceeded expectations. A great start.

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• 2002 Sine Qua Non Whisperin' E 94 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast

  A Roussanne/Viognier blend with some Chardonnay if my memory seres. This had a huge nose when opened. Seltzer with some lemons. The palate was not quite as nice as the nose. Nuts, tropical fruits and just a hint of oxidation. I thought it did improve with air though. Lacking a bit on the acidity side. Impressive wine nevertheless for ten years.

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• 2005 Sine Qua Non The Petition 92 Points

  USA, California

  I believe the same Roussanne, Viognier and Chardonnay blend. The nose is waxy with an almond note to it. Not nearly as expressive as the Whisperin E. Is this in a Rhone-style shut down mode? Perhaps, but it never really opened as much with air. Still, it has a nice complexity to it that the E doesn't have if seemingly buried deep in the wine. It has a waxy/lemon chiffon quality. Like the E, I would prefer a bit more cut to it. Still, it went well with the food.

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• 1997 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 95 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  A better than expected showing for this wine IMO. Ruby/purple in color. The nose has black cherries, a slight menthol note and some anise. Also some barnyard/funk. Some thought this blew off, but I didn't. I also did not mind it. On the palate, more cherries and tart cherries. Great with food. A strong showing. While mature, no hint of sliding downward. A co-WOTF for the group.

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• 1999 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 97 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Ruby/purple in color. This was the only wine in the flight with a clean nose (no funk). Black raspberries, cassis, cinnamon, violets and minerals. On the palate, this is young, still tight (despite being slow-oxed for 6 hours), and full of fruit. It does need more time as it improved all night. Outstanding wine.

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• 2004 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 94 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  There is a definite difference in style from the 99 and 97 to the later vintages it seems. Also, many things in common. This has a nice nose with cassis, black cherries and anise. Also some funk. It is much softer on the palate. Nice solid black cherry fruit. It has a nice acidity though that work with food. The finish is slightly drying with an oak note. Still, on any other night, an outstanding wine.

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• 2006 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 95 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  This is the most youthful tasting at the table. It took some time to open and when last seen (tasted) was still improving. It is much more masculine in style. The nose shows cassis, camphor and a slightly medicinal note (not in a bad way though). It is strong. Lots of tannins and fruit. Cassis, black raspberries with enough acidity. Needs a decade to unwind. Still, its a beautiful wine tonight.

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• 2007 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Not sure if this was a proper bottle or not. It was an outstanding wine, but the weak sister in this line-up. It is tight and young, so perhaps. The nose has black raspberries and some funk. It also had this obvious buttered popcorn note. I am assuming this mean the fruit is taking a back seat to the oak at the moment. It is the lightest in body. The hardest in tannins. Black raspberry fruit. There may be some lurking complexity but its not showing itself tonight. This bottle was pop and pour, so perhaps air would have helped.

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• 1999 Sine Qua Non Syrah The Marauder 94 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast

  Very nice nose. Black raspberries, bacon fat, camphor and some pepper. On the palate, this is very soft. This bottle was bought on auction I believe, so I don't know about storage. It seems as though its at peak or slightly past. Still, there is plenty of outstanding fruit. A nice acidity too. Just a preview for the rest of the flight.

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• 2002 Sine Qua Non Syrah Just For the Love of It 100 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast

  An awesome showing for this bottle. The near unanimous selection for WOTN (not just the flight). This was slow-oxed for 7 hours. Incredible nose. Similar to the Marauder but amped up. Black raspberries, blueberries, floral notes, white pepper, a bit of cassis, and some spice. OMG, the texture. Supple, silky, full bodied. I was doing some spitting on this night, but mouth.brain refused to allow this to be spit. Black raspberries, layered with blueberries, slight baked earthiness. There is something for everyone here. I was surprised how across all the palates on the table, this was loved. I bought this on release from back in the day when SQN was available on the retail shelves here in Ohio. Sadly, that ended with the 06 vintage. Really a wow wine!

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• 2003 Sine Qua Non Syrah Papa 98 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast

  Coming after the JFTOLI, I think this was disappointing at first to many. Yet, with air and recalibrating, this is a remarkable wine. It is flat out awesome. The nose had black raspberries, blueberries, a bit of cocoa, and some black pepper. Great texture. Nice acidity. On the palate, there is a dark chocolate and black raspberry thing, maybe as a liqueur. A finish that is amazingly, long. Went just fine with my food as well. Another Wow.

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• 2006 Sine Qua Non Syrah Raven Series 96 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast

  This almost seemed a step back in our spoiled world of last night. The nose is boysenberries, camphor, violets, cocoa, and a mineral/pencil lead note. Not the texture of the prior two wines, but full bodied. Needs air/time to unwind. Very nice blueberries/black raspberry fruit. Great balance. Long finish. Not as seamless as the other wines, the oak and "gobs of fruit" need some time to integrate.

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• 2007 Sine Qua Non Syrah Labels 99 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast

  Whoa, back up there again. This was pop and pour and it was awesome for the get go. The nose has black raspberries, blueberries, a bit of cocoa, floral notes and that same pencil lead/mineral quality. On the palate, the texture is up there with the JFTLOI. Lush, silky, full bodied, just makes it so enticing. And there is plenty of complexity and fruit at this young stage that it is so delicious. A finish that goes forever as well. Obviously this has 10 to 20 years left, but it is fantastic right now. Just WOW.

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• 2009 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Sanctus Sanctorum 98 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  In a room filled with wine geeks, this was the first time any of us had ever had this wine. I liked it better than most, but that may be because others had higher expectations. A lighter ruby color. The nose has black cherries, slight violet notes, some spice, and a bit of smoke. Wonderful silky texture. On the palate, raspberries, black raspberries, black licorice with a nice streak of acidity. It did have some heat on the finish. This was pop and pour from a Magnum. I don't know if air would have helped as the air at the table added a ton of tannins and eventually shut this down. Maybe a very long decant. Of course, the better solution is to age it for a bit, but I am glad that George didn't take that route and brought this to drink!

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• 2005 Saxum Cuvée Rocket Block James Berry Vineyard 97 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles Willow Creek District

  Also from Magnum. The group overwhelmingly preferred this to the Sanctus Sanctorum and this got one vote for WOTN! The nose has black and red raspberries, charcoal, violets and smoke. On the palate, I found this slightly sweet (others found the Sanctus sweeter), full of fruit, mostly raspberries and black raspberries. A slight licorice note. This is seamless and easy to drink with a lush texture. Another long finish. Other that the JFTOLI, no wine was more universally liked. As Tom noted, it has the dichotomy that is a trademark of Saxum, it is a huge wine that is so light on its feet. Awesome!

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• 2006 Sine Qua Non Chardonnay Mr. K The Noble Man 95 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley

  I have never been a big fans of these wines, and after all these great wines, I was hesitant. But this one was awesome. The nose is great. Expressive. Tropical fruit, a slight petrol note (not bad), peaches and a bit of caramel. Slightly cloying, I prefer more acidity, it still worked great, especially with a sea salt popcorn flavored creme brulee dish. Beautiful.

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• 2005 Sine Qua Non Chardonnay Mr. K The Noble Man 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley

  This is good, no better than that, but it was way behind on the night. Take the 06, add some alcohol so its slightly unbalanced, and remove some of the purity of fruit. And here you are. Again, its an outstanding wine, but after all this, I just wasn't willing to settle. Its amazing how spoiled we can get sometimes.

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• 2000 Château Henye Tokaji Essencia 94 Points

  Hungary, Tokaji

  Jonathon added this as an extra treat. This was really fascinating. The most viscous wine I have ever had. The nose has figs and honey and not too dissimilar from a fig newton. On the palate, it was hard to drain the glass as it just coated everything it touched. There is some acidity to it although it is very sweet. I thought it worked with the multitude of desserts that just kept coming. Really a treat.

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• 2005 Sine Qua Non Grenache Atlantis Fe2O3~2d Vin de Paille 91 Points

  USA, California

  This is a late harvest Grenache. The nose has this Acai berry (a term I have never used before) note to it. Its very sweet. Someone noted that the similarity between this and the Saxum which I did not find. I guess they meant that this was a late harvest version? In any event, I found this lacking in acidity and a bit disjointed. Of course, I am again nitpicking as this is outstanding, but so it goes. Others liked this much more than I.

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I know where to end. While the wines were amazing and the food just as good or better, this was a night about people. Five couples who came together over wine many years ago, and stayed together because we enjoy and love each other. Sure, it was a night of overindulgence and decadence. But, if it was an overindulgence of wine and food, it was even more so an overindulgence of friendship. That's not really a problem though. We were all glad to participate and on the way home, the talk did not center on the wines and they food, it was on what a great time we had.