SQN White Birthday Weekend tasting in Vegas

This was a tasting among friends organized by our very gracious hosts Duncan Bastin and his fiancee Yvonne B. Accompanied by Bret & Amy Davis, Jeff Ruggels, and Sarah & Charles Hetzel. The dinner had 8 flights accompanied by wonderful meats, cheeses, breads, and Mediterranean fare. This is our second annual January Vegas SQN tasting and was particularly fun for me as it was also my birthday weekend celebration - turning 46! Thank you Duncan, Bret, Jeff, Yvonne, Amy, and Sarah for an incredibly generous and hedonistic food/wine weekend! Let's repeat it again in January 2017!

My WOTN was the 2000 Sine Qua Non Gewürztraminer No Name - truly a Unicorn bottle of wine of all Unicorns.

Complete rankings below:

1. 1999/2000 Sine Qua Non Gewürztraminer No Name - 100 points
2. 2012 Sine Qua Non Pearl Clutcher - 100 points
3. 1996 Sine Qua Non Omadhaun & Poltroon - 99 points
4. 2001 Sine Qua Non Rien Ne Va Plus - 98 points
5. 2000 Sine Qua Non The Hussy - 96 points
6. 2006 Sine Qua Non The Hoodoo Man - 95 points
7. 2013 Sine Qua Non Resiste - 91 points
8. 2000 Krug Vintage Brut Champagne - 91 points

• 2000 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut 91 Points

  France, Champagne

  Love this Champagne. Opens with terrific green apple, pear, and extreme toasted bread with hints of lemon. This Champagne is a crowd please and has great depth, richness, and posture.

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• 2012 Sine Qua Non Chardonnay Pearl Clutcher 100 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast

  This was my contribution to Duncan Bastin's SQN weekend of whites & reds. This was my second time ever enjoying this 100% chardonnay from Manfred Krankl of SQN with the same group of SQN enthusiasts and dear friends. While ideally this SQN would have many more years of cellaring , it is just too over the top delicious (it's uber hedonistic) to resist drinking this gorgeous white wine. Scarcity (800 bottles?) and crazy auction prices aside, the joy of drinking this SQN white with dear friends made it all worth it. I was blown away by the overall balance of this wine. The nose after over an hour plus decant was full of Aubert-like aromas - ripe apple orchards, grilled peaches, fresh lemons, with just a small hint of "bread notes". It was tantalizing to enjoy the aroma before imbibing. Upon first sip, I got very deep, full bodied, round mouthfuls of fruit ... unctuous in the glass. The texture of the wine clearly hints at it's aging potential and I observed the bold, sexy "wine legs" you expect out of an age-worthy white. I love the finish on the Pearl Clutcher - it just sings on and on. This is a massive Chardonnay that will be in prime drinking spot in 2018-2020, but I still love it now! As I shared when tasting "Pearl Clutcher sings in the glass like an island full of Sirens!" It was a pleasure to share this wine with friends.

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• 1996 Sine Qua Non Omadhaun & Poltroon 99 Points

  USA, California

  This was my first time enjoying this older SQN white. A blend of Roussanne and Chardonnay dominated by Roussane grape. This wine was a short decant yet still was massive. At 15.2% alcohol I was shocked as how it likely has mellowed. This was was complex on so many levels. It changed multiple times in the glass and I kept coming back to it during our tasting. I was struck by it's almost Sauternes like color yet it's glycerin and citrus (mid palate was orange peels) were prominent. The nose was that of a nutty madiera and as full-bodied in the flavor. I've read reviews of it's chewiness texture but I saw none of that. While it takes a while to get used to this dry wine - I loved its complexity on so many levels. I feel like its in it's ideal tasting window - but again this is the only bottle I've ever enjoyed

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• 2001 Sine Qua Non Roussanne Rien Ne Va Plus 98 Points

  USA, California

  Again this was also a first time SQN white for me and I loved it. A rare treat to enjoy as only a 100 cases of this 100% Roussane were produced. Definitely a first class White that has aged very nicely. Patience in cellaring this beauty has paid off handsomely. Also, very dry and Sauternes like for me. Huge hints of nutty, cirtrus like aromas. This was served at the best temperature possible and I loved all the nuances on this wine as it came to life in the glass. I would say balance wise this was a wine more in touch with Roussanne than the Omadhaun & Poltroon but not as much unctuous to it. I loved the honey but there were hints of some wood here which interfered with perfection for me. A truly out of this world wine. We are splitting hairs between #2, #3, and #4 in this lineup

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• 2000 Sine Qua Non Roussanne The Hussy 96 Points

  USA, California

  I believe this is my 4th time trying this SQN White since it's release. I believe I last tasted it in January 2015 and then prior to that in 2006 & 2007. The 4th time is a charm indeed. After approximately a 1 hour+ decant, there were still those familiar hints of petrol on the nose. The mid-palate of this dry 100% Roussanne wine was weighty, almost peach-like, with a spritz of smokey lovely orange jelly aroma. This is still a luxurious full bodied white who as a young Hussy from Alban Vineyards has matured a bit. She's starting to show some wrinkles, but hey that's ok. I actually enjoyed the less prominent alcohol this time around. The other note I detected here was the faint Orange Pez candy-like finish that hangs on at the end as if it's the one last tease as I empty my glass of The Hussy.

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• 2013 Sine Qua Non Résisté 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast

  I want to be clear before you read my tasting note here - this is a fabulous wine and one that will turn out beautiful with much more aging to it. I first enjoyed the Resiste 1/20/16 at a fantastic tasting menu dinner at Schwa (1 Michelin star BYOB in Chicago) paired with a course of frog leg's/tobiko broth/toasted rice pandan/reduced cherries and the wine paired brilliantly with such a crazy course - the heat matched the dish. Then on 1/29/16, among all these gorgeous older SQN wines, she did not fare so well. After almost a 2 hour decant, Resiste greeted us with a ripe golden yellow color. Hints of lemongrass, smokey nuts, citrus, and tangerine on the nose. The texture was almost creamy and heavy on the oak and nut flavors. The heat was present throughout the course of the evening fading only near the end. I am struck by the imbalance of this wine, but perhaps this was just bottle variation or the awkwardness of it;s youth. Resiste (the label is a picture of an agave plant) is a Spanish word which means "to resist" or "fight against" - which is what all owners of this wine should do - resist drinking Resiste too soon! The varietals are 45% Roussane, 26% Chardonnay, 14% Petite Manseng, 10% Viognier, & 5% Marsanne. Hold Resiste until 2020-2025.

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• 2000 Sine Qua Non Gewürztraminer No Name 100 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast

  Truly a Unicorn, try once in a lifetime, wine! I feel beyond blessed to have had the opportunity to taste this wine thanks to the generosity of our host DB. This is a difficult wine to explain. All I know is that it was not distributed to the full mailing list, but only to a few good customers some time around 2004. Some bottles were 1999 and some were 2000. We found the bottle shape to be similar to the 2000 Syrahs. The Gewürztraminer grapes were from Babcock Vineyard. My notes are short on this one because frankly this dry sweet wine LEFT ME SPEECHLESS. Truly the best Gewurztraminer I have ever had. The lushness just rolled over my tongue. In keeping with the theme of some of the SQN whites we enjoyed there were notes of smoke & sweet butterscotch intertwined. I loved the acidity and depth of the wine. This bottle was never formally offered and has a small circle area where the vintage should be written but wasn’t. This wine performed remarkably well and give its uniqueness & scarcity, I highly doubt I will ever have a chance to try this again. Not sure if this was the same fruit used for the Mr. K Gewurzt. I found this bottle which was spontaneously Popped n Poured to be alive, fresh, over the top vibrant and still very much youthful. It was as if Manfred jumped out of the bottle to say Hello to all of us enjoying it! I loved the brightness of its color and its residual sugary finish on the palate. 100 points all of the way for all of us! Blessed indeed.

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• 2006 Sine Qua Non The Hoodoo Man 95 Points

  USA, California

  This is my 3rd time trying the Hoodoo and it's best summed up as it's no longer the monster wine it once was. That is not necessarily a bad thing. At a monstrous 16% alcohol and a blend of Roussanne, Viognier, & Chardonnay, it came off as a wine intent on changing in the glass. This was a pop n pour served at the perfect temperature while decanting in the fridge. We were greeted with a wine of mid-pale yellow color, buttery and oily at first. Huge floral and tropical fruit bouquet with hints of honeysuckle, roses and peaches up front. I loved the figgy fruit initial palate but what struck me most was the pure acidity in the glass. What a great food wine this has become. I truly savored the butterscotch candy and lychee fruit combo with a slight hint of spice as the wine warmed up in the glass. I much preferred this wine the more it warmed up in the glass. Superb wine by an incredible winemaker.

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