11/13/2023 - ozziewine Likes this wine:

My first experience with Sine Qua Non. Got it on Winebid. Been on the wait list since April of 2014 and still bupkis, so finally got tired of waiting and bit the bullet ($215/$252 w/17% buyers premium – not sure what the winery price was/is).
Experimented with this on PnP, six hours and 24+ hours of air. Ultimately preferred PnP and subsequent aeration in the glass. That’s the norm for me with Syrah. I find the Syrah flavors less intense with air.
With a 15.8% ABV and the legend surrounding SQN, I expected a brutish jammy monster here. I was surprised at how elegant and understated everything about this wine was (is that the SQN style or is this an outlier?). Lighter on the palate than I expected. Felt like a much older wine than its’ four years. I liked that mellow aspect of the wine.
Interesting to compare this to the Andremily wines given that Jim Binns worked alongside the Krankl’s for so many years. In the end I prefer the Andremily. They appeal more to my preferred style with more interesting characteristics, intensity and just a touch of sweetness. Good for me I guess because I don’t think I’ll ever make the SQN list. LOL
Also fascinating was how this SQN reminded me more of the Saxum style than it did the Andremily.
I can see why SQN gets so much hype. This wine was expertly crafted. Would have liked to try it again in 10 years. Oh well.

8/6/2023 - Rabley Heath wrote:

Bought at Costco. “Cellared” for a couple of years.
Fabulous classy wine. Full body and juicy as one expects but the tannins are v mellow and melts in the mouth. Would even say it’s elegant for a Syrah. Also enough complexity (can taste the vines) to make it interesting. Had it with barbecued beef and they v much complimented one another - would say it would go even better with Wagyu’s fat (which ours wasn’t..).

12/19/2020 - Order66 wrote:

This was, well to say the least a very peculiar, intriguing beverage. I still don’t know exactly how to phrase or define what this was like. The scents upon pouring were very tropical and buttery, like if basic Rombauer was blended with some mango/guava/pineapple and then dusted with limestone. Then came the oak, and then some citrus- not like limes but more like tangerine/grapefruit. It’s pretty viscous. A sip was just as confusing. We got tons of butter, oak, bay leaf, pears, mangos, eucalyptus, thyme, grapefruit, mushrooms. The more you swirl it around, the more oily and salty it gets. About two hours in we noticed it became a lot more juicy, bringing about an airy feel paired with more citrus/pine overtones with elevated acid. I’m not really sure what to make of it, even less draw the conclusion of whether I actually like it- it’s unique. It’s a massive wine. This makes a typical California Chardonnay look like a wimp, but I’m not certain if this even hangs with that crowd. I’m interested to see what The Judge holds. I’m fairly certain that it was not flawed. If there are any Kongsgaard fans out there, please enlighten me as to what in the world I experienced.... I’d really like to know!

10/3/2019 - Mascarello59 Likes this wine:

2018 Bordeaux tasting event (Stockholm): Rich dark fruit with a modern, inviting style. Sweet voilets. Elegant with very fine tannin. Accessible now before closing down. Give it 10+ years.

1/27/2019 - theronware wrote:

The nose on this is delicious, with toffee/caramel as well as tart cherry and some leather. Palate though is thin -- with much higher acidity than the last few vintages. It's a kind of citric acidity, obtrusive rather than framing (and I'm an acid-freak). Not sure how this will develop but will revisit the rest of the bottle over the next couple nights to see how it progresses. Edit. After two nights in the fridge I retasted. The underlying material had plumped up a little but the dominant, citric acidity remained. We didn't finish the bottle as it just wasn't very enjoyable. The contrast with the resonant, easy, rich flavors of the 2005 vintage and the restrained elegance of the 2004 , couldn't be more marked.

12/8/2015 - CManthei wrote:

Lush black cherries and dark plums, pure velvet tannins and well integrated alcohol. Savoury nose and palate with loads of smoke meat, tar, menthol and crushed violets. Aged 7 years in small oak barrel, has a slight oxidative feel, but great integration of oak/fruit/acidity/alcohol. A delicious wine that is drinking now and will hold