A small sample from Enomatic in Hedonism Wines. No sign of aging on the rim. As with SQN wines, the nose is almost overpowering. Such intensity of fruit. A heady compote of black fruit that never drops in intensity. It’s the same on the palate. The finish stays for minutes. Amazing.
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PNP. I am not a big fan of Cali Grenache, but this was very good. Age has mellowed it, and it had quite a bit of balance for such a big wine. Relatively easy to drink with and without food. I still much prefer the SQN syrah but this was very good. A-
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Served to us blind by Walter. Previously decanted. Very flowery nose with some cedar characteristics that make me think cabernet. In the mouth, I get raspberry and some jammy black fruit, but continue to get this cedar leather cabernet profile. Michael says it may be one of Walter's SQNs. It certainly is flamboyant enough to be an SQN, but it doesn;t seem to me as powerful as the SQNs I've had in the past. I say 2005 California cabernet. Michael is correct. To be sure, this is a very nice wine. It's just not as wonderful as other SQNs I've had (a high standard to meet).
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Served blind to friends along with 2007 Vieux Telegraphe. Massive wine which seemed to go back and forth between a black berry spectrum of fruit and something more raspberry like during the evening...easily masking the high alcohol content. Spicy notes (cinnamon?), very long finish with tannins well hidden in the fruit. Went well with steak. But a tiring wine almost candy like, overblown; less complexity and interest in the end than the VT which we all preferred, thus the 90 score which is generous.
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Drank at Melisse with MT, RP and MH. Excellent, fully mature. Great flowery SQN signature nose. Soft red fruit on the palate. Tannins fully integrated. Balanced. Loved it.
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Decanted 2.5 hours. First glass rough but 90 minute later refill much improved as softened and opened up. Last bottle, wish I'd opened in the morning to consume 8+ hours in.
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Decanted for 1.5 hours before drinking then consumed over 2 hours. drank my last 1/2 glass over 40 min. I got the cherry and blackberry aroma upon opening and was silky smooth upon initial tasting. It kept it smoothness over the whole night and time seemed to intensify the red fruit and jam flavors and nose. Excellent concentration with bright acidity. Not as boozy as I was expecting given its 15+% ABV I think it is getting to its prime now and will hold it for 5+ years.
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Post Justin B's 40th birthday celebration dinner - Mostly SQNs. (The Grill Room at the Rosewood DC): Similar expression as the naked truth but a bit more angular. Intense nose displaying cherry liqueur, blackberry liqueur, caramel, coconut, sweet spices and mineral. Excellent concentration, raspberry jam and sweet spices driven palate impression, bright acidity, a hint of tannins and a long sweet red fruit driven finish. Needs a few more years.
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Dinner at Trelio (Clovis Ca.): Showing some Bordeauxish leather with age...pretty red fruits, liqueured and ripe, exotic woods and spices, white pepper, cherry blossoms...silky smooth...drank rather regal throughout the evening.
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Amazingly, still bright and young. Balanced and complex, has had enough time for scents and flavored to blend but far from muddy. Surprisingly delicate.
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Lush, full-bodied blackberry/black raspberry fruit, very smooth and round, excellent structure, showing some age as fruit is less fresh, medium finish, tannins completely mellowed, very little evidence of high alcohol despite wine being 15.9%, the thick lushness is like drinking a milkshake, very good wine but not worth $120 per bottle
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BYO - US wines (NO.2): Dense, expressive and compact with a lot of jammy fruit. Even though it seems alcoholic and jammy, there is still that amazing SQN lightness and balance that makes everything worth while.. A beautiful bottle!!
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While I love the Poker face from this vintage, this Grenache-based wine is showing too much sweetness on the finish for me and feels over the top. It did not go well with food and was bested by the '03 Pegau Cuvee De Capo which was just as big but showed more freshness, acidity and balance.
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nose with dark red fruit and lots of spices, with some cherries and strawberries. Overall it is able to hide the high alcohol level well. Easy to drink, initial attack seems weaker than it actually it, palate smooth and sweet, the alcohol hits u in the back with some heat, very long finish. Drinking quite well now after like 5hrs in the glass, certainly can cellar for much longer.
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Dark color, but not overwhelming as many SQNs can be. As other have mentioned, this bottle was more balanced than others I have had-in a very good way. Blackberry, soy, long finish. Very pleasurable and luxurious. Velvety tannins are smooth and integrated. Excellent.
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A Particularly Pleasant Dinner Out with Dear Friends (Craft Century City): From a 750 graciously brought by my companions, who purchased it on release. Decanted for an hour, though it hardly needed it. The bouquet was so potent it was as if the wine demanded to emerge from the glass. Notes of sweet balsamic, soy and dark cherry. Pepper, anise and huge black fruit on the palate. Visualize some warm childhood imagery of velvety syrup being drizzled slowly and generously onto homemade pancakes, so that the liquid folds pile onto one another before merging into one seamless helping -- this is the best way I can express the wine's depth, concentration and layered complexity in the mouth. A powerhouse, yet the alcohol never showed. Clearly superior to the 2004 Ode to E I enjoyed a few months back, hence my first ever 97 point accolade. Well done! I should add that the wine seemed to shut down a bit after an hour or so, suggesting there's no reason to hold on to any remaining bottles much longer.
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Berserker Fest Friday Dinner - SQN Table (Blue Star Bistro - Chicago, IL): Sexy and subtle. Cinnamon, caramel, molasses, raspberry and milk chocolate. Not as in your face as other SQN. Little bit of ink and crayon. Depth on the mid palate is excellent. Very bright and sexy blood orange finish.
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Chicago Berserkerfest Dinner (Blue Star Bistro - Chicago IL): Massive, dense and powerful with huge black fruit that seems to have lost some of the spice and charm I recall from a few years back. Lots of pleasure, just not lots of nuance tonight.
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A bit closed at first, but drinking well with a couple hours of air. This is my first time with this wine so I can't say how it's evolving, but it does seem about as mature as domestic Grenache gets. That said, there's plenty of structure to hold this for several more years. This is most notable for it's exotic aroma - teriyaki and 5 spice? Whatever it is, it's a sensational perfume. The fruit is wonderful as well - rich and long, but not particularly primary, so I wouldn't cellar this too long. There's some gritty tannin that gives this some good traction and length to the finish.
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So much going on in this wine. Tobacco, roast beef, eucalyptus, floral (lavender?), cassis, and vanilla cake in the nose for me. Bit of alcohol still showing.
Layers of flavors evolve on the palate too, shifting through fruits, florals, and minerals. Alcohol is more evident to me in this bottle than the last one I had, but not unbalanced. Finish dances around the tongue for almost a minute.
In a great place to drink now I think, but has plenty of life left.
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Possibly the best wine I've had the pleasure of tasting in my limited experiences. Tasted at SQN tasting along with 7 other SQN wines from 2003-2009. This was the winner, both for me personally and as voted by the group.
I want to put up a much more detailed note on this, but it was had out at a great wine bar, and I just didn't take notes. This is really an amazing wine. Layers upon layers of flavors and aromas. Long finish, that evolved through so many different stages it blew me away. Didn't taste anything like the 15.9% alcohol it was labeled as, the balance was so great, smooth tannins and just...wow. A classic.
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non blind to me only. didnt know it had been four years since last tasting this wine. still a thrilling tasting experience. paired this against/with the eba ode to e. quite a pairing if i do say so myself :) wonderful balance. nose of creamy fruits, earth, spiciness and deep flowers. really jumps from the glass. on the palate, a real treat. wonderfully balanced despite the number of dimensions here. layers of fuit and spice intermixed with that muscular earthiness i get from these. but all in balance tonite. the finish is all that and lingers. the funny thing was i was hard pressed to find a fault in this wine until i moved to the ode to e (see that note). the ode to e had all of the above, but something else, something special. bigger, richer, better balance, etc. wines of the same vein but clearly the ode to e was the big brother when tasted side by each. table seemed to agree and had no trouble picking out the eba.
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Dark and chewy wine with a seamless texture like luxurius heavy velvet, aromas and flavors of blackberries and blueberries together with plummy notes on a backgroung of intense floral notes reminiscent of violets and poppies almost numb the senses. The combination of freshness and ripeness is astounding. Licorice, chocolate and tar add to the complexity. Oak is perfectly integrated. This wine despite its super full body is drinking effortlesly due to sky high balancing acidity and is as surprising as seeing for the first time how fast a fat and heavy looking animal like the grizzly bear can run. A voluptuous experience on a level very rarely encountered. We paired this wine with food and it was perfect and I bet it can be drunk on its own just as good. No idea how it can age but it sure is very difficult to resist opening such a wine.
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This is very close to being the most voluptuous wine I have ever come across. Color: into the dark. Nose: hard to describe. Extremely complex with violets, dark berry fruit, perfectly integrated oak, liquorice, anise and sweet spice. Palate: full-bodied, dense, with BIG fruit, velvety tannins and an acidity that is perceived as balancing but should be huge to counterbalance the tremendous extract and high alcohol (15.8%!). Aftertaste: endless, with sweet spicyness. Overall: an unforgettable experience.
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An epic wine to drink just before a battle, even better after...if you survive. Explosive nose with evident new oak that is well blended in, toasty and spicy around a core of violets and black fruit. Very concentrated. Thick, juicy and fleshy on palate with vigorous acidity and sophisticated tannins that balance over-generous alcohol/15.8% and full body. Amazing extract, concentration and complexity. Multilayered with an endless aftertaste.
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Popped and poured from the cellar at midnight which was definitely a big mistake, as such will refrain from rating. Bright purple color. Can feel the alcohol a bit much. Silky tannins with well adjusted acidity.
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WOTY for me. pop and pour consumed over 3 hours. deep purple in the glass, verging on opaque. a giant, dense, brooding nose of perfectly ripe black cherries, minerality, molasses, and BBQ ribs. the palate was unreal, seamless front to back with a zingy acidity that settled after about 1.5 hours. what was so remarkable about the palate was that when the wine was left in your mouth and moved around, it changed and evolved and revealed new flavors of blackberries, cinnamon, cherries, and even some leather. the finish was 60+ seconds that kept going and going, playing out the nose and palate and adding beautiful baking spices like nutmeg and allspice. around hours 1-2 the alcohol poked out a bit, but only on the nose. this had so much life and elegant balance. I expected the world from this wine, and it overdelivered. DO NOT SHARE THIS WINE. keep it all for yourself it's so amazing!!!
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Tasted at a charity event (GGFAGC/11). Very deep in colour with lots of cherry jam on the nose. The palate was slightly disappointing and overall very light yet balanced. Nothing about this stood out tonight.
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This is in a great place. While I miss some of the baby fat that was present in this wine earlier, it has toned up, in a sense, and is showing great balance and sleekness. I noticed a hint of heat on the nose (although it was not off-putting for me), and absolutely NONE on the palate, despite the label reading 15.9%. The wine showed rich, dark fruits wrapping up a hint of umami in the middle. There were some baking spice elements that spanned the nose and the palate. Finish was super-long and amazingly light (i.e., the taste went on forever despite the mouthfeel not being overly viscous). Great stuff! (PE: 97)
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Popped and poured. Medium to dark garnet, tending towards translucent. Nose of blackberries, bittersweet chocolate, dark cherries, and a mixture of spices (cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon. On the palate, massive fruit including blackberry and bing cherry with cocoa powder, Chinese five spice powder and a ton of glycerine. Nice acidity that keeps the fruit from being cloying. 30+ second finish with black fruits and a lot of spices. A pretty big hit of tannin, but the tannins are smooth and polished. Definitely in the classic wine territory.
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Similar notes to the bottle I had three months ago. WOTN for me for sure. Also had a La Landonne, Solaia and Beaucastel. Manfred has simply achieved winemaking that is unique and different that others. This wine, like most SQNs, is a massive wine yet its has a balance and an elegance that I just don't find in other high end Rhone wines. The best analogy I can come up with is this wine is a 6'8", 325 lbs defensive lineman that can also ballet dance and make both look effortless.
Decanted for 2.5 hours. A huge nose of spicebox, pepper with some light floral notes that give it that balance of heavy/light. When the juice hits your tongue its an explosion of flavors that last well over a minute on the finish. Then there is that balance and elegance that hits you after you fully appreciate what you have just tasted. Trademark SQN....
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Sine Qua Non Dinner: the Younger Wines (Custom House Tavern - Chicago IL): A gorgeous complete wine that easily carries its weight and alcohol. Great floral nose with great red and black fruit. Same fruit comes through on the palate, with lots of density and structure, but amazing subtlety and weightlessness for a wine of its size, dry extract and fruit concentration.
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Opened and decanted for an hour. Only got better with time (next bottle will be longer). A classic Grenache with pepper/spice/chocolate. Wonderful nose and a solid, long finsh. Also a smoothness and subtly that, to me, is trademark SQN.
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This wine is in its sweet spot. The flavors changed several times during the evening, WOTN for all who shared. Drink or hold, can't go wrong, I will definately be allowing the other SQN Grenaches in the cellar to age a couple years before drinking.
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Tasted at a charity event (GGFAGC/10). This wine was a last minute substitute for a corked bottle. Light in colour yet it had a very strong grape and vanilla smells. The taste had quite a bit of bubble gum in it with a strong alcohol aftertaste. I wasn't a fan of this but feel that it will get better over time.
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Great Grapes for a Great Cause SQN Tasting -- 3rd Annual; 5/7/2010-5/8/2010 (Mandarin Oriental, Washington DC): A last minute replacement for a corked Poker Face, the Into the Dark did not disappoint! Very dark nose of plum and black fruit, the full bodied palate delivered intense concentration of the dark fruit, along with a hint of mint and tea (I actually wrote down "Hint o Mint Tea" for those who know the Iced Tea). It all comes together in a medium (++) fruit driven finish. The only potential knock on this excellent wine is a bit of a candy feeling while you are drinking it. It is a marvelous elixir though and prepared me for a great flight of Grenaches! Paired with grilled sirloin of Kagoshima Wagyu beef.
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Presented as a blind ringer at the Friday night Rhone dinner. Most identified it as new world. Very rich, lush, clean and sweet fruit, outstanding but didn't fit in with all the Rhones.
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Not as "wow" as last time. Nose never really got going despite a short decant. Lovely and very easy to drink. Blueberries and cherries. A bit hot at times, especially with sweeter bites of pork served with prunes.
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Another impressive showing. In my opinion, one of the top three SQN grenaches or all time. Gamey, rich, ripe fruit but lively acidity. Finish well over a minute. I'd recommend decanting for at least an hour...possibly two and allow it to lush out. Killer juice!
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I very much enjoyed this wine, but was surprised at how young it showed. This wine still needs time to really show it's stuff. Not in danger of declining any time soon.
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This Grenache holds an intense, dark as ink color. Powerful and lush aromas leap from the glass with loads of pure cherry fruit covered in chocolate, along with underlying pepper and spice notes and a slight meatiness. A very big and extracted nose but the fruit is very pure and doesn’t seem overblown one bit. Intense, mouth coating richness on the palate that is at the same time silky and nimble on the tongue. Lots of power filled with plenty of black fruit, spice and a very long, delicious finish. The only flaw here would be noticeable alcohol on the back end. Hard to believe though, that with 16% it is barely apparent, just enough to nudge this out of being a flawless wine.
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4th Chicago Steak Out (Otis' house): Tasted blind at the 4th Chicago Steak Out. Blue Oval brought this wine. Very generous. Finished tied for 3rd in my voting and 7th overall. A very smooth and well balanced effort. Full bodied with notes of creamy red fruit, pepper and some licorice. 92+ points.
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Steak Out (Otis'): Label: bull. Aromas of herbs and raspberry liqueur. Flavors of raspberry ganache and spice on the palate, with a nice spicy finish. Easily identifiable as Grenache. Others enjoyed this much more than I, so perhaps this improved during the evening, as I tasted it early and did not revisit it. My #11 overall WOTN.
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Sweet, flowery overtones on the nose. Balanced fruit - no bomb here. Extremely well integrated tannins - quite velvety on the palate. Never thought a Grenache could taste like this!
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Drank with Bobby (the mysterious BB52 of cellartracker) while we planned the barrel of wine we are making at Crushpad. Opened 4 hours before drinking and then drank over a 3 hour period. Deep ruby color – not as extracted as I was expecting. Wonderful cherry and chocolate flavors with a delicious peppery spiciness. Tannins were present, but not too powerful – it is drinking really well right now. You can taste a bit of the alcohol heat on the finish, but surprisingly little for a 15.9% alcohol wine. This should be decanted or aged a few more years – it just got better and better as time went on and it opened up.
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IS SINE QUA NON THE GREATEST WINE IN THE WORLD? We go to school to find out!; 5/22/2009-5/25/2009: pop and pour The first thing that hits your nose is a bloom of Andre the Giant size huge peppered ripe red berry. After Andre knocks you over the side of your head you're greeted by a loaf of fresh baked bread with just a touch of alcohol. On the palate you get a mouth watering rich sweet cherry with hints of tobacco, pepper, and clove scattered all around. Light rounded tannins with sweet red berries on the 25~ second finish. WOTN for me and most of the group.
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This was my favorite SQN so far. Can't put my finger on what I loved about it because I had it in April or May and forgot to take notes. Looking forward to another.
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syrah smackdown (Barrington IL, Wally's house): nose: very rich and big nose of black fruits, dark red fruits, black cherries and just choc full of spices. Sickly deep and very pungent with big tones of fruit, but nowhere close to being rampant or over the top, just lots of dark fruits
taste: great medium weight on the palate with rich tones of anise, black berries, black cherries, spices and black fruits
overall: A massive wine. Extremely big on fruit while still holding some good balance to keep the massive fruit in check. Very rich and big, this certainly packed a wallop while holding back a bit, definitely a heavyweight boxer of a grenache
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This was certainly in the Extraordinary realm, but assigning point ratings is not my game. This evolved beautifully over 2+ hours - incredible structure and mouthfeel - a lot of glycerin, and over the course of the evening it threw off intense berry and black fruit flavors. Most wines that are high in alcohol (15.9) throw off too much heat, but that didn't happen here. SQN is a special outfit.
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One of the best Cali grenaches there is and my favorite SQN I've had is quite some time. Great nose, power and balance, tons of fruit. Very fun, thanks to YS for opening this one.
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15.9% alcohol. Served blind, out of a decanter, so the unique bottle shape couldn't give anything away to anyone. My first SQN non-dessert wine. I was duly impressed. From the first pour, this wine just showed itself to be classy and refined. Gorgeous nose of reddish-black fruit, minerals, rich earth, and something that I want to describe as floral ... but it's not quite that, at least not in the Pinot way. In the mouth, shockingly refined and elegant. This drinks like great Brunello in my mind, a masculinity behind it but a strictly feminine side up front. Loads of red fruit that had a Zin or Pinot sensibility to it, but the complexity was something of a deeper ilk, earthy and peppery and a bit of oak. Excellent acidity. Supremely long finish that showed no heat. The lack of heat and the pure elegance of this wine was a true surprise to me after the reveal. Superb. A
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Hold the fort! What a drink! Had this with rack of Sonoma lamb, and it rocked my world. Medium to full bodied, garnet colored, with wonderful aromatics that won't let you forget they're there. Dark berries, cassis and a little oak, combine with a smooth, smooth finish that makes you want to come back for more. Unfortunately, one bottle was all I had to share.
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decanted. rich and powerful, but not overextracted or over the top. in fact, i think this is a bit less heavy than many previous grenaches from SQN. tannins were moderate, and you can certainly cellar this for many years. i sense a slight stylistic change from this house as the vines become estate.
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Sine Qua Non Tasting (Lush): Opaque purple/black color. Medium full ripe purpley fruit with lovely violet floral notes. Mmmn, lovely rich supperipe black / blueberry sweet fruit on the palate with chocolate notes and a long coffee finish. Very nice. 94-95 pts.
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Opened and doubler decanted 8 hours before consumption. Beautiful dark fruit and pepper nose. Rich and very long finish with brilliant fruit No overt signs of alcohol.
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Found this on a regional restaurant list last night at $195....Parker calls this grenache but the mouvedre and syrah flavors really do come through...especially the mouvedre on the mid palate, a bit of syrah on the nose and late in the finish. This wine is still young and was best after being opened an hour and a half. Its still a bit hot, mild tannic background. A nice nice treat for grenache fans like the wife and I. Score will improve with another couple of years of bottle age.
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Dark garnet, lighter than I thought though, color. Beautiful floral cherry, raspberry, white pepper, Kirsch soaked cedar plank(really!) nose. This is only the second SQN Grenache I've had(Atlantis the other), and have had many many Alban Grenache's which I consider the benchmark. The one thing that sticks out INSTANTLY is how velvety smooth, pure and refined the SQN is compared to the Alban. Alban is a big black ooze monster, teeth staining freak of nature...tasty, but it's own style. This Into the Dark is plush, loaded with tasty fresh crushed wild berry, kirsch, exotic woods, dusty spice, cherry blossom florals, smoked white pepper. Does have a little heat on the finish, but doesn't detract at all from the pleasure....and this is pure pleasure! Scary to think it will even get better....
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NYC Sine Qua Non Dinner at Eleven Madison Park (New York): Dark red with a nose of blackberry and a little spice. Full bodied with a thick mouthfeel, this was very complex and balanced. I was tasting a lot of dark fruit and a little earth. Long finish. My favorite of the night.
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Sine Qua Non Extravaganza (RJ's): Wine was corked... However there was a HUGE amount of fruit still showing, I've had this wine before and know what a monster it is.
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Mother's Day bbq at Dave's house. Don't you love it when your good buddy breaks out the primo vino? This wine, presented in a bottle whose shape reminds me of old time port bottles, is nectar. Dark berries, cinnimon, clove, and hints of dark chocolate capture your taste buds in such a way that you really feel sad when the bottle empties. Thankfully, there were two! Truly amazing wine!
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Opened this when a friend brought over an Atlantis Grenache. Boy were they different. The "Into the dark" is so much cleaner, sweater and more ingratiating, but on the other hand the Atlantis is darker, more complex and I guess, ultimatley a better wine. I still gave them the same score based on the fantastic deliciousness of the "Into the dark". We also opend a "Papa" that I gave 98 points.
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Hadn't planned on opening one of these again so soon, but a bunch of wine that was supposed to arrive didn't make it on time and this was literally all I had (not a bad thing to have if you're down to one bottle :-) Opened at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon in London. Wine was an amazing match with the pig trotters and the main course, a filet/foie gras/black truffle combination. Popped and poured, something I swore I wouldn't do again, but circumstances dictated otherwise. This bottle was much more approachable right out of the bottle than the previous bottle was several weeks ago. Like the food, this wine was decandent - much more weight and density than many of the SQN Syrahs, but it still had tremendous balance. Loads of strawberry, cherry, with a sweet/roasted element and maybe a touch of anise. Hard for me to pick out individual components, yet amazingly complex and intoxicating. Note to self - hang on for at least a couple years as it will be fun to see how this evolves.
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you've got to be kidding me. this is a huge, delicious wine. nose is full of fruits and spices and smokiiness, and it is layered and layered. the palate is big, rich and velvety. just coats and explodes on the palate and won't fade. dark fruits - cherry and blackbery - with wonderful asian spices and well integrated wood. the finsh is still present a day later.
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Decanted 1 hour. Dark red, almost purple - again a really beautiful color! Nose of clean, bright red fruit, fresh flowers, spice and a smoky undertone. Big, big fruit on the palate! My wife commented that it felt like she was being "punched" in the mouth but that it was so velvety and well balanced that the wine "apologizes" as it goes down! Long, almost sweet finish.
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I can't keep my hands off this wine, which is a shame because it's still way too young and going to give even more pleasure in the future. Popped, decanted, and poured (should've planned ahead and decanted for at least 4-6 hours). Great nose right out of the gate. Palate was dominated by cherry and strawberry, but eventually showed some interesting sweet and savory spice notes. Quite tannic and chewy, but plenty of fruit to make it balanced, and plenty of backbone - not at all an over-the-top fruit bomb. One of the denser SQN wines I've had - didn't seem quite as light on its feet as some of the Syrahs, but I would guess that will come with some more (2-3 years?) bottle age.
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Lasher's Offline (Long Beach, CA): The irony of this wine is that it made me see the light in terms of what grenache can achieve. Dense and seductive notes of kirsch, black raspberries, wet earth, and cocoa powder followed by a chalky texture in the mouth. Rich and decadent and powerful. After all the hype about this producer, I finally get it. In a word, wow!
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Tough to score when the best sip was the last...this wine will definitely have something special for the future. Decanted for 2 hours and needed at least that much time to show the fruit.
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few wines have the velvety mouthfeel of SQN wine. Manfred coaxes these grapes to go above and beyond what other winemakers have produced from grapes of the same vineyards. Rich violet ruby color, elegant nose with the most amazing glycerin texture on the palate, followed by a seemless finish of perfectly integrated sweet tannins. a perfect wine for me.
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I'm always blown away by how Manfred can make such a powerful wine that is light in the mouth and elegant. Same goes for this wine. lots of pepper and gourgeous fruit.
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Welch purple in color, inviting nose and the most mouth coating taste I've ever experienced. No decant and as you would expect this continued to improve over the night. This is a completley hedionistic wine. Massive, in your face fruit with a perfect finish. Everything is in balance. Manfred is the mad genius. Drank at Campanile with The Godfather, YS, RT and Stu. Awesome night of wine and food.
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Drunk at the Oak (London) once again am at the oak and BYO, i really do lie this place, nice stems, good food and very wine friendly.Decanted this for like 60min...the waitress hit it right away "Black Cherries" you could smell them when you opened and poured this bottle and they just stayed right there. very dark wine, cherries and chocolate on the nose. in the mouth it was really smooth and mouth coating, a big wine of spicy cherries and chocolate, warm but smooth and very long. this drank great, not a drop left but this wine will be better in a few years i think
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dark purple opaque look, biggest nose on table, sweet and spicy nose, a little vanilla great balance in the mouth , warm and fills the mouth with black fruits, spices and some bacon and vanilla liked this wine and it will get better and better as it is quite young
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In the past year I have opened three SQN syrahs (Midnight Oil, Papa, and Covert Fingers) and I felt only the Midnight Oil (2001) was ready. I was a little worried about this being tight, but a short time in a decanter and it was singing. A friend also oped a 1998 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes and I much preferrred the Into The Dark. The Janasse VV was very hot for my taste.
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The current benchmark for Grenache in California. The nose explodes with massive layers of fruit and sweet spice aromas. The palate enjoys the soft, ripe fruit that gently flows over it. Already showing well…. this is a wine for hedonists
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Would've benefited from some decanting, but still was fantastic. Whatever Manfred does with his wines, they tend to line up with my taste buds. Had amongst a flight of four other Grenache-based wines ('00 Pegau, '03 Outpost Grenache, '02 Hewitson, and '05 Pax Cuvee Moriah) and this was the star. Rich, full-bodied, with a lot of fruit, but good balance. It had neither the candied elements nor was it thin and insipid like many Grenache-based wines. Definitely can use a year or more, but quite tasty now. Would recommend decanting for at least 4 hours if you're going to drink one now.
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4/16/2021 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very complex with berries and smoke and a silky finish. Not sure I would have picked this out as grenache.
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9/4/2019 - Peech wrote: 94 Points
Seriously ripe and jammy. Also very metallic.
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1/3/2019 - wineguy75 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Viscous and silky like most sqn. Super big and monolithic. Very bad qpr.
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12/31/2018 - Ianthemac Likes this wine: 95 Points
A small sample from Enomatic in Hedonism Wines. No sign of aging on the rim. As with SQN wines, the nose is almost overpowering. Such intensity of fruit. A heady compote of black fruit that never drops in intensity. It’s the same on the palate. The finish stays for minutes. Amazing.
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8/27/2018 - MC wrote:
PNP. I am not a big fan of Cali Grenache, but this was very good. Age has mellowed it, and it had quite a bit of balance for such a big wine. Relatively easy to drink with and without food. I still much prefer the SQN syrah but this was very good. A-
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6/20/2018 - mhudes Likes this wine: 92 Points
Served to us blind by Walter. Previously decanted. Very flowery nose with some cedar characteristics that make me think cabernet. In the mouth, I get raspberry and some jammy black fruit, but continue to get this cedar leather cabernet profile. Michael says it may be one of Walter's SQNs. It certainly is flamboyant enough to be an SQN, but it doesn;t seem to me as powerful as the SQNs I've had in the past. I say 2005 California cabernet. Michael is correct. To be sure, this is a very nice wine. It's just not as wonderful as other SQNs I've had (a high standard to meet).
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6/20/2018 - mpenzi divai Likes this wine: 90 Points
Served blind to friends along with 2007 Vieux Telegraphe. Massive wine which seemed to go back and forth between a black berry spectrum of fruit and something more raspberry like during the evening...easily masking the high alcohol content. Spicy notes (cinnamon?), very long finish with tannins well hidden in the fruit. Went well with steak. But a tiring wine almost candy like, overblown; less complexity and interest in the end than the VT which we all preferred, thus the 90 score which is generous.
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4/20/2018 - Fid Likes this wine: 95 Points
Drank at Melisse with MT, RP and MH. Excellent, fully mature. Great flowery SQN signature nose. Soft red fruit on the palate. Tannins fully integrated. Balanced. Loved it.
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2/26/2018 - Minnesota wrote: 92 Points
Decanted 2.5 hours. First glass rough but 90 minute later refill much improved as softened and opened up. Last bottle, wish I'd opened in the morning to consume 8+ hours in.
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12/12/2017 - Snacks2013 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted for 1.5 hours before drinking then consumed over 2 hours. drank my last 1/2 glass over 40 min. I got the cherry and blackberry aroma upon opening and was silky smooth upon initial tasting. It kept it smoothness over the whole night and time seemed to intensify the red fruit and jam flavors and nose. Excellent concentration with bright acidity. Not as boozy as I was expecting given its 15+% ABV I think it is getting to its prime now and will hold it for 5+ years.
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9/3/2017 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
Post Justin B's 40th birthday celebration dinner - Mostly SQNs. (The Grill Room at the Rosewood DC): Similar expression as the naked truth but a bit more angular. Intense nose displaying cherry liqueur, blackberry liqueur, caramel, coconut, sweet spices and mineral. Excellent concentration, raspberry jam and sweet spices driven palate impression, bright acidity, a hint of tannins and a long sweet red fruit driven finish. Needs a few more years.
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7/24/2017 - Minnesota wrote: 88 Points
Pleasant wine but totally undeserving its price tag. At a fairer cost would rate higher.
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4/8/2017 - Kemo Sabe wrote: flawed
Sadly corked. Only mildly so but it was there and could not get around it.
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3/19/2017 - Mrbuzz Likes this wine: 95 Points
Dinner at Trelio (Clovis Ca.): Showing some Bordeauxish leather with age...pretty red fruits, liqueured and ripe, exotic woods and spices, white pepper, cherry blossoms...silky smooth...drank rather regal throughout the evening.
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9/25/2016 - Escalus wrote: 99 Points
Amazingly, still bright and young. Balanced and complex, has had enough time for scents and flavored to blend but far from muddy. Surprisingly delicate.
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7/11/2015 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote: flawed
Corked.
http://www.maxsatisfactionwine.com/post/123866845289
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4/10/2015 - Amerique wrote: 94 Points
Lush, full-bodied blackberry/black raspberry fruit, very smooth and round, excellent structure, showing some age as fruit is less fresh, medium finish, tannins completely mellowed, very little evidence of high alcohol despite wine being 15.9%, the thick lushness is like drinking a milkshake, very good wine but not worth $120 per bottle
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1/24/2015 - Simply Wine Likes this wine: 97 Points
Fantastic Grenache that is aging wonderfully.
Showing as well or better than ever.
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11/28/2014 - canan wrote: 97 Points
BYO - US wines (NO.2): Dense, expressive and compact with a lot of jammy fruit.
Even though it seems alcoholic and jammy, there is still that amazing SQN lightness and balance that makes everything worth while..
A beautiful bottle!!
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8/23/2014 - dream wrote: 88 Points
While I love the Poker face from this vintage, this Grenache-based wine is showing too much sweetness on the finish for me and feels over the top. It did not go well with food and was bested by the '03 Pegau Cuvee De Capo which was just as big but showed more freshness, acidity and balance.
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8/19/2014 - reichken wrote: 94 Points
Deep dark, big fruits, long finish
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6/23/2014 - Pacalet Likes this wine: 93 Points
nose with dark red fruit and lots of spices, with some cherries and strawberries. Overall it is able to hide the high alcohol level well. Easy to drink, initial attack seems weaker than it actually it, palate smooth and sweet, the alcohol hits u in the back with some heat, very long finish. Drinking quite well now after like 5hrs in the glass, certainly can cellar for much longer.
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5/10/2014 - Ki Punwar Likes this wine: 95 Points
Tannic but really opened up after a decant for a couple hours. Notes of blackberries, soy, and cherry, wonderful and lush yet balanced.
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9/29/2013 - Ki Punwar wrote: 96 Points
Dark color, but not overwhelming as many SQNs can be. As other have mentioned, this bottle was more balanced than others I have had-in a very good way. Blackberry, soy, long finish.
Very pleasurable and luxurious. Velvety tannins are smooth and integrated. Excellent.
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6/9/2013 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 97 Points
A Particularly Pleasant Dinner Out with Dear Friends (Craft Century City): From a 750 graciously brought by my companions, who purchased it on release. Decanted for an hour, though it hardly needed it. The bouquet was so potent it was as if the wine demanded to emerge from the glass. Notes of sweet balsamic, soy and dark cherry. Pepper, anise and huge black fruit on the palate. Visualize some warm childhood imagery of velvety syrup being drizzled slowly and generously onto homemade pancakes, so that the liquid folds pile onto one another before merging into one seamless helping -- this is the best way I can express the wine's depth, concentration and layered complexity in the mouth. A powerhouse, yet the alcohol never showed. Clearly superior to the 2004 Ode to E I enjoyed a few months back, hence my first ever 97 point accolade. Well done! I should add that the wine seemed to shut down a bit after an hour or so, suggesting there's no reason to hold on to any remaining bottles much longer.
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5/17/2013 - beezer6 wrote: 93 Points
Berserker Fest Friday Dinner - SQN Table (Blue Star Bistro - Chicago, IL): Sexy and subtle. Cinnamon, caramel, molasses, raspberry and milk chocolate. Not as in your face as other SQN.
Little bit of ink and crayon. Depth on the mid palate is excellent. Very bright and sexy blood orange finish.
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5/17/2013 - Burgundy Al wrote: 93 Points
Chicago Berserkerfest Dinner (Blue Star Bistro - Chicago IL): Massive, dense and powerful with huge black fruit that seems to have lost some of the spice and charm I recall from a few years back. Lots of pleasure, just not lots of nuance tonight.
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5/6/2013 - JimN wrote: flawed
Corked.
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12/8/2012 - Jody Smith Likes this wine: 93 Points
A bit closed at first, but drinking well with a couple hours of air. This is my first time with this wine so I can't say how it's evolving, but it does seem about as mature as domestic Grenache gets. That said, there's plenty of structure to hold this for several more years. This is most notable for it's exotic aroma - teriyaki and 5 spice? Whatever it is, it's a sensational perfume. The fruit is wonderful as well - rich and long, but not particularly primary, so I wouldn't cellar this too long. There's some gritty tannin that gives this some good traction and length to the finish.
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10/12/2012 - wineberg Likes this wine: 96 Points
Bday Dinner for Mr. and Mrs. Boomstick :) (Maison de Giggitty (aka our house)): 6+ hour decant.
So much going on in this wine. Tobacco, roast beef, eucalyptus, floral (lavender?), cassis, and vanilla cake in the nose for me. Bit of alcohol still showing.
Layers of flavors evolve on the palate too, shifting through fruits, florals, and minerals. Alcohol is more evident to me in this bottle than the last one I had, but not unbalanced. Finish dances around the tongue for almost a minute.
In a great place to drink now I think, but has plenty of life left.
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9/27/2012 - ageverett Likes this wine: 98 Points
Possibly the best wine I've had the pleasure of tasting in my limited experiences. Tasted at SQN tasting along with 7 other SQN wines from 2003-2009. This was the winner, both for me personally and as voted by the group.
Harmonious balance. Deep, haunting flavors. Graphite. Licorice. 5 spice. Savor every drop.
I would have no hesitation opening this bottle in the near future. While I'm sure it has plenty left, it is a stunner right now.
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8/13/2012 - Amerique wrote: 93 Points
Rich, soft, elegant, full-bodied black raspberry fruit, excellent structure, short finish
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6/15/2012 - A&C wrote: 96 Points
Wonderfully complex, rich, fruit-filled, and exceptional in every respect. Shared with the right people in Calistoga at JoLe. Yummy!!
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3/20/2012 - wineberg Likes this wine: 96 Points
I want to put up a much more detailed note on this, but it was had out at a great wine bar, and I just didn't take notes. This is really an amazing wine. Layers upon layers of flavors and aromas. Long finish, that evolved through so many different stages it blew me away. Didn't taste anything like the 15.9% alcohol it was labeled as, the balance was so great, smooth tannins and just...wow. A classic.
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3/12/2012 - jc-mmb wrote: 98 Points
non blind to me only. didnt know it had been four years since last tasting this wine. still a thrilling tasting experience. paired this against/with the eba ode to e. quite a pairing if i do say so myself :) wonderful balance. nose of creamy fruits, earth, spiciness and deep flowers. really jumps from the glass. on the palate, a real treat. wonderfully balanced despite the number of dimensions here. layers of fuit and spice intermixed with that muscular earthiness i get from these. but all in balance tonite. the finish is all that and lingers. the funny thing was i was hard pressed to find a fault in this wine until i moved to the ode to e (see that note). the ode to e had all of the above, but something else, something special. bigger, richer, better balance, etc. wines of the same vein but clearly the ode to e was the big brother when tasted side by each. table seemed to agree and had no trouble picking out the eba.
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2/11/2012 - Stefanos T. wrote: 99 Points
Dark and chewy wine with a seamless texture like luxurius heavy velvet, aromas and flavors of blackberries and blueberries together with plummy notes on a backgroung of intense floral notes reminiscent of violets and poppies almost numb the senses. The combination of freshness and ripeness is astounding. Licorice, chocolate and tar add to the complexity. Oak is perfectly integrated. This wine despite its super full body is drinking effortlesly due to sky high balancing acidity and is as surprising as seeing for the first time how fast a fat and heavy looking animal like the grizzly bear can run. A voluptuous experience on a level very rarely encountered. We paired this wine with food and it was perfect and I bet it can be drunk on its own just as good. No idea how it can age but it sure is very difficult to resist opening such a wine.
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2/11/2012 - Yiannis wrote: 99 Points
This is very close to being the most voluptuous wine I have ever come across. Color: into the dark. Nose: hard to describe. Extremely complex with violets, dark berry fruit, perfectly integrated oak, liquorice, anise and sweet spice. Palate: full-bodied, dense, with BIG fruit, velvety tannins and an acidity that is perceived as balancing but should be huge to counterbalance the tremendous extract and high alcohol (15.8%!). Aftertaste: endless, with sweet spicyness. Overall: an unforgettable experience.
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2/11/2012 - Dokken wrote: 99 Points
An epic wine to drink just before a battle, even better after...if you survive. Explosive nose with evident new oak that is well blended in, toasty and spicy around a core of violets and black fruit. Very concentrated. Thick, juicy and fleshy on palate with vigorous acidity and sophisticated tannins that balance over-generous alcohol/15.8% and full body. Amazing extract, concentration and complexity. Multilayered with an endless aftertaste.
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11/13/2011 - Mrbuzz wrote: flawed
And I thought corked Alban was heartbreaking...but this is worse! :-(
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11/11/2011 - paffy wrote: 97 Points
Tasted with Ian Blackburn at Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Tremendous wine. My pick for winner of the the night.
Beautiful grenach like I've never had.
WOW!!!
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7/16/2011 - vumansky wrote:
Popped and poured from the cellar at midnight which was definitely a big mistake, as such will refrain from rating. Bright purple color. Can feel the alcohol a bit much. Silky tannins with well adjusted acidity.
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7/6/2011 - caeleric wrote:
WOTY for me. pop and pour consumed over 3 hours. deep purple in the glass, verging on opaque. a giant, dense, brooding nose of perfectly ripe black cherries, minerality, molasses, and BBQ ribs. the palate was unreal, seamless front to back with a zingy acidity that settled after about 1.5 hours. what was so remarkable about the palate was that when the wine was left in your mouth and moved around, it changed and evolved and revealed new flavors of blackberries, cinnamon, cherries, and even some leather. the finish was 60+ seconds that kept going and going, playing out the nose and palate and adding beautiful baking spices like nutmeg and allspice. around hours 1-2 the alcohol poked out a bit, but only on the nose. this had so much life and elegant balance. I expected the world from this wine, and it overdelivered. DO NOT SHARE THIS WINE. keep it all for yourself it's so amazing!!!
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6/18/2011 - pakabear wrote: 94 Points
Great Grapes for a Great Cause (Mandarin Hotel, Washington DC): Consistent notes.
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6/18/2011 - ews3 wrote: 94 Points
Great Grapes for a Great Cause SQN Tasting -- 4th Annual; 6/17/2011-6/18/2011 (Mandarin Oriental, Washington DC): raspberry and some dark spice flavors. med(+) finish shows clove notes.
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6/18/2011 - Rosengoo wrote: 91 Points
Tasted at a charity event (GGFAGC/11). Very deep in colour with lots of cherry jam on the nose. The palate was slightly disappointing and overall very light yet balanced. Nothing about this stood out tonight.
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2/18/2011 - MarkC Likes this wine: 95 Points
This is in a great place. While I miss some of the baby fat that was present in this wine earlier, it has toned up, in a sense, and is showing great balance and sleekness. I noticed a hint of heat on the nose (although it was not off-putting for me), and absolutely NONE on the palate, despite the label reading 15.9%. The wine showed rich, dark fruits wrapping up a hint of umami in the middle. There were some baking spice elements that spanned the nose and the palate. Finish was super-long and amazingly light (i.e., the taste went on forever despite the mouthfeel not being overly viscous). Great stuff! (PE: 97)
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2/13/2011 - huntinpagan wrote: 97 Points
Popped and poured. Medium to dark garnet, tending towards translucent. Nose of blackberries, bittersweet chocolate, dark cherries, and a mixture of spices (cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon. On the palate, massive fruit including blackberry and bing cherry with cocoa powder, Chinese five spice powder and a ton of glycerine. Nice acidity that keeps the fruit from being cloying. 30+ second finish with black fruits and a lot of spices. A pretty big hit of tannin, but the tannins are smooth and polished. Definitely in the classic wine territory.
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11/27/2010 - TomTom wrote: 98 Points
A simply phenomenal wine, hard to believe that much fruit and intensity can result in such a balanced wine.
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10/24/2010 - Kemo Sabe wrote: 97 Points
Similar notes to the bottle I had three months ago. WOTN for me for sure. Also had a La Landonne, Solaia and Beaucastel. Manfred has simply achieved winemaking that is unique and different that others. This wine, like most SQNs, is a massive wine yet its has a balance and an elegance that I just don't find in other high end Rhone wines. The best analogy I can come up with is this wine is a 6'8", 325 lbs defensive lineman that can also ballet dance and make both look effortless.
Decanted for 2.5 hours. A huge nose of spicebox, pepper with some light floral notes that give it that balance of heavy/light. When the juice hits your tongue its an explosion of flavors that last well over a minute on the finish. Then there is that balance and elegance that hits you after you fully appreciate what you have just tasted. Trademark SQN....
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10/23/2010 - Burgundy Al wrote: 96 Points
Sine Qua Non Dinner: the Younger Wines (Custom House Tavern - Chicago IL): A gorgeous complete wine that easily carries its weight and alcohol. Great floral nose with great red and black fruit. Same fruit comes through on the palate, with lots of density and structure, but amazing subtlety and weightlessness for a wine of its size, dry extract and fruit concentration.
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9/12/2010 - the godfather wrote:
rockin good but not quite up to the poker face
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7/16/2010 - Kemo Sabe wrote: 96 Points
Opened and decanted for an hour. Only got better with time (next bottle will be longer). A classic Grenache with pepper/spice/chocolate. Wonderful nose and a solid, long finsh. Also a smoothness and subtly that, to me, is trademark SQN.
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5/16/2010 - shadow wrote: 98 Points
This wine is in its sweet spot. The flavors changed several times during the evening, WOTN for all who shared. Drink or hold, can't go wrong, I will definately be allowing the other SQN Grenaches in the cellar to age a couple years before drinking.
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5/8/2010 - pakabear wrote: 94 Points
A very nice wine, but SQN Grenache's are a bit sweet for my palate. With time I've liked them better.
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5/8/2010 - Rosengoo wrote: 91 Points
Tasted at a charity event (GGFAGC/10). This wine was a last minute substitute for a corked bottle. Light in colour yet it had a very strong grape and vanilla smells. The taste had quite a bit of bubble gum in it with a strong alcohol aftertaste. I wasn't a fan of this but feel that it will get better over time.
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5/8/2010 - ews3 wrote: 96 Points
Great Grapes for a Great Cause SQN Tasting -- 3rd Annual; 5/7/2010-5/8/2010 (Mandarin Oriental, Washington DC): A last minute replacement for a corked Poker Face, the Into the Dark did not disappoint! Very dark nose of plum and black fruit, the full bodied palate delivered intense concentration of the dark fruit, along with a hint of mint and tea (I actually wrote down "Hint o Mint Tea" for those who know the Iced Tea). It all comes together in a medium (++) fruit driven finish. The only potential knock on this excellent wine is a bit of a candy feeling while you are drinking it. It is a marvelous elixir though and prepared me for a great flight of Grenaches! Paired with grilled sirloin of Kagoshima Wagyu beef.
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3/26/2010 - dbg wrote:
Presented as a blind ringer at the Friday night Rhone dinner. Most identified it as new world. Very rich, lush, clean and sweet fruit, outstanding but didn't fit in with all the Rhones.
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12/20/2009 - AtoZ wrote: 93 Points
Not as "wow" as last time. Nose never really got going despite a short decant. Lovely and very easy to drink. Blueberries and cherries. A bit hot at times, especially with sweeter bites of pork served with prunes.
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11/20/2009 - thenapalist wrote: 98 Points
Another impressive showing. In my opinion, one of the top three SQN grenaches or all time. Gamey, rich, ripe fruit but lively acidity. Finish well over a minute. I'd recommend decanting for at least an hour...possibly two and allow it to lush out. Killer juice!
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11/14/2009 - EBoyer wrote: 93 Points
I very much enjoyed this wine, but was surprised at how young it showed. This wine still needs time to really show it's stuff. Not in danger of declining any time soon.
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7/6/2009 - 1981er wrote: 94 Points
This Grenache holds an intense, dark as ink color. Powerful and lush aromas leap from the glass with loads of pure cherry fruit covered in chocolate, along with underlying pepper and spice notes and a slight meatiness. A very big and extracted nose but the fruit is very pure and doesn’t seem overblown one bit. Intense, mouth coating richness on the palate that is at the same time silky and nimble on the tongue. Lots of power filled with plenty of black fruit, spice and a very long, delicious finish. The only flaw here would be noticeable alcohol on the back end. Hard to believe though, that with 16% it is barely apparent, just enough to nudge this out of being a flawless wine.
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7/6/2009 - Vino Me wrote: 92 Points
4th Chicago Steak Out (Otis' house): Tasted blind at the 4th Chicago Steak Out. Blue Oval brought this wine. Very generous. Finished tied for 3rd in my voting and 7th overall. A very smooth and well balanced effort. Full bodied with notes of creamy red fruit, pepper and some licorice. 92+ points.
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7/3/2009 - AllRed wrote: 88 Points
Steak Out (Otis'): Label: bull. Aromas of herbs and raspberry liqueur. Flavors of raspberry ganache and spice on the palate, with a nice spicy finish. Easily identifiable as Grenache. Others enjoyed this much more than I, so perhaps this improved during the evening, as I tasted it early and did not revisit it. My #11 overall WOTN.
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7/2/2009 - rokitboy wrote: 94 Points
Sweet, flowery overtones on the nose. Balanced fruit - no bomb here. Extremely well integrated tannins - quite velvety on the palate. Never thought a Grenache could taste like this!
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6/10/2009 - vadon wrote: 96 Points
Drank with Bobby (the mysterious BB52 of cellartracker) while we planned the barrel of wine we are making at Crushpad. Opened 4 hours before drinking and then drank over a 3 hour period. Deep ruby color – not as extracted as I was expecting. Wonderful cherry and chocolate flavors with a delicious peppery spiciness. Tannins were present, but not too powerful – it is drinking really well right now. You can taste a bit of the alcohol heat on the finish, but surprisingly little for a 15.9% alcohol wine. This should be decanted or aged a few more years – it just got better and better as time went on and it opened up.
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5/25/2009 - clayfu wrote: 94 Points
IS SINE QUA NON THE GREATEST WINE IN THE WORLD? We go to school to find out!; 5/22/2009-5/25/2009: pop and pour
The first thing that hits your nose is a bloom of Andre the Giant size huge peppered ripe red berry. After Andre knocks you over the side of your head you're greeted by a loaf of fresh baked bread with just a touch of alcohol. On the palate you get a mouth watering rich sweet cherry with hints of tobacco, pepper, and clove scattered all around. Light rounded tannins with sweet red berries on the 25~ second finish. WOTN for me and most of the group.
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5/21/2009 - AtoZ wrote: 99 Points
This was my favorite SQN so far. Can't put my finger on what I loved about it because I had it in April or May and forgot to take notes. Looking forward to another.
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5/17/2009 - Clarkmeister wrote: 94 Points
Hard to be more balanced than this
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4/24/2009 - KeithAkers wrote: 94 Points
syrah smackdown (Barrington IL, Wally's house): nose: very rich and big nose of black fruits, dark red fruits, black cherries and just choc full of spices. Sickly deep and very pungent with big tones of fruit, but nowhere close to being rampant or over the top, just lots of dark fruits
taste: great medium weight on the palate with rich tones of anise, black berries, black cherries, spices and black fruits
overall: A massive wine. Extremely big on fruit while still holding some good balance to keep the massive fruit in check. Very rich and big, this certainly packed a wallop while holding back a bit, definitely a heavyweight boxer of a grenache
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3/1/2009 - Tom Dan wrote:
This was certainly in the Extraordinary realm, but assigning point ratings is not my game. This evolved beautifully over 2+ hours - incredible structure and mouthfeel - a lot of glycerin, and over the course of the evening it threw off intense berry and black fruit flavors. Most wines that are high in alcohol (15.9) throw off too much heat, but that didn't happen here. SQN is a special outfit.
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2/20/2009 - gorm wrote: 94 Points
Uncorked DK Sine Qua Non Event (and some pretty interesting jokers...) (Restaurant Premisse, Copenhagen): Dark red core. Intense and deep nose with waxed mahogany, salty licorice, blackberries. Huge mouthfeel, very powerful and strong wine with some alcohol showing. This is clearly too young and will probably express itself much better in 4-5 years time.
(Uncorked DK average: 94,1 - lowest: 94 - highest: 95)
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2/15/2009 - the godfather wrote: 95 Points
One of the best Cali grenaches there is and my favorite SQN I've had is quite some time. Great nose, power and balance, tons of fruit. Very fun, thanks to YS for opening this one.
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2/14/2009 - sosgoodjhu wrote: 98 Points
absolute grenache nirvana. wine porn. enjoyed at Campanile with the godfather.
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2/9/2009 - quigley13 wrote: 97 Points
Amazing! Fruit forward yet balanced, complex and deep. A superb SQN-
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1/24/2009 - gutt22 wrote:
15.9% alcohol. Served blind, out of a decanter, so the unique bottle shape couldn't give anything away to anyone. My first SQN non-dessert wine. I was duly impressed. From the first pour, this wine just showed itself to be classy and refined. Gorgeous nose of reddish-black fruit, minerals, rich earth, and something that I want to describe as floral ... but it's not quite that, at least not in the Pinot way. In the mouth, shockingly refined and elegant. This drinks like great Brunello in my mind, a masculinity behind it but a strictly feminine side up front. Loads of red fruit that had a Zin or Pinot sensibility to it, but the complexity was something of a deeper ilk, earthy and peppery and a bit of oak. Excellent acidity. Supremely long finish that showed no heat. The lack of heat and the pure elegance of this wine was a true surprise to me after the reveal. Superb. A
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12/14/2008 - winestem wrote: 99 Points
Hold the fort! What a drink! Had this with rack of Sonoma lamb, and it rocked my world. Medium to full bodied, garnet colored, with wonderful aromatics that won't let you forget they're there. Dark berries, cassis and a little oak, combine with a smooth, smooth finish that makes you want to come back for more. Unfortunately, one bottle was all I had to share.
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10/24/2008 - jeff nowak wrote: 93 Points
decanted. rich and powerful, but not overextracted or over the top. in fact, i think this is a bit less heavy than many previous grenaches from SQN. tannins were moderate, and you can certainly cellar this for many years. i sense a slight stylistic change from this house as the vines become estate.
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10/3/2008 - winefool wrote: 94 Points
Sine Qua Non Tasting (Lush): Opaque purple/black color. Medium full ripe purpley fruit with lovely violet floral notes. Mmmn, lovely rich supperipe black / blueberry sweet fruit on the palate with chocolate notes and a long coffee finish. Very nice. 94-95 pts.
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9/20/2008 - imbibe wrote: 99 Points
graphite, licorice, plum, Wow
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9/7/2008 - mattowan wrote: 97 Points
Opened and doubler decanted 8 hours before consumption. Beautiful dark fruit and pepper nose. Rich and very long finish with brilliant fruit No overt signs of alcohol.
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9/7/2008 - E wrote: 94 Points
Found this on a regional restaurant list last night at $195....Parker calls this grenache but the mouvedre and syrah flavors really do come through...especially the mouvedre on the mid palate, a bit of syrah on the nose and late in the finish. This wine is still young and was best after being opened an hour and a half. Its still a bit hot, mild tannic background. A nice nice treat for grenache fans like the wife and I. Score will improve with another couple of years of bottle age.
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8/13/2008 - Mrbuzz wrote: 98 Points
Dark garnet, lighter than I thought though, color. Beautiful floral cherry, raspberry, white pepper, Kirsch soaked cedar plank(really!) nose. This is only the second SQN Grenache I've had(Atlantis the other), and have had many many Alban Grenache's which I consider the benchmark. The one thing that sticks out INSTANTLY is how velvety smooth, pure and refined the SQN is compared to the Alban. Alban is a big black ooze monster, teeth staining freak of nature...tasty, but it's own style. This Into the Dark is plush, loaded with tasty fresh crushed wild berry, kirsch, exotic woods, dusty spice, cherry blossom florals, smoked white pepper. Does have a little heat on the finish, but doesn't detract at all from the pleasure....and this is pure pleasure! Scary to think it will even get better....
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7/19/2008 - nicu2001 wrote: 97 Points
NYC Sine Qua Non Dinner at Eleven Madison Park (New York): Dark red with a nose of blackberry and a little spice. Full bodied with a thick mouthfeel, this was very complex and balanced. I was tasting a lot of dark fruit and a little earth. Long finish. My favorite of the night.
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6/26/2008 - pakabear wrote: flawed
Sine Qua Non Extravaganza (RJ's): Wine was corked... However there was a HUGE amount of fruit still showing, I've had this wine before and know what a monster it is.
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5/22/2008 - greekwineaux wrote: 96 Points
See previous notes. A bit more heat than before, but the flavors were consistent. Great wine, great presentation.
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5/11/2008 - greekwineaux wrote: 97 Points
Mother's Day bbq at Dave's house. Don't you love it when your good buddy breaks out the primo vino? This wine, presented in a bottle whose shape reminds me of old time port bottles, is nectar. Dark berries, cinnimon, clove, and hints of dark chocolate capture your taste buds in such a way that you really feel sad when the bottle empties. Thankfully, there were two! Truly amazing wine!
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4/16/2008 - phenricsson wrote: 97 Points
Opened this when a friend brought over an Atlantis Grenache. Boy were they different. The "Into the dark" is so much cleaner, sweater and more ingratiating, but on the other hand the Atlantis is darker, more complex and I guess, ultimatley a better wine. I still gave them the same score based on the fantastic deliciousness of the "Into the dark". We also opend a "Papa" that I gave 98 points.
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2/23/2008 - MarkC wrote: 97 Points
Hadn't planned on opening one of these again so soon, but a bunch of wine that was supposed to arrive didn't make it on time and this was literally all I had (not a bad thing to have if you're down to one bottle :-) Opened at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon in London. Wine was an amazing match with the pig trotters and the main course, a filet/foie gras/black truffle combination. Popped and poured, something I swore I wouldn't do again, but circumstances dictated otherwise. This bottle was much more approachable right out of the bottle than the previous bottle was several weeks ago. Like the food, this wine was decandent - much more weight and density than many of the SQN Syrahs, but it still had tremendous balance. Loads of strawberry, cherry, with a sweet/roasted element and maybe a touch of anise. Hard for me to pick out individual components, yet amazingly complex and intoxicating. Note to self - hang on for at least a couple years as it will be fun to see how this evolves.
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1/26/2008 - jc-mmb wrote: 98 Points
you've got to be kidding me. this is a huge, delicious wine. nose is full of fruits and spices and smokiiness, and it is layered and layered. the palate is big, rich and velvety. just coats and explodes on the palate and won't fade. dark fruits - cherry and blackbery - with wonderful asian spices and well integrated wood. the finsh is still present a day later.
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1/19/2008 - rsepulve wrote: 95 Points
Decanted 1 hour. Dark red, almost purple - again a really beautiful color! Nose of clean, bright red fruit, fresh flowers, spice and a smoky undertone. Big, big fruit on the palate! My wife commented that it felt like she was being "punched" in the mouth but that it was so velvety and well balanced that the wine "apologizes" as it goes down! Long, almost sweet finish.
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1/10/2008 - MarkC wrote: 95 Points
I can't keep my hands off this wine, which is a shame because it's still way too young and going to give even more pleasure in the future. Popped, decanted, and poured (should've planned ahead and decanted for at least 4-6 hours). Great nose right out of the gate. Palate was dominated by cherry and strawberry, but eventually showed some interesting sweet and savory spice notes. Quite tannic and chewy, but plenty of fruit to make it balanced, and plenty of backbone - not at all an over-the-top fruit bomb. One of the denser SQN wines I've had - didn't seem quite as light on its feet as some of the Syrahs, but I would guess that will come with some more (2-3 years?) bottle age.
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11/29/2007 - Paul Lin wrote: 95 Points
Lasher's Offline (Long Beach, CA): The irony of this wine is that it made me see the light in terms of what grenache can achieve. Dense and seductive notes of kirsch, black raspberries, wet earth, and cocoa powder followed by a chalky texture in the mouth. Rich and decadent and powerful. After all the hype about this producer, I finally get it. In a word, wow!
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11/8/2007 - pll4 wrote: 92 Points
Tough to score when the best sip was the last...this wine will definitely have something special for the future. Decanted for 2 hours and needed at least that much time to show the fruit.
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11/4/2007 - sosgoodjhu wrote: 100 Points
few wines have the velvety mouthfeel of SQN wine. Manfred coaxes these grapes to go above and beyond what other winemakers have produced from grapes of the same vineyards. Rich violet ruby color, elegant nose with the most amazing glycerin texture on the palate, followed by a seemless finish of perfectly integrated sweet tannins. a perfect wine for me.
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11/3/2007 - the godfather wrote: 95 Points
I'm always blown away by how Manfred can make such a powerful wine that is light in the mouth and elegant. Same goes for this wine. lots of pepper and gourgeous fruit.
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11/3/2007 - JOsgood wrote: 97 Points
Welch purple in color, inviting nose and the most mouth coating taste I've ever experienced. No decant and as you would expect this continued to improve over the night. This is a completley hedionistic wine. Massive, in your face fruit with a perfect finish. Everything is in balance. Manfred is the mad genius. Drank at Campanile with The Godfather, YS, RT and Stu. Awesome night of wine and food.
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10/2/2007 - reichken wrote: 95 Points
Drunk at the Oak (London)
once again am at the oak and BYO, i really do lie this place, nice stems, good food and very wine friendly.Decanted this for like 60min...the waitress hit it right away "Black Cherries" you could smell them when you opened and poured this bottle and they just stayed right there. very dark wine, cherries and chocolate on the nose. in the mouth it was really smooth and mouth coating, a big wine of spicy cherries and chocolate, warm but smooth and very long. this drank great, not a drop left but this wine will be better in a few years i think
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9/6/2007 - reichken wrote: 93 Points
dark purple opaque look, biggest nose on table, sweet and spicy nose, a little vanilla
great balance in the mouth , warm and fills the mouth with black fruits, spices and some bacon and vanilla
liked this wine and it will get better and better as it is quite young
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9/2/2007 - Al Ehrhardt wrote:
In the past year I have opened three SQN syrahs (Midnight Oil, Papa, and Covert Fingers) and I felt only the Midnight Oil (2001) was ready. I was a little worried about this being tight, but a short time in a decanter and it was singing. A friend also oped a 1998 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes and I much preferrred the Into The Dark. The Janasse VV was very hot for my taste.
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8/24/2007 - EMichels wrote: 95 Points
Red Carpet Wine Tasting: A tiny bit of tar on the nose; Wonderful balance; Velvety; Slight raison/overripe nose
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8/12/2007 - mike l. wrote: 90 Points
sweet and overextracted as advertised. getting a little bored with this style. the lil e by sqn was more complex and satisfying.
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6/21/2007 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
The current benchmark for Grenache in California. The nose explodes with massive layers of fruit and sweet spice aromas. The palate enjoys the soft, ripe fruit that gently flows over it. Already showing well…. this is a wine for hedonists
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5/6/2007 - MarkC wrote: 95 Points
Would've benefited from some decanting, but still was fantastic. Whatever Manfred does with his wines, they tend to line up with my taste buds. Had amongst a flight of four other Grenache-based wines ('00 Pegau, '03 Outpost Grenache, '02 Hewitson, and '05 Pax Cuvee Moriah) and this was the star. Rich, full-bodied, with a lot of fruit, but good balance. It had neither the candied elements nor was it thin and insipid like many Grenache-based wines. Definitely can use a year or more, but quite tasty now. Would recommend decanting for at least 4 hours if you're going to drink one now.
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