Tasted over 2 hrs -dense saturated dark red purple -expressive ultra ripe kirsch purple fruit -med- acidity, med+ weight ripe sweet dark fruit with a faint oxidative note, finishes with sweet caramel oak and med/med- tannins -big ripe oak-fruit bomb that is surprisingly holding up quite well though on the decline, can understand the appeal for lovers of the style but it comes with the price of obscuring the varietal features
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A friend of mine brought this to dinner to celebrate the election of Joe Biden and Trump's defeat. Hence, his selection of Over & Out. He also knew that I was cooking duck, and this wine paired perfectly with the rotisserie duck, the autumn frost squash, the frog bench carrots and beets, and the arugala salad with feta. I really liked this wine. My friend thought it was starting to fade. I did not. The fruit was beautiful. Elegant. Refined. Silk. I was so happy to share this with good friends on a great night to celebrate the end of Trump
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Opened on 4th of July 2018 > so 13 years if age. First nose > the instant bottomless Manfred bouquet that inspires laughter of joy. How does he do it?! No Pinot in my experience except one ridiculously OTT$$ Vosne Romanee has ever equaled this nose. Soft, subtle, complex, deep, and endless. Body: perfect. Front palate: perfect, Back palate perfect. I've had other pinots from this exact vineyard and they are nothing like this. Mystery. Genius. Overall, one of the top 3 PNs I've been lucky enough to experience and certainly the most joyful, unique and inspiring. Thanks Manfred & Elaine! Agree with some other writers here: too bad this was the last PN from SQN. PS: the empty bottle, still smells phenomenal at 4+ months on the counter with the cork in and less than a drop or two down at the bottom. It's drinkable perfume.
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Are you kidding me??? Best wine, across all categories, that I have ever had. Perfectly balanced. Big fruit, but with beautiful elegance. Fine fine grain tannins but still able to be ultra smooth. A viscosity that gives it mouth coating that I have never experienced! Complexity mindblowing. Thats it - I can die now!
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Acker BYO Holiday Dinner (Tribeca Grille): My first SQN Pinot and man is it fun! Exactly what you would expect of Manfred. There's an elegance to it and yet there's almost almost every flavor you can possibly get out of the Pinot grape. Even a meatiness. Lots of red fruit. Tastes a bit like candy. Love it.
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[SQN Dinner, Table, HK] Good bottle of the O&O; strong elegant nose with smooth gourmand flavours of blackberry, spice, leather. Loved the structure and finish, no doubt accentuated with the high alcohol levels. A big wine fit for game and richer foods.
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Never had a bottle quite like this before. Heat blew off quickly. Big and complex with some purity. Fruit lessened over 4 hours- that's why it's hard to figure aging or not. Not a problem with me, this was my only bottle. Awesome!
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Just a touch of heat on the open. Left it sit for 30-45 minutes and was better. This is a Pinot that could use a short decant. Its big and powerful but in balance. Which is something considering the 15.2% alcohol. Like most SQN wines there is a richness that coats the mouth. One of the better Pinots out there from the new world. Unique and layered. Lovely wine.
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Good, not great. The nose was great. The wine was a little unbalanced and bitter or the score would be higher. decent amount of fruit, dark fruit. relatively short finish. concentrated.
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Popped open for Thanksgiving dinner. Absolutely beautiful garnet color and bouquet. A little hot out of the bottle but quickly transformed to a beautiful, silky smooth, massive Pinot. Delicious.
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BOOM. This is sensational. Its a decade in and NO signs of this thing getting over the hill. Popped and poured. 2 hours in and its AMAZING. Smooth, nuanced yet big and powerful. Shame this was Manfred's last effort towards Pinot. Have had all his Pinot Noirs and they are fantastic representations of climate in which they were born. 95 tonight and easily could be higher.
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Unnumbered March 2015 PDH Berserkerfest (PDH): This was my WOTN. Was it pinot? Who cares? It certain was not an SQN syrah or grenache. Elegant, sexy, soft and easy to drink with great red fruit and a floral component. No bite. ABV? I didn't notice. Light on its feet with no apparent oak. Anyone want to trade one of these for a more recent syrah or grenache? I've only been on the list for about 3 years.
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Gorgeous opulent and seductive Pinot with a real kick at high alcohol levels. Nose is sweet without being overly so and then a mouth filling bouquet of fruits, smoked leather, some spices and nuts. Amazingly it kept evolving in the glass well over an hour after pouring. A winner.
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This hasn't moved an ounce in the past 4 years. I think it may go forever! Very ripe very fruit forward pinot. If not for the pinot funk on the nose you would never peg this as a pinot more of a syrah profile. Very dark a touch syrupy and sweet with gobs of fruit and spice. A touch on the hot side.
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Big pinot nose with some dust, olives, oak, and smoke. The palate is full with pomegranate, ripe cherries, cinnamon and candied orange rind. Long finish. Still youthful and full throttle.
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Beautiful effusive nose with layers of ripe cranberry, raspberry and cherry fruit, exotic spice and smoky herbs. Palate has medium body with plush, smooth fruit and good tart acidity. Lots of energy and verve across the mid-palate. Fruit is very polished and precise. Nice medium finish with loads of cranberry and spice. This is holding up just fine - should last for several more years, not sure if it gets much better.
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Saturated ruby color. Intense, deep fruited nose that shows restrained power. Palate is equally intense if less balanced - a bit of heat remains on the finish. Too bad as the rest is fun unabashed Pinot on steroids. Overall impression is spoiled by the heat. Drink soon. (91)
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revisiting 5 years later and this is showing well, holding up nicely. spice box dominates, in particular a cinammon thing. ripe fresh cherries for days as well. lovely pop and pour.
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Dark ruby with violet edges and heavy in the glass. Candied cherry, currant, cinnamon, cigar box, pepper, sweet tobacco and ash on the nose. Full body with explosive, candied cherry, blackberry, Dr. Pepper, cinnamon, pepper, tobacco, earth (mud) and mint on the palate. Secondary anise and buttered toast. Succulent, chewy textures along with some welcome angularity. Mildly complex and surprisingly balanced for such a huge wine. Softly gripping and fine grain tannin. Long, long finish. Could be confused with a top tier GSM.
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For New World pinot, this was one of the better examples. Still a bit too big and overpowering for me, but the quality is there and it did have better balance than some others do. Dark color, big, rich wine with lots of dark fruit on the nose and palate. Great finish, and as the wine was open it improved over the course of the meal. My last bottle but was holding strong. I can see why some would rate it higher. A-
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Just delicious. Well integrated, with red fruits and hints of violets. Smooth dusty tannins. I loved this. With foie gras burgers at The Playground. One SQN I would love to own.
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Very cool wine. Super ripe, almost raisiny. Big rich mouthfeel, would never guess a Pinot, much more like an Aussie Grenache or California Syrah. But great lingering flavors. Very interesting.
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non blind. been a while since i visited this. only a couple left and wanted to hold on to at least one for ten years. will have to keep my hands off my last one for another three years! color has not faded at all. still brillant dark violet. nose still leaps from the glass, but seems to have developed an enhanced mingling of fruits, earth and spices. very nice. could smell all night. palate is near perfect pinot. nice lushness without being cloying. good interplay of ripe blue/black fruits, earth and smoky-asian spice. ?acid starting to fade a little as i detected a little loss to the backbone this time around. the finish is wonderful and balanced and lingers. i think this will hold for those last three years, but certainly drinking very well right now.
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Was not expecting much, but was very impressed. A bit too much forward oak, but had great fruit (on the darker side) and an excellent finish that was held up by a sufficient amount of acid. There were only three of us drinking and the bottle went fast. Glad I have a few more.
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Opened late in the evening after drinking a bunch of Syrahs, this wine was the WOTN for me. It was still quite tight-knit, but it also has shed some of the fat from a few years ago. It seemed to have more focus and better balance than I remember as well. The fruit was tending towards the blue end of red, but it definitely tasted like Pinot, albeit a California version with plenty of lush fruit and silky tannins. The nose was a bit muted relative to the palate, which kind of surprised me since I tend to think of the Krankls' wines as being aromatic powerhouses, but it was still full of strawberry, earthiness, and some spice.
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memories of all the great SQN pinot's were their, but like an old western movie, they road off into the sun set leaving us all thoughts of Peggie Lee's last hit, Is That All There Is
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Tasted at a charity event (GGFAGC/11). This was a casual Thursday night bottle with a friend who kindly opened this over conversation. I really enjoyed this bottle as I didn't get any of my usual pinot noir barnyard bouquet from it Overall, very nicely balanced with mid to dark colouring and lots of rasberry jam in the flavour. This was a fun bottle to start what turned out to be another great wine event weekend.
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Disclaimer. I LOVE THIS WINE so take my high rating with a grain of salt I guess. For whatever reason this wine just does it for me. On the nose deep dark brooding fruit, cola, some earth. the smokiness? last time I had this seems to be gone. This is just an over the top blown up pinot in the mouth huge fruit huge extraction huge flavors. With it being so big it never seemed to cross that line into being jammy and overripe however. Not a terrible lot of typicity here as this almost seems more like a light syrah than a pinot but damn I love it.
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Popped and poured. Nose of bright red fruits, floral scents, and some baked earth. Deep garnet in color tending towards translucent Full bodied, even for a new world Pinot Noir. This is a massive wine, with layers of red berry fruit, bright acidity and some cinnamon type spice. Unabashedly new world and pushes the edge of ripeness but isn't flabby. 30 second finish with bright cherry, cola, baking spices and fully resolved tannins. Drink short term, within the next couple of years. Burgophiles would hate this wine with a passion.
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The aptly named wine earned its moniker because it represented the final vintage of Pinot Noir produced by Manfred and Elaine Krankl. The perfume is filled with ripe black raspberries, cola, strawberry jam and earthy scents. The wine feels a little hot in the mouth before finishing with jammy berries and cola flavors.
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Fairly dark looking and with beautiful velvety mouthfeel. Much more developed than last times (2008 + 09). Great fruit (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries) and some Rhone/Burgundian earth and meat. Wow, love it!
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Tasted in flight with 2002 Hollerin' M Pinot Noir, 2003 Omega Pinot Noir and 2004 Covert Fingers Pinot Noir. A clean Pinot, impressively revealing the rainy deciduous forest and stable sense marking this a truly nice Pinot. Mature and sun dried raspberries hide behind the velvety and silky tannins. The wine is perfectly integrated with many years to go in the cellar. Highly recommended.
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Slow to evolve in the glass but lots of smoky bacon notes on the nose. Rich palate with a wonderful mouthfee. Here the dark berry fruits dominate. If forced to pick would have a slight preference for the Omega over this wine but it's cutting hairs.
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Pinot Smackdown 2010 (Ken's, northbrook IL): nose: very toasty nose with rich tones of dark red cherries, black currants, spice tones and some bits of candy and red currants. On the extracted side and rather chunky
taste: full bodied, big and very rich tones of dark red cherries, black currants, cola, dark berries and candy tones. The feel is big but the chunkiness on the nose follows through on the palate
overall: my no10, group no5. This was overdone for me. It wasn't all that interesting and didn't really hold the size of the wine for me
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Pinot Noir Smackdown (Northbrook, IL): Nose of bright cherries, citrus pith, toasty/woodsy scents. Flows in the mouth with rich pomegranate, dark fruits, mineral streak, hint of toastiness, and a dark-fruit powered finish. My #3, group's #5
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The nose of this wine had had aromas of black cherry, and an earthy spice note. The palate had beautiful flavors of perfectly ripened sweet cherries, with hints of tobacco, earth and brown spices. This wine had a great mouthfeel and was full bodied with a long finish. I didn't get to taste a lot of this, but I couldn't help thinking that I may like this even better than I did the Omega which is the only other SQN Pinot that I have tried. Just amazing stuff.
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Dark red to rim, effusive nose of sweet cherries, earth, spice, pine. Full-bodied, rich layered fruit - dark cherries and spice, great balancing acidity, long full finish. Outstanding to extraordinary, sadly my last bottle of SQN's last Pinot.
Absolutely massive in body, power, and approach, everything turned up to 11. Incredibly dark in color going to garnet at the rim. Nose of spice, vanilla, forrest floor, and dark fruits. A lot of stuff going on in the attack: blackberry, baking spices, hint of cola, obvious acidity that runs down the midpalate to some secondary components like mushroom and earth. Finish goes on forever, could still taste it after dinner and this morning. At 15%, amazed there's absolutely zero heat and the mouthfeel is about as smooth as I've ever tasted. Astonishing.
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This is as dark and brooding a Pinot as I have ever had. Opened and poured immediately. Nose of smoke, cola and dark black fruit. This wine is still fairly tight and was showing a lot of smoke, cola, dark black fruit. I would imagine this has many many years left in the tank but was a joy to drink right now as well.
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This was damn good. A very dark pinot, but smooth and med/light mouthfeel. Very expressive nose of cola, dark fruits, spice and a bit of funk (positive). Mid-palate was slightly soft until the wine opened up. Tons of black fruit, but balanced with spice, earth and floral components, cola and a long finish. A unique pinot, hard to compare to anything else, though still true to the grape. It was easy to just keep coming back to this wine. Still has plenty of life ahead.
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I wasn't expecting this much from the wine based on reviews but the entire dinner table concurred this was one of the top wines they've tasted. Deep ruby/purple color with an amazing nose that just bounced around with difficult to pinpont smells. Smoke, tobacco, earth, dark red and black fruits. Incredibly smooth with a near perfectly-balanced mouthfeel. It was just a pleasure to sip and move around in my mouth. Again, complex yet not too overpowering earth, tobacco, minerality, dark berries. I especially enjoyed this anticipating a kind-of watery light red fruit with some earth that so many pinots offer up, but this was so different. Very much a Manfred Krankl wine. Definite flavors that I've never tasted in a US pinot but very different from the Burgundiqn terroir at the same time. A really fun wine!! I'm not sure why I'm holding back on a higher rating yet.
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Dark red to rim, great forward nose fills the room with sweet cherries, earth and hints of allspice and pine. Full-bodied, powerful rich ripe layered dark cherry fruit and spice on the palate with great balancing acidity, big but not lumbering or awkward at all, long full finish. Some have compared it to Burgundy but this is a California Pinot all the way. Fabulous, outstanding wine, a great match with grilled salmon. Suspect it will last another decade but doubt my lone remaining bottle will last anywhere near that long.
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Silky smooth on the palate, and while heavy for pinot it isnt a heavy or over the top wine overall. Dark fruit, thats hidden slightly by some oak. Palate is very round and full with a nice finish. Hasnt seemed to age/evolve much at this point. A fun drink for sure, but dont go in looking for a pure pinot experience.
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Surprise SQN Birthday Dinner (Chicago, IL): Terrific full rich nose has jammy raspberry, cherry and herbs aromas. Palate follows suit with sappy rich red fruits coating the palate. Juicy add plays counterpoint. Loads of exotic spice, flowers, herbs and black cherries on the long finish. Excellent - love the exuberance and energy of this wine.
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The nose on this never really took off for me, showing only traces of sweet fruit, some sage and pine, and a faint earthy component. Sweet, warm berries were balanced nicely with orange peel and mulling spices. The fruit is large scaled, but there is ample acidity to keep it in check. Very silky and polished. Rich and sappy, but not to the point of being cloying. The finish is fine and lingering. Unlike some others, I get no heat whatsoever on this wine, nor do I find the oak treatment intrusive. With the exception of the nose not meeting the admittedly considerable expectations, this is an exceptional wine that is drinking lovely right now. This was a delightful Valentine's Day accompaniment with a hunk of grilled Chinook and some Alaskan spot prawns.
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It was sad to think that this is SQN's last Pinot. It is smooth, balanced, silky, complex, and with wonderful fruit. Silk pajamas. Very few pinots that I have had have been better than this. Paired wonderfully with sushi, yes, sushi.
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Definitely not your average pinot and it went very well with the fish dinner Christmas Eve. The color was quite dark and the nose exhibited some muted spicy notes. On the taste though, there was a nice balanced complexity to the dark fruits and spices.
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Cool blue fruits and violets on a plush, rich nose. More plushness on the tounge, as this is densely concertrated, thick almost, but still beguiling. Blueberry, sweet red cherry, and noticeable oak, but the finish is rounded, and imparts a kiss of violet (and a bit of heat, it must be said). This is thick and sweet (over extracted?), and is carrying some wood, and so I could see the argument for laying this down for a few years, but this is high-octane and I have not had much luck aging high-alcohol wines.
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This is the second time I've had the wine, and the second time I've been kinda underwhelmed by it. Really bright cherry and other red fruits on the nose with a bit of fresh baked bread. Really soft on the palate with a nice amount of strawberry and raspberry. The problem with the wine is the acid is out of balance.. cringe worthy in the amount of acid, it's a bit too hot as well on the finish. It does have an incredibly long finish of fresh berries. It feels kind of disjointed to me.
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wowsa. another very nice bottle. explodes on the palate with fruit and a deep richness that few other pinots have. this is not your thinned out tin-y pinot. built for speed and braun but oh so nice on the palate and finish.
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Great showing for this wine, particularly with pan-fried salmon. The wine and the fish were a great combination--one of those rare (for me) times when the food and the wine elevate each other beyond how they'd be alone. The wine had a somewhat subdued nose (although I think there may have been some soap residue in the glass $@*&!), but was working well on the palate. Very (New World) Pinot Noir, with black cherry, hard spice on the finish, this is ripe and lush but isn't mouthcoating (which, for a Pinot, is a good thing IMHO). The mid-palate seemed to be lacking a bit, but this bottle seemed more complex than the previous--maybe it actually needed some time. I look forward to future bottles.
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Sine Qua Non Tasting (Lush): Deep purple/black color. Forward spicy black fruit nose and some complexity. Deep dark dense black cherry and raspberry with briar on the palate. This is one of the better and better balanced of the SQN pinots I've tried.
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Well that was a big change after all the Burgs we had before. My first SQN pinot, this is terribly young. Along with being young, this is a monster wine not so much in term of the oak (which is wisely used in my opinion) but the power and density if this wine is really impressive, almost too much. A lot of fruits (both dark/red, mainly dark) on the nose with roasted coffee and spices (cinnamon), tight and powerful on the palatewhich mirrors the nose. Long finish. Hard to evaluate for the moment but even though it was enjoyable it lacks complexity, at least for now.
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NYC Sine Qua Non Dinner at Eleven Madison Park (New York): This bottled seemed to be a little off. Not completely corked but the nose did have some wet newspaper to it. On the palate you could detect the fruit but there was something missing as the finish fell short. I would like to try this again to compare.
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non blind in a flight of three pinots, along with an omega and rochioli 03 west block. initially the tightest and less enjoyable of the three. the roch rocked and the omega not far behind. however, after an hur in the glass and a little food (duck) this bottle really came on. lively dark berries, bluberries, spice and a richness that evolved over time. the tannins and harshness blew off. wonderful lingering finish.
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Sine Qua Non Extravaganza (RJ's): Initial attack of bright strawberry and cherry with very good acidity. The wine is quite sweet for my style of wine but I can appreciate what it is.
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i had this at a big SQN tasting, and was underwhelmed. decanted. it's WAY better than the covert fingers, which i really didn't like. this is unmistakenly central coast pinot, and that's a bad thing, but it toes the line effectively enough not to be an overextracted, alcoholic mess, and that's a good thing. i miss the shea/oregon program, but won't shed too many tears over the demise of the central coast experiment.
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boy, am i luck to drink sqn. love this pinot. rich ripe fruits - cherries and blueberries. smokiness and spiciness abound. mouthcoating lushness full of fruit. alcohol well balanced in tis bottle. finish is stunning and long. thanks m and e.
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could go 93+ on this in time. dark oak rotten fruit pinot flavors, not as bright and fruity as the a cappella pn by sqn, but significantly better than the covert fingers. pretty amazing juice and again, my score might be low because it's so young still. looking forward to revisiting.
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Cult-ish US Pinots at Ox (Jersey City): So, I guess the good news for me, given that I'm not on the list and they stopped making them, is that I didn't love this, so I don't have to go hunting it down and mortgaging the house to get a few of these. I recall that some thought this was just too young to be consumed. I just didn't care for it.
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My wife and I moved down to San Diego two months ago to be closer to family and enjoy the beautiful 70+ degree annual weather. I've always heard great things about George's at the Cove now called George's Modern in La Jolla. We got married next to the cove so I've always wanted to take my wife here. Got reservations on Valentine's Day but I got the flu so this was the reschedule for our date. My wife asks, "What wine are you bringing?" I was all excited to tell her it was Sine Qua Non and then she goes, "Over & Out eh? What are you trying to say huh?"
Whoops!! Of course we were just kidding but I thought it was pretty funny! The food at George's was excellent. 5 course meal that rivals San Francisco's best 1 Michelin Star restaurants.
The wine was popped and poured into Riedel Burgundy glasses. Dark maroon color that reveals cherries and earthiness on the nose. This was definitely pinot noir on the nose. The palate was rich ripe berries but not overly sweet. Despite its 15%+ alcohol level, I thought the wine was very well balanced without traces of heat on the nose or palate. I've had wines with lower alcohol taste much more alcoholic. The finish was very long on this, which I enjoy a lot in wine. However, it wasn't the typical creamy finish that is oaky. It was just a fruity finish.
I'm not on the SQN list but thanks to those who are willing to share their bottles, I am able to taste this.
For those who enjoy CA pinot, this is one heck of a wine!
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Dark red in color. I got a lot of pinot funk on the nose. In the mouth it sure didn't taste like a pinot. Massive wine but completely in balance. Taste of dark berry, some earth and a touch of oak. I enjoyed this plenty although it doesn't have the shock and awe factor of Manfred's Syrahs or Grenaches.
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Very enjoyable, and, yet again, I'm left wishing that Krankls would have continued their Pinot Noir program. While this is a richer, more fruit-forward style of Pinot than a lot of folks seem to like, it's varietally-correct, and it packs plenty of backbone, with good acidity to stand up to the fruit. Seems like a step up over the Covert Fingers, and I'm sure that over time these wines would've continued to get even better as SQN adapted to the differences between California and Oregon Pinot.
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big big wine. Needs several hours in the decanter. Far from a burgundy, nearly as far as you can go; some discussion as to the extraction level-which is big.
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big cali pinot, of course. loaded with dark fruits especially dark blueberries. decanted about 3 hours which helped. palate is smooth from start to finish. fruits and earth very well integrated. minimal oak which is not intrusive. nice spiciness to round it out. finished for a long, long time. beautiful
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Passionfish ($110). Im basing my score purely on drinking pleasure, because it is a please to drink. No doubt you smell and feel the Pinot as it hits your tongue, but about 5 seconds after the Pinot pleasure is gone and your left with an excellent wine. If that makes sense...the nose is Pinot, the back end....just damn good wine? Obviously styled pretty big, I wish we would have had more time to air it out, it could use it. 3 hours or more from our drinking. Didnt notice much oak until later, maybe temp related? For hedonists its joy right now, purists may want to wait and see. Me Im just sorry they arent making more :(
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10/31/2021 - Cote d'Or wrote:
Tasted over 2 hrs
-dense saturated dark red purple
-expressive ultra ripe kirsch purple fruit
-med- acidity, med+ weight ripe sweet dark fruit with a faint oxidative note, finishes with sweet caramel oak and med/med- tannins
-big ripe oak-fruit bomb that is surprisingly holding up quite well though on the decline, can understand the appeal for lovers of the style but it comes with the price of obscuring the varietal features
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11/8/2020 - A&C Likes this wine: 95 Points
A friend of mine brought this to dinner to celebrate the election of Joe Biden and Trump's defeat. Hence, his selection of Over & Out. He also knew that I was cooking duck, and this wine paired perfectly with the rotisserie duck, the autumn frost squash, the frog bench carrots and beets, and the arugala salad with feta. I really liked this wine. My friend thought it was starting to fade. I did not. The fruit was beautiful. Elegant. Refined. Silk. I was so happy to share this with good friends on a great night to celebrate the end of Trump
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9/4/2019 - Peech Likes this wine: 95 Points
beautiful nose, lovely fruit with leather notes. Gorgeous. So sweet and candy-like.
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10/23/2018 - sbove Likes this wine: 98 Points
Opened on 4th of July 2018 > so 13 years if age. First nose > the instant bottomless Manfred bouquet that inspires laughter of joy. How does he do it?! No Pinot in my experience except one ridiculously OTT$$ Vosne Romanee has ever equaled this nose. Soft, subtle, complex, deep, and endless. Body: perfect. Front palate: perfect, Back palate perfect. I've had other pinots from this exact vineyard and they are nothing like this. Mystery. Genius. Overall, one of the top 3 PNs I've been lucky enough to experience and certainly the most joyful, unique and inspiring. Thanks Manfred & Elaine! Agree with some other writers here: too bad this was the last PN from SQN. PS: the empty bottle, still smells phenomenal at 4+ months on the counter with the cork in and less than a drop or two down at the bottom. It's drinkable perfume.
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9/16/2018 - RAD2626 wrote: 93 Points
Wonderful color, texture, mouthfeel and taste. Big burgundy feel. Maybe a Romanee St. Vivant. Just a shame they stopped making pinots.
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6/30/2018 - Amerique wrote: 93 Points
Deep, dark, round blackberry fruit with smoke and earth flavors, excellent structure, long finish, tasted more like a Syrah than a Pinot
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9/8/2017 - tedsc456 wrote: 100 Points
Are you kidding me??? Best wine, across all categories, that I have ever had. Perfectly balanced. Big fruit, but with beautiful elegance. Fine fine grain tannins but still able to be ultra smooth. A viscosity that gives it mouth coating that I have never experienced! Complexity mindblowing. Thats it - I can die now!
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12/13/2016 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Acker BYO Holiday Dinner (Tribeca Grille): My first SQN Pinot and man is it fun! Exactly what you would expect of Manfred. There's an elegance to it and yet there's almost almost every flavor you can possibly get out of the Pinot grape. Even a meatiness. Lots of red fruit. Tastes a bit like candy. Love it.
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11/25/2016 - bengti Likes this wine: 91 Points
[SQN Dinner, Table, HK] Good bottle of the O&O; strong elegant nose with smooth gourmand flavours of blackberry, spice, leather. Loved the structure and finish, no doubt accentuated with the high alcohol levels. A big wine fit for game and richer foods.
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9/30/2016 - dougie Likes this wine: 93 Points
Never had a bottle quite like this before. Heat blew off quickly. Big and complex with some purity. Fruit lessened over 4 hours- that's why it's hard to figure aging or not. Not a problem with me, this was my only bottle. Awesome!
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4/2/2016 - Kemo Sabe Likes this wine: 94 Points
Just a touch of heat on the open. Left it sit for 30-45 minutes and was better. This is a Pinot that could use a short decant. Its big and powerful but in balance. Which is something considering the 15.2% alcohol. Like most SQN wines there is a richness that coats the mouth. One of the better Pinots out there from the new world. Unique and layered. Lovely wine.
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2/20/2016 - WestCoast wrote: 92 Points
Good, not great. The nose was great. The wine was a little unbalanced and bitter or the score would be higher. decent amount of fruit, dark fruit. relatively short finish. concentrated.
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1/30/2016 - Knicksfan wrote: 95 Points
Still wonderful; great fruit, lush and delicious. Whew!
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11/26/2015 - jdshinn Likes this wine: 97 Points
Popped open for Thanksgiving dinner. Absolutely beautiful garnet color and bouquet. A little hot out of the bottle but quickly transformed to a beautiful, silky smooth, massive Pinot. Delicious.
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5/9/2015 - Kemo Sabe Likes this wine: 95 Points
BOOM. This is sensational. Its a decade in and NO signs of this thing getting over the hill. Popped and poured. 2 hours in and its AMAZING. Smooth, nuanced yet big and powerful. Shame this was Manfred's last effort towards Pinot. Have had all his Pinot Noirs and they are fantastic representations of climate in which they were born. 95 tonight and easily could be higher.
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3/18/2015 - Jay Hack wrote: 96 Points
Unnumbered March 2015 PDH Berserkerfest (PDH): This was my WOTN. Was it pinot? Who cares? It certain was not an SQN syrah or grenache. Elegant, sexy, soft and easy to drink with great red fruit and a floral component. No bite. ABV? I didn't notice. Light on its feet with no apparent oak. Anyone want to trade one of these for a more recent syrah or grenache? I've only been on the list for about 3 years.
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10/29/2014 - bengti Likes this wine: 99 Points
Gorgeous opulent and seductive Pinot with a real kick at high alcohol levels. Nose is sweet without being overly so and then a mouth filling bouquet of fruits, smoked leather, some spices and nuts. Amazingly it kept evolving in the glass well over an hour after pouring. A winner.
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5/20/2014 - twelch wrote: 93 Points
This hasn't moved an ounce in the past 4 years. I think it may go forever! Very ripe very fruit forward pinot. If not for the pinot funk on the nose you would never peg this as a pinot more of a syrah profile. Very dark a touch syrupy and sweet with gobs of fruit and spice. A touch on the hot side.
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1/24/2014 - Knicksfan wrote: 95 Points
Love love love. Period. Want more
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1/18/2014 - Uglypinga wrote:
Big pinot nose with some dust, olives, oak, and smoke. The palate is full with pomegranate, ripe cherries, cinnamon and candied orange rind. Long finish. Still youthful and full throttle.
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10/17/2013 - iar wrote: 97 Points
Delicious. The best bottle of O & O to date and, together with Covert Fingers, my favorite pinots.
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4/13/2013 - Nanda wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful effusive nose with layers of ripe cranberry, raspberry and cherry fruit, exotic spice and smoky herbs. Palate has medium body with plush, smooth fruit and good tart acidity. Lots of energy and verve across the mid-palate. Fruit is very polished and precise. Nice medium finish with loads of cranberry and spice. This is holding up just fine - should last for several more years, not sure if it gets much better.
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4/13/2013 - Nanda wrote: flawed
Corked - bloody hell. Opening a 2nd bottle.
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3/18/2013 - dbkitc wrote: 91 Points
Saturated ruby color. Intense, deep fruited nose that shows restrained power. Palate is equally intense if less balanced - a bit of heat remains on the finish. Too bad as the rest is fun unabashed Pinot on steroids. Overall impression is spoiled by the heat. Drink soon. (91)
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2/24/2013 - mike l. wrote: 95 Points
revisiting 5 years later and this is showing well, holding up nicely. spice box dominates, in particular a cinammon thing. ripe fresh cherries for days as well. lovely pop and pour.
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2/23/2013 - christophee Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dark ruby with violet edges and heavy in the glass. Candied cherry, currant, cinnamon, cigar box, pepper, sweet tobacco and ash on the nose. Full body with explosive, candied cherry, blackberry, Dr. Pepper, cinnamon, pepper, tobacco, earth (mud) and mint on the palate. Secondary anise and buttered toast. Succulent, chewy textures along with some welcome angularity. Mildly complex and surprisingly balanced for such a huge wine. Softly gripping and fine grain tannin. Long, long finish. Could be confused with a top tier GSM.
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11/3/2012 - MC wrote:
For New World pinot, this was one of the better examples. Still a bit too big and overpowering for me, but the quality is there and it did have better balance than some others do. Dark color, big, rich wine with lots of dark fruit on the nose and palate. Great finish, and as the wine was open it improved over the course of the meal. My last bottle but was holding strong. I can see why some would rate it higher. A-
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9/15/2012 - Knicksfan wrote: 94 Points
Still a beauty.
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8/14/2012 - zazoo wrote: 96 Points
One of my favorite pinots.
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6/29/2012 - Colima74 wrote: 94 Points
Just delicious. Well integrated, with red fruits and hints of violets. Smooth dusty tannins. I loved this. With foie gras burgers at The Playground. One SQN I would love to own.
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6/22/2012 - jdlee1232 wrote: 92 Points
A chewy tobacco and leather fest -- you want subtle? This ain't your wine
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5/19/2012 - phenricsson wrote: 93 Points
Very cool wine. Super ripe, almost raisiny. Big rich mouthfeel, would never guess a Pinot, much more like an Aussie Grenache or California Syrah. But great lingering flavors. Very interesting.
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4/27/2012 - jc-mmb wrote: 95 Points
non blind. been a while since i visited this. only a couple left and wanted to hold on to at least one for ten years. will have to keep my hands off my last one for another three years! color has not faded at all. still brillant dark violet. nose still leaps from the glass, but seems to have developed an enhanced mingling of fruits, earth and spices. very nice. could smell all night. palate is near perfect pinot. nice lushness without being cloying. good interplay of ripe blue/black fruits, earth and smoky-asian spice. ?acid starting to fade a little as i detected a little loss to the backbone this time around. the finish is wonderful and balanced and lingers. i think this will hold for those last three years, but certainly drinking very well right now.
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12/26/2011 - Knicksfan wrote: 94 Points
Wonderful. Consistently delicious
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11/25/2011 - EPounds wrote: 93 Points
Was not expecting much, but was very impressed. A bit too much forward oak, but had great fruit (on the darker side) and an excellent finish that was held up by a sufficient amount of acid. There were only three of us drinking and the bottle went fast. Glad I have a few more.
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10/16/2011 - MarkC Likes this wine:
Opened late in the evening after drinking a bunch of Syrahs, this wine was the WOTN for me. It was still quite tight-knit, but it also has shed some of the fat from a few years ago. It seemed to have more focus and better balance than I remember as well. The fruit was tending towards the blue end of red, but it definitely tasted like Pinot, albeit a California version with plenty of lush fruit and silky tannins. The nose was a bit muted relative to the palate, which kind of surprised me since I tend to think of the Krankls' wines as being aromatic powerhouses, but it was still full of strawberry, earthiness, and some spice.
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8/28/2011 - Knicksfan wrote: 93 Points
Stellar.
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8/20/2011 - shadow wrote: 93 Points
memories of all the great SQN pinot's were their, but like an old western movie, they road off into the sun set leaving us all thoughts of Peggie Lee's last hit, Is That All There Is
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8/5/2011 - winestem wrote: 95 Points
Kirsch like liquor. Almost heavy bodied, but balanced and intense. Gorgeous colors and after a moment the volatile aromatics blew off.
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7/28/2011 - twelch wrote: 94 Points
Ditto my previous notes. This wine just performs for my palate.
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6/16/2011 - Rosengoo wrote: 92 Points
Tasted at a charity event (GGFAGC/11). This was a casual Thursday night bottle with a friend who kindly opened this over conversation. I really enjoyed this bottle as I didn't get any of my usual pinot noir barnyard bouquet from it Overall, very nicely balanced with mid to dark colouring and lots of rasberry jam in the flavour. This was a fun bottle to start what turned out to be another great wine event weekend.
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3/21/2011 - twelch wrote: 95 Points
Disclaimer. I LOVE THIS WINE so take my high rating with a grain of salt I guess. For whatever reason this wine just does it for me. On the nose deep dark brooding fruit, cola, some earth. the smokiness? last time I had this seems to be gone. This is just an over the top blown up pinot in the mouth huge fruit huge extraction huge flavors. With it being so big it never seemed to cross that line into being jammy and overripe however. Not a terrible lot of typicity here as this almost seems more like a light syrah than a pinot but damn I love it.
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3/18/2011 - huntinpagan wrote: 93 Points
Popped and poured. Nose of bright red fruits, floral scents, and some baked earth. Deep garnet in color tending towards translucent Full bodied, even for a new world Pinot Noir. This is a massive wine, with layers of red berry fruit, bright acidity and some cinnamon type spice. Unabashedly new world and pushes the edge of ripeness but isn't flabby. 30 second finish with bright cherry, cola, baking spices and fully resolved tannins. Drink short term, within the next couple of years. Burgophiles would hate this wine with a passion.
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2/19/2011 - ronlite wrote: 94 Points
Excellent
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2/1/2011 - Jeff Leve wrote: 91 Points
The aptly named wine earned its moniker because it represented the final vintage of Pinot Noir produced by Manfred and Elaine Krankl. The perfume is filled with ripe black raspberries, cola, strawberry jam and earthy scents. The wine feels a little hot in the mouth before finishing with jammy berries and cola flavors.
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1/15/2011 - HRT wrote:
Beautiful nose of sweet red and dark berries. Well balanced with sweet tannins which are fully integrated.
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12/17/2010 - iar wrote: 96 Points
Delicious!
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10/22/2010 - Nanda wrote: 90 Points
Round, loaded and delicious. On the simpler side. With a touch of heat on the finish.
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10/20/2010 - phenricsson wrote: 95 Points
Fairly dark looking and with beautiful velvety mouthfeel. Much more developed than last times (2008 + 09). Great fruit (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries) and some Rhone/Burgundian earth and meat. Wow, love it!
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9/21/2010 - Christoffer78 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Tasted in flight with 2002 Hollerin' M Pinot Noir, 2003 Omega Pinot Noir and 2004 Covert Fingers Pinot Noir. A clean Pinot, impressively revealing the rainy deciduous forest and stable sense marking this a truly nice Pinot. Mature and sun dried raspberries hide behind the velvety and silky tannins. The wine is perfectly integrated with many years to go in the cellar. Highly recommended.
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8/15/2010 - Knicksfan wrote: 93 Points
A masterpiece as always
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5/29/2010 - Sennma wrote: 94 Points
Slow to evolve in the glass but lots of smoky bacon notes on the nose. Rich palate with a wonderful mouthfee. Here the dark berry fruits dominate. If forced to pick would have a slight preference for the Omega over this wine but it's cutting hairs.
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5/28/2010 - KeithAkers wrote: 87 Points
Pinot Smackdown 2010 (Ken's, northbrook IL): nose: very toasty nose with rich tones of dark red cherries, black currants, spice tones and some bits of candy and red currants. On the extracted side and rather chunky
taste: full bodied, big and very rich tones of dark red cherries, black currants, cola, dark berries and candy tones. The feel is big but the chunkiness on the nose follows through on the palate
overall: my no10, group no5. This was overdone for me. It wasn't all that interesting and didn't really hold the size of the wine for me
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5/28/2010 - cobbpa Likes this wine: 92 Points
Pinot Noir Smackdown (Northbrook, IL): Nose of bright cherries, citrus pith, toasty/woodsy scents. Flows in the mouth with rich pomegranate, dark fruits, mineral streak, hint of toastiness, and a dark-fruit powered finish.
My #3, group's #5
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5/9/2010 - last chance wrote: 96 Points
The nose of this wine had had aromas of black cherry, and an earthy spice note. The palate had beautiful flavors of perfectly ripened sweet cherries, with hints of tobacco, earth and brown spices. This wine had a great mouthfeel and was full bodied with a long finish. I didn't get to taste a lot of this, but I couldn't help thinking that I may like this even better than I did the Omega which is the only other SQN Pinot that I have tried. Just amazing stuff.
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5/8/2010 - ews3 wrote: 94 Points
Great Grapes for a Great Cause SQN Tasting -- 3rd Annual; 5/7/2010-5/8/2010 (Mandarin Oriental, Washington DC): really nice dark fruit profile -- a little more masculine and burly than the Omega. Cherry. Medium tannins, medium finish. I think this was the first SQN I ever had a couple years back -- still a great one!
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4/28/2010 - Knicksfan wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful
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4/13/2010 - dbg wrote:
Dark red to rim, effusive nose of sweet cherries, earth, spice, pine. Full-bodied, rich layered fruit - dark cherries and spice, great balancing acidity, long full finish. Outstanding to extraordinary, sadly my last bottle of SQN's last Pinot.
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1/23/2010 - HRT wrote:
Lovely lush red fruit. Very full bodied but the tannins were prominant. Covert Fingers is a more elegant wine.
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12/31/2009 - nopat wrote: 93 Points
Absolutely massive in body, power, and approach, everything turned up to 11. Incredibly dark in color going to garnet at the rim. Nose of spice, vanilla, forrest floor, and dark fruits. A lot of stuff going on in the attack: blackberry, baking spices, hint of cola, obvious acidity that runs down the midpalate to some secondary components like mushroom and earth. Finish goes on forever, could still taste it after dinner and this morning. At 15%, amazed there's absolutely zero heat and the mouthfeel is about as smooth as I've ever tasted. Astonishing.
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11/25/2009 - twelch wrote: 93 Points
This is as dark and brooding a Pinot as I have ever had. Opened and poured immediately. Nose of smoke, cola and dark black fruit. This wine is still fairly tight and was showing a lot of smoke, cola, dark black fruit. I would imagine this has many many years left in the tank but was a joy to drink right now as well.
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11/25/2009 - cadamson wrote: 94 Points
This was damn good. A very dark pinot, but smooth and med/light mouthfeel. Very expressive nose of cola, dark fruits, spice and a bit of funk (positive). Mid-palate was slightly soft until the wine opened up. Tons of black fruit, but balanced with spice, earth and floral components, cola and a long finish. A unique pinot, hard to compare to anything else, though still true to the grape. It was easy to just keep coming back to this wine. Still has plenty of life ahead.
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10/9/2009 - Knicksfan wrote: 94 Points
This bottle continues to impress - dark color reveals red and black fruit in layer after layer and pure enjoyment in the glass. Wish I had more.
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9/14/2009 - bogrumpus wrote: 97 Points
I wasn't expecting this much from the wine based on reviews but the entire dinner table concurred this was one of the top wines they've tasted. Deep ruby/purple color with an amazing nose that just bounced around with difficult to pinpont smells. Smoke, tobacco, earth, dark red and black fruits. Incredibly smooth with a near perfectly-balanced mouthfeel. It was just a pleasure to sip and move around in my mouth. Again, complex yet not too overpowering earth, tobacco, minerality, dark berries. I especially enjoyed this anticipating a kind-of watery light red fruit with some earth that so many pinots offer up, but this was so different. Very much a Manfred Krankl wine. Definite flavors that I've never tasted in a US pinot but very different from the Burgundiqn terroir at the same time. A really fun wine!! I'm not sure why I'm holding back on a higher rating yet.
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8/22/2009 - dbg wrote:
Dark red to rim, great forward nose fills the room with sweet cherries, earth and hints of allspice and pine. Full-bodied, powerful rich ripe layered dark cherry fruit and spice on the palate with great balancing acidity, big but not lumbering or awkward at all, long full finish. Some have compared it to Burgundy but this is a California Pinot all the way. Fabulous, outstanding wine, a great match with grilled salmon. Suspect it will last another decade but doubt my lone remaining bottle will last anywhere near that long.
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7/15/2009 - HRT wrote:
Very Burgundian in scent and taste. Cascading fruit flavors linger long after the finish.
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5/30/2009 - Ekoostik wrote: 92 Points
Silky smooth on the palate, and while heavy for pinot it isnt a heavy or over the top wine overall. Dark fruit, thats hidden slightly by some oak. Palate is very round and full with a nice finish. Hasnt seemed to age/evolve much at this point. A fun drink for sure, but dont go in looking for a pure pinot experience.
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5/30/2009 - Knicksfan wrote: 93 Points
Wonderful - although slightly more restrained than last time
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3/31/2009 - quigley13 wrote: 97 Points
This bottle was SINGING. Pure ripe fruit with depth and balance. I had fairly high expectations but this bottle exceeded them.
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3/28/2009 - ews3 wrote: flawed
Great Grapes for a Great Cause SQN Tasting -- 2nd Annual (Le Paradou, Washington DC): corked
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3/19/2009 - jeff nowak wrote: flawed
corked. and i didn't whine to manfred about it, either.
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3/7/2009 - Nanda wrote: 94 Points
Surprise SQN Birthday Dinner (Chicago, IL): Terrific full rich nose has jammy raspberry, cherry and herbs aromas. Palate follows suit with sappy rich red fruits coating the palate. Juicy add plays counterpoint. Loads of exotic spice, flowers, herbs and black cherries on the long finish. Excellent - love the exuberance and energy of this wine.
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2/16/2009 - Moorese wrote: 94 Points
The nose on this never really took off for me, showing only traces of sweet fruit, some sage and pine, and a faint earthy component. Sweet, warm berries were balanced nicely with orange peel and mulling spices. The fruit is large scaled, but there is ample acidity to keep it in check. Very silky and polished. Rich and sappy, but not to the point of being cloying. The finish is fine and lingering. Unlike some others, I get no heat whatsoever on this wine, nor do I find the oak treatment intrusive. With the exception of the nose not meeting the admittedly considerable expectations, this is an exceptional wine that is drinking lovely right now. This was a delightful Valentine's Day accompaniment with a hunk of grilled Chinook and some Alaskan spot prawns.
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1/19/2009 - A&C wrote: 94 Points
It was sad to think that this is SQN's last Pinot. It is smooth, balanced, silky, complex, and with wonderful fruit. Silk pajamas. Very few pinots that I have had have been better than this. Paired wonderfully with sushi, yes, sushi.
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1/1/2009 - jc-mmb wrote: 96 Points
consistent with my previous notes. i do love this wine - blind and unblind.
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12/24/2008 - brynmair wrote: 94 Points
Definitely not your average pinot and it went very well with the fish dinner Christmas Eve. The color was quite dark and the nose exhibited some muted spicy notes. On the taste though, there was a nice balanced complexity to the dark fruits and spices.
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12/4/2008 - FieldingYost wrote: 90 Points
Cool blue fruits and violets on a plush, rich nose. More plushness on the tounge, as this is densely concertrated, thick almost, but still beguiling. Blueberry, sweet red cherry, and noticeable oak, but the finish is rounded, and imparts a kiss of violet (and a bit of heat, it must be said). This is thick and sweet (over extracted?), and is carrying some wood, and so I could see the argument for laying this down for a few years, but this is high-octane and I have not had much luck aging high-alcohol wines.
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12/1/2008 - clayfu wrote: 90 Points
This is the second time I've had the wine, and the second time I've been kinda underwhelmed by it. Really bright cherry and other red fruits on the nose with a bit of fresh baked bread. Really soft on the palate with a nice amount of strawberry and raspberry. The problem with the wine is the acid is out of balance.. cringe worthy in the amount of acid, it's a bit too hot as well on the finish. It does have an incredibly long finish of fresh berries. It feels kind of disjointed to me.
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11/24/2008 - kanab ram wrote: flawed
Purchased at silent auction. Corked :(
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10/12/2008 - jc-mmb wrote: 96 Points
wowsa. another very nice bottle. explodes on the palate with fruit and a deep richness that few other pinots have. this is not your thinned out tin-y pinot. built for speed and braun but oh so nice on the palate and finish.
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10/11/2008 - MarkC wrote:
Great showing for this wine, particularly with pan-fried salmon. The wine and the fish were a great combination--one of those rare (for me) times when the food and the wine elevate each other beyond how they'd be alone. The wine had a somewhat subdued nose (although I think there may have been some soap residue in the glass $@*&!), but was working well on the palate. Very (New World) Pinot Noir, with black cherry, hard spice on the finish, this is ripe and lush but isn't mouthcoating (which, for a Pinot, is a good thing IMHO). The mid-palate seemed to be lacking a bit, but this bottle seemed more complex than the previous--maybe it actually needed some time. I look forward to future bottles.
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10/3/2008 - winefool wrote: 93 Points
Sine Qua Non Tasting (Lush): Deep purple/black color. Forward spicy black fruit nose and some complexity. Deep dark dense black cherry and raspberry with briar on the palate. This is one of the better and better balanced of the SQN pinots I've tried.
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8/23/2008 - french16 wrote: 89 Points
Well that was a big change after all the Burgs we had before. My first SQN pinot, this is terribly young. Along with being young, this is a monster wine not so much in term of the oak (which is wisely used in my opinion) but the power and density if this wine is really impressive, almost too much.
A lot of fruits (both dark/red, mainly dark) on the nose with roasted coffee and spices (cinnamon), tight and powerful on the palatewhich mirrors the nose. Long finish.
Hard to evaluate for the moment but even though it was enjoyable it lacks complexity, at least for now.
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7/19/2008 - nicu2001 wrote:
NYC Sine Qua Non Dinner at Eleven Madison Park (New York): This bottled seemed to be a little off. Not completely corked but the nose did have some wet newspaper to it. On the palate you could detect the fruit but there was something missing as the finish fell short. I would like to try this again to compare.
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6/27/2008 - jc-mmb wrote: 94 Points
non blind in a flight of three pinots, along with an omega and rochioli 03 west block. initially the tightest and less enjoyable of the three. the roch rocked and the omega not far behind. however, after an hur in the glass and a little food (duck) this bottle really came on. lively dark berries, bluberries, spice and a richness that evolved over time. the tannins and harshness blew off. wonderful lingering finish.
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6/26/2008 - pakabear wrote: 92 Points
Sine Qua Non Extravaganza (RJ's): Initial attack of bright strawberry and cherry with very good acidity. The wine is quite sweet for my style of wine but I can appreciate what it is.
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6/12/2008 - jeff nowak wrote: 90 Points
i had this at a big SQN tasting, and was underwhelmed. decanted. it's WAY better than the covert fingers, which i really didn't like. this is unmistakenly central coast pinot, and that's a bad thing, but it toes the line effectively enough not to be an overextracted, alcoholic mess, and that's a good thing. i miss the shea/oregon program, but won't shed too many tears over the demise of the central coast experiment.
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5/31/2008 - jc-mmb wrote: 95 Points
boy, am i luck to drink sqn. love this pinot. rich ripe fruits - cherries and blueberries. smokiness and spiciness abound. mouthcoating lushness full of fruit. alcohol well balanced in tis bottle. finish is stunning and long. thanks m and e.
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5/30/2008 - mike l. wrote: 92 Points
could go 93+ on this in time. dark oak rotten fruit pinot flavors, not as bright and fruity as the a cappella pn by sqn, but significantly better than the covert fingers. pretty amazing juice and again, my score might be low because it's so young still. looking forward to revisiting.
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5/10/2008 - HenryW wrote: 91 Points
Ripe style.
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4/22/2008 - Cheryl wrote:
Cult-ish US Pinots at Ox (Jersey City): So, I guess the good news for me, given that I'm not on the list and they stopped making them, is that I didn't love this, so I don't have to go hunting it down and mortgaging the house to get a few of these. I recall that some thought this was just too young to be consumed. I just didn't care for it.
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4/22/2008 - sprnplr wrote: 92 Points
Cult-ish Pinots (Ox Restaurant, Jersey City, NJ): This was served a bit too warm, also not ready. Hold.
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3/30/2008 - hudamang wrote: 93 Points
My wife and I moved down to San Diego two months ago to be closer to family and enjoy the beautiful 70+ degree annual weather. I've always heard great things about George's at the Cove now called George's Modern in La Jolla. We got married next to the cove so I've always wanted to take my wife here. Got reservations on Valentine's Day but I got the flu so this was the reschedule for our date. My wife asks, "What wine are you bringing?" I was all excited to tell her it was Sine Qua Non and then she goes, "Over & Out eh? What are you trying to say huh?"
Whoops!! Of course we were just kidding but I thought it was pretty funny! The food at George's was excellent. 5 course meal that rivals San Francisco's best 1 Michelin Star restaurants.
The wine was popped and poured into Riedel Burgundy glasses. Dark maroon color that reveals cherries and earthiness on the nose. This was definitely pinot noir on the nose. The palate was rich ripe berries but not overly sweet. Despite its 15%+ alcohol level, I thought the wine was very well balanced without traces of heat on the nose or palate. I've had wines with lower alcohol taste much more alcoholic. The finish was very long on this, which I enjoy a lot in wine. However, it wasn't the typical creamy finish that is oaky. It was just a fruity finish.
I'm not on the SQN list but thanks to those who are willing to share their bottles, I am able to taste this.
For those who enjoy CA pinot, this is one heck of a wine!
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3/16/2008 - the godfather wrote: 92 Points
Totally concur with jwobkk note
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3/16/2008 - JOsgood wrote: 92 Points
Dark red in color. I got a lot of pinot funk on the nose. In the mouth it sure didn't taste like a pinot. Massive wine but completely in balance. Taste of dark berry, some earth and a touch of oak. I enjoyed this plenty although it doesn't have the shock and awe factor of Manfred's Syrahs or Grenaches.
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3/15/2008 - MarkC wrote:
Very enjoyable, and, yet again, I'm left wishing that Krankls would have continued their Pinot Noir program. While this is a richer, more fruit-forward style of Pinot than a lot of folks seem to like, it's varietally-correct, and it packs plenty of backbone, with good acidity to stand up to the fruit. Seems like a step up over the Covert Fingers, and I'm sure that over time these wines would've continued to get even better as SQN adapted to the differences between California and Oregon Pinot.
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12/29/2007 - PIR wrote: 94 Points
big big wine. Needs several hours in the decanter. Far from a burgundy, nearly as far as you can go; some discussion as to the extraction level-which is big.
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12/17/2007 - brynmair wrote: 96 Points
Wow, an awesome bottle of pinot. This one was so full of dark fruits and an overall balance of flavors. Such an exciting bottle at this stage.
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12/11/2007 - jc-mmb wrote: 96 Points
big cali pinot, of course. loaded with dark fruits especially dark blueberries. decanted about 3 hours which helped. palate is smooth from start to finish. fruits and earth very well integrated. minimal oak which is not intrusive. nice spiciness to round it out. finished for a long, long time. beautiful
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12/7/2007 - Ekoostik wrote: 93 Points
Passionfish ($110). Im basing my score purely on drinking pleasure, because it is a please to drink. No doubt you smell and feel the Pinot as it hits your tongue, but about 5 seconds after the Pinot pleasure is gone and your left with an excellent wine. If that makes sense...the nose is Pinot, the back end....just damn good wine? Obviously styled pretty big, I wish we would have had more time to air it out, it could use it. 3 hours or more from our drinking. Didnt notice much oak until later, maybe temp related? For hedonists its joy right now, purists may want to wait and see. Me Im just sorry they arent making more :(
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11/18/2007 - MC wrote:
Big. All about the SQN style and although I am usually not in that mood it was the right wine for the time. A-
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