I had this in 2011 and didn't really care for it, just too much of everything. Fast forward a decade+ and the wine is finally (for my palate) in the zone, a place it will occupy for a few more years. That said, I see no reason to wait and every reason to open sooner than later, but that's based on my preferences. Enjoyable but still there's something foursquare about it - and it was served double-blind so it wasn't label bias. I'd drink a glass if offered, but maybe not a second, just like this time. 15,5% abv.
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Opened at Mosu HK. Slow-oxed for many hours before being served at dinner.
This was my personal WOTN. Gorgeous nose - powerful, yet elegant fruit spectrum backed by slight pepperyness and herbal notes. On the palate it was very well integrated, going down extremely smoothly and handling the tannins and alcohol perfectly.
I found myself comparing this to Rayas, and even though I understand that the winemakers are trying to achieve completely different styles, I felt that this SQN just lacked a bit of complexity and 'effortlessness' to push to a higher score. However, when my mind wanders to these types of comparisons, you know it's an extremely good wine.
I'd consider this bottle to be in its prime drinking window now, considering my personal preference for pronounced fruit and freshness. However, will definitely keep at this level for a few years, and would be very happy to try again. 94+
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Popped and poured...big nose of blue fruit and plum...feel like the backbone of spices and flowers I associate with SQN Grenache has drifted away...tannins are fully integrated...medium to long finish...suggest drinking in the next 1-2 years.
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On the nose- Big dark fruits, dark blackberries, dark blueberries, cassis, ripe plums, berry pie, dried fruit, figs, dates, dried meat, saddle leather, dark raspberry, dark cherry, wild flowers, incense, wild herbs, baking spices, oak, vanilla, olives, black ink.
On the palate- Big dark fruits and dark blackberries, dark blueberries and cassis, ripe plums and berry pie, dried fruit and figs, dates and dried meat, saddle leather and dark raspberry, dark cherry and wild flowers, incense and wild herbs, baking spices and oak, vanilla and olives with a hint of black ink on the finish. This wine is huge lush and super smooth with amazing depth. I gave this wine 2 hours of slow Ox then poured a glass and let the bottle develop over the course of the night. I think this wine is drinking KILLER right now but will age for 5-7 plus years if not longer with no problem at all.
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SQN Dinner (Jordan's Place - Chicago IL): WOTF in 06/07 flight. Rich and spicy, this was layered and complex with Asian and Indian spices while always perfectly harmonious. Even better tonight vs another bottle tasted last week.
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Decanted for one hour. Nose of black raspberry liquor, black cherry, mocha and garrigue. Rich, ripe black and red fruit, black licorice, mocha and garrigue on the palate. Very long, layered finish with excellent depth. Full bodied. Served with grilled filet mignon and a mushroom, thyme, cream pan sauce.
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Kleur: Diep donkerrood zonder spoor van verkleuring aan de randen. Aroma / bouquet: Verleidelijk maar bescheiden bouquet, tonen van tomatencompote (toegegeven, nooit eerder gebruikt in een proefnotitie ;-) ) , gedroogd donker fruit, ontbijtkoek, cederhout. Smaak / Afdronk: Zachte zuurgraad, boterzachte tannines, retronasale indrukken van een zacht zoetige kruidigheid. Mondvullend, dik-sappig. Algemeen / potentieel: Er is veel discussie mogelijk over de vraag welke rode SQN de mooiste resultaten brengt… Grenache of Syrah…. Ik denk dat ik de rest van mijn leven nodig heb om het ultieme antwoord te vinden. Na deze Grenache neig ik toch naar Grenache. De volgende keer maar weer een Syrah proberen. Het leven is zwaar... ;-) 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Smaak / Afdronk: 19 + Algemeen / potentieel: 10 = 98/100
Color: Deep dark red with no trace of discoloration at the edges. Aroma / bouquet: Seductive but modest bouquet, notes of tomato compote (admittedly, never used in a tasting note before;-) ), dried dark fruit, gingerbread, cedar wood. Taste / Aftertaste:[/ i] Soft acidity, buttery tannins, retronasal impressions of a soft sweet spiciness. Mouth-filling, thick-juicy. General / potential: There is a lot of discussion possible about which red SQN produces the best results… Grenache or Syrah…. I think it will take me the rest of my life to find the ultimate answer. After this Grenache I still tend to Grenache. Try another Syrah next time. Life is hard... ;-) 50 + Colour: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Taste / Aftertaste: 19 + General / potential: 10 = 98/100
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Beach 2021; 8/7/2021-8/14/2021 (Kiawah Island, SC): All dark raspberry and blueberry compote with a tour of black pepper. Fantastic nose, fleshy Grenache fruit, tannins have subsided and this is drinking at peak. Fantastic!
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#1 bottling. Gorgeous ruby red. Absolutely one of the most delicious noses I’ve ever had. Red raspberry, blackberry, black cherry, slight hint of citrus, jammy with some vanilla notes. Beautifully balanced and velvety. Full bodied at 15.5 ABV. Finish was the longest I’ve had for quite a while. Exquisite!
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Black fruit, dark cherries and chocolate. This wine was luscious but also surprisingly austere as if it weren't fully letting go of its treasures. From other notes and tracking this over time, I think that this will hold but not necessarily improve.
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#6 + 7 . Deep color, very syrah fruity , Cali , small green peppers.........12 hours later more of a backbone than was present at opening. Still big nose , less fruit on palate.Very nice. This open bottle got lost on the bar , next time I saw it was Jan 5th not bad at all had a more smooth thing going on , also small sour thing. Stuff could last forever.
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This is based on the No. 1 bottling, although I've got no clue as to the differences in the numbers. This is Sine Qua Non, so take any of this under the general umbrella of "within the style", because you should know what you're in for. Flat out, these wines are massive. In no way does this read as a 14 year-old wine and has a polish that makes botox seem appropriate. Rich ripe fruit... red-ish, but just a lot of it. Jammy, with vanilla oak notes and pretty heavy. There's a complexity with spice and cocoa notes and there are lots of layers, but it's a wine that gets to be a bit too much about mid way through the second glass. There was a general sense of the glycerol weight, but not acid or tannin (outside of oak), although it handled the hefty alcohol well. I had this with a very rich meal and it felt appropriate. For me, this is a, fun every once in awhile, guilty pleasure, but if you like a more flamboyant style, this is sort of an apex.
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This was excellent on day 1 although I didn’t take notes. Even from PNP had an intense floral, fruit and spicy nose and an explosion of fruit on the palate. The alcohol was slightly noticeable but otherwise everything well integrated. Decadent flavors of vanilla, spices, Cassis, black fruits snd dried raspberries. On day 2 absolutely stunning. I am disappointed that I only left one glass for day two because it was a different wine—so smooth, no sense of alcohol, intense fruits, spices, long finish and left me wanting more. So far my best SQN experience. I wish I could be more confident about a 24 hour decant because the SQN grenache that I have had so far is always amazing 24 hrs later.
Decanted for one hour. Nose of raspberry, cocoa, bramble, spice and vanilla. Ripe jammy raspberry, cocoa, anise, bramble and forest floor on the palate. Very long finish. Elegantly balanced. Full bodied. Served with grilled cowboy steaks and a blue cheese, black truffle compound butter.
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Tasted non blind. Opened and served immediately. Followed over about three hours.
Dark garnet to purple color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of Kirsch, spice box, black berries and dried plums. Flavors of cassis, dried plums and raspberries. Medium acidity, medium tannin, full bodied. Drink over the short term.
BNO/GNO
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A peppery red cherry, orange liqueur flavors balanced with tannin some minerality and grapefruit on the finish. A little liquorish and hot ( alcohol) for my taste .
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2006 Retrospective (Central Coast, CA): Slow-ox’ed for six hours. The last, and least interesting, of my stash. Monolithic, dense and unyielding, with no typicity. A decant would have helped, but would not have transformed it I’m sure. Smoke, mocha, some candied fruit, but all subordinated to a density that made this a difficult wine to enjoy.
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WX+ 'X9 Blind Cabernet Sauvignon Meetup (My House - Hanover Park, IL): This was a real winner tonight. The second off theme bottle this was full throttle out of the gate. Decanted about six hours and this was undoubtedly SQN not the nose. Super heady dark berry aromas coupled with camphor, exotic baking spices, freshly picked violets and bloody meat. The palate was awesome with more dark fruit, smoke and forest floor. The finish went on and on. This showed some subtle signs of age but there is still lots of life left here. Definitely prefer SQN with some years under their belt. Has more nuance and the finish is more balanced than young SQN.
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Decanted for one hour. Violets, raspberry liquor, espresso and garrigue aromas. Red and black berries, mocha, spice, underbrush and fine tannins on the palate. Long, layered finish with good depth. Full bodied. Served with grilled Delmonico steaks.
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well made but HUGE, and therefore not my style... I think this wine - for its style is a winner, so those that prefer to be punched in the face would rate this 93+
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Definitely needs a decant. Comes out of the bottle pretty big and needs some time to relax. A couple hours in and we got some dark fruits, black fruits, a brooding nature, dark spices, blackberries, black cherries, spice box, cola and hints of red fruits. Very well textured. Big wine, monumental. A little less nuanced than some previous bottles. Very Cali is style and very delicious.
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The 2006 Raven Grenache is a result of one of those truly mythical producers in the world. It certainly delivers a lovely experience when tasting. All Sine Qua Non wines are built like a solid rock and extremely powerful. They remain like that year after year after year. Ageing is very very subtle or just slow. What makes them stand out is they are always carefully balanced and integrated, albeit powerful to the verge of oblivion. The best description of an wine from SQN is 'liquid velvet'. The 2006 Raven Syrah exhibits the luxurious nose of dark, deep and profound Grenache fruit. There is abundant dark chocolate, dark berries, dried flowers and a whiff of elegant blueberries. There is old saddle leather and soft gently dried tobacco leaves - after about four hours in the glass. This effort seems to be on age curve far beyond anything else... The palate is quite perfectly integrated with a brilliant texture and structure. Tannins are silky and soft. There is a never ending length on the finish which certainly puts that final dot over the i for me. As written many times before, it is always a memorable experience to taste SQN - this being the 36st time since 2010. (score is 99+)
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We opened this bottle to cap the night off, so no decant.
This is a bruiser and in looking at the drink dates, showing end date of 2021, well kinda had to chuckle, as I think i would hold this, maybe until 2021 before retrying - or a nice long decant.
It is a typical SQN, where that initial fruit is like a cold slap in the face, and this was after the palate was already primed!!
The alch was a bit sharp on opening but blew off rather quickly. The flavors were not given the benefit of a decant, so were a bit primary (but no complaints here) as they were a pretty incredible 'primary'.
The wine had great structure and acidity, with intense flavors of black raspberry, strawberry, pomegranate, & plum, with some leather, baking spice, herbs and pine.
This was a serious and wonderful mouth coating shellacking, and the finish was a good 45+!!
Think this with a nice long decant or a few more years of bottle age, might pop a point or two!
94.5
Thanks so much Bob, was a real treat!
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Annual Tasting Group Holiday Party (I Nonni, St. Paul, MN): A big about face from what we'd been drinking. Big, bold and intense with amazing concentration, silky, layered and lush with oodles of big black fruits, blackberry liqueur, plum and spice. Decadent and pretty tasty. Worked at the end as more of a dessert wine.
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Grenache with Panache (New York, NY): 2nd in flight of SQN grenache following (Rayas & Bonneau). The color is inky and not as fragrant as the '05 Naked Truth. On the palate another big bruiser with dark red fruits (cranberry, pomegranate) and a spicy element, but the fruit really takes center stage. Ka pow - these wines really hit you in the face with their flashy style. I would enjoy trying this again perhaps on its own where I could give the wine more focus.
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Grenache with Panache (Friends apt): I took the learning from our last experience a few weeks ago and got this into the decanter as soon as I arrived and we didn't pour it until prob close to 3 hours later so it had a decent amount of time. That helped a lot as it started more open than a few weeks ago and then as with all SQN just continued to move and change in the glass. All of the great fruit and spice and herbal and savory here but I caught more of the acidity at the end which pulled it into balance. With the longer decant, in a nice place, but if we had another bottle I'd prob hold for another 5-10 years.
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Agree with previous note that this is perhaps not the best SQN, however it's still an SQN (aka - pretty **** good). Opened and decanted and it needed time to open. Started a bit tight. Once past that it was dark red fruits (a bit darker in fruit than some of their other Grenaches where I usually get almost more of a cherry flavor) and cocoa and good spices. It's perhaps less over the top than some others and as a result I get less of that balancing acidity that pulls it back from the edge. Overall, I enjoyed the wine and would certainly drink again, but would look to source other years over this one.
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We found this a little disappointing vs other SQN bottles. Overpoweringly fruity and tannins too soft to stand up to it. First night, nose was dark chocolate covered cherries and kirsch, loads of vanilla. Second night was more interesting, transformed to more like cherry cola, some light anis notes came through the vanilla. I honestly can't decide if it too young or too old, right leaning towards too old believe it or not. Reminds me of a Herman Story wine (which we love), but that's a $50 bottle, not $250
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Birthday Celebrations (Woodberry Kitchen): Huge, too much so. Purple. Just overpowering. Maybe it’ll balance out with more time? In the company it was consumed with, rather disappointing, sadly.
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Popped and poured. I find this wine to be underrated in the general scheme of Manfred's wines. This non-EBA is always sensational and tonight was no different. Lush, big, depth and complexity underscore this wine. Its a big wine but has such perfect balance. Loads of fruit and high alcohol but you dont get that sense when drinking it because of how well made the wine is. A great effort that is aging nicely.
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Decanted for 1.5 hours. Nose of raspberry, red licorice, mocha, dried herbs and forest floor. Ripe red and black berries, coffee, forest floor and fleshy tannins in the palate. Leads to a very long finish. Full bodied. Served with herb encrusted roast beef.
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Started to show itself after 90 minute decant. Beautiful expression of Grenache. Bold and rich, but not over the top or syrupy (surprising given the alcohol). Full of red berries, with licorice, some baking spices. Layers across the palate with a 30 second+ finish.
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A wow wine. Rich ripe creamy red fruit flavors exceedingly well balanced wit a long succulent finish. Guessing at its pinnacle or close, yet no sense of fading. Blillent stuff. Opened as pre-game wine before Cubs NLCS game 2 at Jenna's.
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Flickinger Warehouse Tasting (Chicago, IL): Oh, how palates change. It seems like I opened a bottle of this three years ago (almost to the day). I loved it then. I can't stand it now. Overdone blueberry syrup. Offensive vanilla, coconut, and oak. Sickly sweet and cloying. I'm pretty glad I sold the rest of mine.
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As always with this wine and this winemaker - stunning. Short decant. Mouth coating flavors of dark fruits, charcoal, spice and the texture is pure SQN. For a non-EBA this is possibly one of his best wines ever. Very classic. These have a long life ahead. 95-97
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Sweet penetrating raspberry, strawberry, and boysenberry aromas jump from the glass. A deep pure delicious intense dark red fruit flavor profile that is creamy and mouth coating, yet nicely balanced. Interesting spicy layer adds some complexity. Finishes with a bitter chocolate bite and a touch of warmth. Quite nice and friendly, sure to impress a crowd of wine lovers. A guilty pleasure.
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Sine Qua Non Dinner (Formento's - Chicago IL): Blackberry and blueberry throughout with intriguing combination of Indian curry and French baking spice. But the highlight here is the excellent balance of fruit, spice, structure, textures and earth. Best experience ever with this wine, it is clearly in its peak drinking window now.
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served 1½ hours after decanting. Soooo powerful, so sweet and rich. The alcohol was so sharp it burned the hairs of one’s nose. Minty and a little dried herbs on top of the sweet fruit, like a young Bonneau one would taste in the master’s cellar, but cleaner. Almost a little pine needle with black pepper. Love how it tastes on the palate. A little coffee after 2 ½ hours and still really sweet. An amazing wine.
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OK, I admit I'm as label biased as the next person, but I found this monolith and alcoholic. Red and black fruits on the nose, alcohol too. Those fruits do appear in the mouth, but they can't over take the alcohol smack in the face. The finish is short and hot. My wife thought she smelled a hit on TCA (and she is hyper sensitive) but even if, that wasn't what was all wrong.
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Whew. Quite a ride. Opened while my soon-to-be wife and I were constructing our wedding cake at 10PM the night before the ceremony with parents and future in laws voraciously stuffing flowers into vases. Everyone stopped in the middle of their duties to roll their eyes back into their heads in delight. I did it on several occasions. Don't worry, the cake turned out fine.
Annual Christmas Wine Dinner and Cellar Raid (Naperville, IL): Didn't take detailed notes. Part of Christmas wine dinner and cellar raid. As close to perfect as a wine could get. This was so elegant compared to so many of the powerhouse wines that come out of the Central Coast. I have had a few SQN's and by far this one lives up to the hype.
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Aerated with a Vinturi and decanted for 1.5 hours. Nose of raspberry, blackberry, chocolate, cedar, spice and wet cardboard. Tainted on the palate as well. Dang! Manfred's corks should be sacred. I am so bummed...
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Full bodied and lush. Deep and concentrated spiced cherry and vanilla with floral undertones and chocolate dusted meat. Plush and long on the palette. Really great bottle. 9-19-10-9
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Memphis SQN Dinner (Erling Jensen, Memphis, TN): Dark color featuring purple and blue fruit notes with spice, underbrush, pepper and oak undertones. Given the darker/blue fruits in the bouquet the palate is surprisingly red-fruited and shows vanilla and spice cake elements. Lengthy finish. Medium tannins with a dusty edge; good length on the finish.
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Bright fruits, beautifully knitted and balanced. Opened 2 hours before drinkibng but did not decant. Most of us drank it without any food a couple people tried with cheese and said it went well.
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Decanted for a couple of hours. The wine faired better on its own. Noticeably alcoholic and clumsy at dinner but improved as the night went on. Thick bodied but not syrupy like other years. Very smokey with extracted sweet berry notes. I would have guessed it was the Syrah.
Wow wine! As good of an expression of Grenache as I can remember. Drinking great. Beautiful nose, and giant long, lingering palate of dark tart berry. This is terrific. Like a top Clos des Papes but more deep dark fruit. Decanted two hours.
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Mark's Duck House for birthday lunch. From magnum. Let it sit in the glass 45-60 minutes, really softened and changed over the hour. Dark color, medium-full bodied, fruit was primary with drying tannin. This will go many years longer and probably get even better. A special treat, lucky guy.
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Double decanted and served almost 2 hours later. Granted the food we had was not the most compatible with this wine but still the wine felt very powerfull and with pronounced alcohol. 15.5% if we remember well. The nose is very special though, full of red fruits, complex and very giving. The alc is evident on the nose too but plays second fiddle to the beautiful fruit. This is grenache nose at a very high level. The palate is not there though and could well be due to youth, but we have no data point to compare unfort. Rich but also on the overpowering side, ripe light raisiny. It didnt talk to us . 92
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Dinner with Steve, Barb & Mom for Dena's Birthday at Black House. #9. Dark purple as expected. No decanting time but it would have benefited from some. Rich but young and somewhat tight. Great purity of fruit. Plenty to enjoy now but a strong future ahead of it. 50+13+13+9+9=94
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A day of lots of SQN and a few more!; 12/7/2014-12/9/2014 (Loretta Paganini School of Cooking and the Woods of Newbury): Purchased at retail (Whole Foods) from back in the day when SQN was available at retail in Ohio. This was the last vintage for that sadly. Purple in color with some ruby at the rim. The nose is very nice with black cherries, cranberries, spice, and some smoke. Also some earthiness. On the palate, this has a nice complexity. Not as big as most of the wines this day but that of course, is relative. Lots of lush cherries and black cherries on the palate. Tight layering. Great acidity. Long finish.
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Aerated with a Vinturi and decanted for two hours. Expressive nose of raspberry, huckleberry, blackberry, licorice, forest floor, coffee and spice. A jammy raspberry and blackberry core combines with coffee, licorice, milk chocolate and spice on the palate. Leads to a very long finish with waves of fruit flavor. Full bodied with a rich, dense, layered texture. This wine is special. Paired with beef stew.
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SQN vs C9duP and some extra's (@ PC): Extremely luxurious bouquet with a hint of pleasant barnyard, luxurious smoky oak and ripe fruits. On the palate sweet spices like cinnamon, herbs and spices, chocolate, ripe and juicy red fruits, a beautiful balance between sweetness and beautiful acidity. A very complete wine. A great beauty already and no problem waiting until 2018+
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Awesome Dinner with Friends (Erasmus, SQN, Saxum, Pride, Dehlinger++) (Out and about): Really outstanding but coming after the Clos Erasmus, its differences were evident. This is a brute right now. Big with black raspberries, peppery, lavender, saddle leather on the nose. At first I thought I brought the Syrah, but it was the Grenache. On the palate, for all the jammy fruit, it is smooth and deft. Long finish. This kept opening all night as well. Needs a few more years, but it pretty special right now.
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Cellar Reduction, The Fun Way (Santa Ynez Valley): Such a powerhouse. Nose of bacon and dark berries. So many flavors swirl in the mouth, from the first sip of the bottle to the last. Sweet currants, berry jam, coffee, spice and licorice. Medium bodied but ponderous as well, with a long finish. My best Raven yet.
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This was popped and poured with some friends. Although this wine is 7 years old, it's still very youthful and in a great place right now. Very clear and ruby red in colour. This wine had a great mixture of candied cherries and chocolate both on the nose and in the glass. The acidity was at a medium level but the tannins were quite strong. I really enjoyed this bottle tonight and would love to open another one but I think I'll wait and see how it evolves over the next little while.
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Amazing. Only gave it about 15 mins of air before we started drinking but drank over 2-3 hours. What a wine. Balanced, refined, smooth and big all at the same time. Outstanding effort here by Manfred and Elaine.
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Inky. Very alluring nose of sweet blueberries and black peppers, perhaps to the tune of a breakfast plate of pancakes with blueberry syrup and peppered bacon. Reminds me of To The Rescue. The palate has a nice hit of sweetness, as well as matching notes of blueberries. Definitely has a red-velvet feel, this is a bottle of wine on the plush side without too much else to lean on. Nonetheless, delicious, in small quantities (beware of the 15.5% abv). A bit light on the acidity, this is much easier to approach slightly colder than cellar temperature.
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Aerated with a Vinturi and decanted for 2.5 hours. A hedonistic nose of raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, milk chocolate, licorice, spice and vanilla. Layers of velvety, rich raspberry and blackberry jam, baking spice and chocolate combined with fine tannins. The finish is very, very long with waves of jammy fruit and tannins. Another great SQN experience. Paired with filet and roasted red pepper sauce.
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Dark garnet to purple color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of bacon fat, currants, plums and black berries. Flavors of currants, cherries, berries and raspberries. Medium acidity, medium tannin, full bodied. Drink now with some air or continue to hold. No rush here.
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Berserker Fest Friday Dinner - SQN Table (Blue Star Bistro - Chicago, IL): Perfume. Lots of floral play. Very nice and one of the most pronounced aromatics of the group. Lots of cinnamon, exotic purple spices. Asian balsamic and blood orange accents. Very long and clean finish. Glad I have one in the cellar.
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Chicago Berserkerfest Dinner (Blue Star Bistro - Chicago IL): Precocious and incredibly primary, this really comes across needing more time in the cellar. Accessible but slightly heavy today. Dense and somewhat brooding. Long finish shows good balance which gives me confidence this will emerge in a nicer place in another year or three.
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For me this is about as good as it gets in a Grenache. Totally stands up to and is improved by a three hour decant. I bought three bottles at auction and will desperately search for more... Served to a group of extreme wine people and it was the wine of the night - creating more conversation than a Vega Unico 1991 and a VERY special Eschezaux. Surprising currant mocha combo with endless finish.
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A stand-in following a corked bottle of Into the Dark. No decant, as was not expecting to serve, but poured through a vinturi and then again with each glass. Hedonistic, ripe fruit and exotic spices. Not at all overdone for such a big wine. Some real spine to it. A rich wine for after supper.
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Bouquet of sweet strawberries, cedar, baking spices, boysenberry and vanilla. The finish is cinnamon, a variety of red berries, currants and chocolate.
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I brought this bottle to a local restaurant where it was decanted for only 30 minutes. The wine was a wonderful bright purple in colour with no real standout nose to it as it was still slightly chilled from cellaring. The first sips of this wine showed some thinness with tastes of blueberries but after approximately one hour, the wine thickened up and added some cherries and vanilla became flavours. Despite it's high alcohol levels, it really balanced the acidity and tannins in a good way. This was a really fun wine to drink.
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Pristine cork and fill. Dark purple core, minimal lightening at rim. Intense forward nose of cherries, dark berries, tar and spice. Full body, smooth palate coating ripe fruit, tar and spice, reasonable acidity, moderate tannins, all well-integrated, fruit and tannins joust for superiority through the long finish. Not for the intensity adverse, a great wine to sip on its own or paired with intensely flavored beef or lamb. Outstanding to extraordinary.
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I enjoyed this more than I expected. I am usually pretty skeptical about domestic Grenache, but this is spicy and alluring. Crazy aromatics. Gorgeous texture and freshness. A lot to like here.
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opened and slow ox'd for 8 hrs. recorked and took to dinner. decanted and drank over another 2 hrs. all i have to say is :) :) :) I am not worthy to describe all that goes on in this wine. no heat and smooooooth.
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About as different as one could come up with from the 1989 Beaucastel, but almost as pleasing. This is big done right, which Krankl seems to have mastered. Could give you the blah blah blah about perfect balance, etc. but one just knows it when they taste it, everything is right, harmony is achieved and a smile crosses your face. While not transcendental, certainly a good case for the joys of hedonism.
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Decanted for at least 3 hours. Cork was almost entirely soaked through (same with 05 SQN Atlantis Syrah) but came out clean. Deep medium ruby tint that coats the glass. Vegetal nose with hints of lavender, coffee grinds and olive. Silky smooth taste of olive brine, spice, grilled meat, blackberry jam, pepper, and creamy oak. Extremely thick texture with 30 second finish. A little bit of manageable heat. Had with grilled skirt steak and balsamic marinated portobello mushrooms.
See more detail at http://maximumsatisfaction.tumblr.com/post/39280190942
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2006 Raven SQN - excellent wine that had significant amount of pepper, spiciness, grilled meat, loads of black cherry. This was a very well balanced wine, and was drinking well. A standout of the evening. 97pts
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Von der Raven Serie des Jahres 2006 gibt es Grenache und Syrahweine. Bei uns im Glas war Syrah Nr.5. Auch wenn er einen Tick kleiner war als der En Cerise von Cayuse, so hatten wir unzweifelhaft einen ganz großen Wein im Glas. Dieser dick bepackte Stoff ist etherisch, dicht, extraktsüß, sehr schwarz in der Frucht, unsponnen von feinen Hozaromen; Speck und auch ein Touch Schokolade und Menthol. Trotz der Dichte und der 15,5% Alkohol eine frischer, kühler Einruck am Gaumen. Männlich-kräftig gebaut, hinten heraus eine Spur schwarzer Pfeffer. Trotz aller Dichte und Extraktion, besitzt dieser saftige Bursche extrem feinkörnige Tannine, einen polierten Charme, Esprit und durchaus Eleganz. Leider eine Einzelflasche!!
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Aerated with Vinturi and decanted for 1.5 hours. A beautiful nose of raspberry, blackberry, spice, vanilla, and tobacco. An amazing mid-palate with waves and waves of jammy berry fruit and soft fine tannins. Leads to a very long, velvety, rich finish. Full bodied with outstanding balance and depth. A great wine. Paired with beef tenderloin and a mushroom sauce.
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We drank this one after approximately 45 minutes of decanting and I think it suffered (in the beginning) from this. Although the wine still had an amazing deep colour and a great nose to it, it was slightly hot to taste with a slightly overbearing spiciness to it. I was almost wondering if I pulled a Raven syrah by mistake. The wine did settle down after another 30 minutes and it became another wonderful example of other SQN Ravens that I have had and I did notice strong flavours of berries and caramel. In the future, I suggest an at least a 2 to 3 hour decant on this to get full enjoyment out of it.
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Compared to 2005 Atlantis Grenache tasted alongside, the 2006 Raven Grenache is more dense and slightly more closed. Still the nose is amazing and fully packed with all the classy components so often found in these high quality efforts. Tonight I feel a strong scent of yew, quite interesting. The wine is a true pleasure to drink, but will continue to age gracefully.
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Quite dark in color. Decanted for 1.5 hours. Nose of sweet dark fruit, oak and a little spice. Palate was similar but more simple than I was expecting. Finish had low-moderate acidity and low tannins -- also not super long. Not a bad wine by any means but just not that expressive or unique, esp for a wine with this pedigree and price. Note: bought this at a charity auction so no idea of its provenance.
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slow ox'd for 4 hours, then consumed over 5. i don't know how krankl gets so much extraction out of his grenache, because this was so densely colored. initially there was a lot of funk on the nose when i popped it, but this blew off by the time we started in on it. the wine gave up massively sweet, liqueur-like raspberries and cherries. the oak was really well-integrated. in the mouth this was a little one-dimensional, which was not what i was expecting based on prior sqn experience. it was still delicious, but not as mind-blowingly complex. the finish was long and deeply-fruited.
in retrospect, i a) should have decanted this wine for 3-5 hours, and b) should have waited to open it for another 2-3 years. i loved it, but i think i loved it because i paid $300 for it and really wanted to love it. if scoring, 91-93.
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A blend of 90% Grenache and 10% Syrah produced a wine packed with licorice, vanilla, ripe cherries, black raspberry, earth, spice, coffee bean and blueberries. Round, plush, open and packed with layers of sweet, ripe, jammy berries, spice and earth, the wine is already showing well. Popped and poured, the wine improved in the glass. This is already drinking well. If you have a bottle, there is no reason to wait.
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Rhone dinner (semi blind) (Amsterdam Dufay): Deep dark red colour. Cake, licorice, ripe cherry and pepper in the nose. Nice balance on the palate but heavy wine, nearly liquor. Compote, jammy fruits, trifle/ bread and butter pudding notes. Excellent wine, very pure, but too heavy for me.
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Popped and poured at home and drank over the course of 2 hours. It's always a treat to have one of these and as usual, this one didn't disappoint. Lots of blueberry on the nose with mid colouring. Quite a lot of strawberry jam in the glass with nicely balanced acidity. Not overly strong on the alcohol levels. This was a great start to the holidays and was followed by a 2005 Mr. K Noble Man.
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Beautiful wine with beautiful soft dark fruits, sweet spices, chocolate, a lot of refinement and a beautiful balance between sweetness and acidity. A great and complex beauty. Imho many Syrah wines of SQN have a lot of elegance, but this Grenache wins it on that point. Beautiful wine now and a good future.
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An evening with Sine Qua Non (Restaurant Bottles, Sas van Gent): (Raven #1) Hummm. Maybe there is hope... Liked this example of Grenache a lot better than the Pictures. Darker, smokier, more complex. More spice and bite. Maybe more Syrah in the blend? Or is it just the extra year of bottle time? Big and bold, sure. But lively acidity and burgeoning complexity make sure that this is also interesting for me. Good stuff. 18/20
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Crème de Cassis, black fruit and plum notes with a rich velvety mouth. You could barely tell this was a grenache—it was almost syrah-like. Super long finish with great balance. Very high alcohol content but it was amazingly well integrated with absolutely no signs of it. Easily the best grenache I've had to date.
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Slow-O 3 hours, decanted for sediment (virtually none) and returned to bottle, serving at cellar temp. My first experience with this wine and my overall takeaway is that it's very nice, very pure, but not worth the hype or money, IMHO. This gains a bit of weight and complexity with airtime, but never goes out of bounds. Considering the alcohol (16%, IIRC), this comes across as balanced, if such a thing is possible. There is nothing cloying or overly ripe here, which is odd given my preference for old world wines. It's on the lighter side of full-bodied, to be sure. While everyone seemed to enjoy this, there was one at the party that said it was one of the best she'd ever had...maybe the best. For me, not even close. Different strokes, I suppose. Drink thru 2016, B+/A-
Popped and poured. Dark garnet/purple color. Nose of blackberry, bing cherries, asphalt and some dried herbs. Full bodied and concentrated without any heaviness. Very smooth and polished. Palate of blackberry, bright cherry, licorice, and spices. Long finish with bright cherry fruit, some oak notes and black licorice.
Very good, but not up to the quality of the extended aged Grenache. Ready to go.
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This continues to improve. I have a strong bias for Chateauneuf-du-Pape when it comes to Grenache, but this is a beautiful wine. When first opened it had some of the overripe, grilled plum elements that tend to turn me off, bit with air it quickly settled and moved into more of a cherry and white pepper direction. Fresh, red-fruited, bright, with nice acidity. So delicious I considered popping a second bottle as the first ran dry...
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Spectacular wine, best grenache I've ever had (not that I've had all that many). At a BYOB, drunk after decanting for 15 minutes. An explosion of red fruits, very smooth, long finish. Maybe it should have scored higher except that we concurrently drank a Robert Foley '04 Claret, an outstanding exemplar of Cab S, and there's a reason that grenache is the lesser cultivated grape -- it's simply less structured and complex than Cab S, even at its best. But the three of us loved the SQN.
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Krankl's art in the craft of winemaking continues to amaze. Expected motor oil, got ambrosia. This was a Grenache that was rich, yet refined; explosive, yet subtle; extracted, yet balanced and structured. I'll let the other descriptive comments suffice, they're all right. Paired at a meal with Buffalo filet, lamb Provencal, and roast duck. All were perfect. A versatile and memorable effort.
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My first SQN grenache. Decanted for and hour, drank over the next two at Ellerbe's. Seemed dark for a grenache, with less funk and earth than its European counterparts. Didn't have the dense richness of the Raven syrah, but it was like drinking liquid silk with a finish that lasted at least 30 seconds. Matched well with steak and redfish, surprisingly, but was best just on its own or with the garlic and rosemary potatoes.
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It had a lot of dark fruit and cherry on the nose. It wasn't tannic at all so that made it really difficult to pinpoint what it was. The wine had some nice flavors of cherry and blueberry, which seemed very Zin like to me. The finish wasn't as long as the first wine though, which my friend was quick to point out. Based on the jammy fruit I thought the wine was excellent but my friend influenced me from what he said about the finish. This did improve as the night went on though. Started off as a 91....improved to a 94.
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This is a monster of a wine, simply huge. Black, massive nose of black fruit and spicy oak, perhaps some pepper and meaty notes lurking under the surface. Enjoyable, and impressive for coming together on the palate for how large it is (no heat, good acidity), but it needs to settle down and say something about itself..right now it is just a big wine like many, could have been from anywhere.
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2 hour decant. Gobs of jammy fruit with black pepper integrated. The texture was layered and dense, velvety smooth mid-palate, and the aftertaste didn't end. A great experience.
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I mean, come on. This is simply special juice that is made in such a unique way by such a unique guy that there really is no comparison to SQN. It stands alone. Decanted for 30 mins before the first taste. A little funky on the nose at the open but after the 1/2 hour it was showing a beautiful bouquet of spice, chocolate, cherry, blackberry and pepper. As always, smooth and absolutely no hard edges. Complex and integrated. This is special winemaking; its unique and one-of-a-kind. These fabulous treasures that E+M craft are to be obtained at any reasonable price. For any Rhone fan this is by far the finest US expression of the region and for all wine lovers this is winemaking at its best.
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Drank at a restaurant. This bottle was opened and decanted for approximately 30 minutes. Tonight this wine was better than ever with strong notes of vanilla and some honey. There was no lingering alcohol to the taste and the wine had a wonderful balance to it. If that is what happens to it after 30 minutes, I'm curious to see how it develops after a couple of hours.
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Decanted for 2 hours. Like all of the SQN's I've had, this had an amazing, complex nose - blackberry, cherry and chocolate. Still has firm tannins on the palate. Very well-made with great mouthfeel and finish. I'd recommend holding this one for a bit.
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Decanted one hour. Seamless smooth and plush, this is all rounded edges. A big wine, but it seems fairly well balanced. Probably not the best food wine, and I'm not sure how much underlying structure there is for long term aging. Nevertheless, a terrific wine- true hedonism.
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Tasted right out of the gate. Was tight and somewhat muted. Had planned all along to decant this for a few hours. Did just that and decanted it for just over 4 hours. This is amazing! Not like any other grape/varietal. Completely enjoyable from start to finish, which does linger. Certainly does not disapoint. 97+
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Mattias' Send Off: Black in color. Blackberry and cherry. Extremely full bodied to a point of almost being over the top. Good freshness and acidity. Fruit forward finish with power to spare. This wine has no soul or sense of place. Nonetheless one of the better Sine Qua Non wines I've had in a while. 15.5% alcohol.
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Sine Qua Non Dinner: the Younger Wines (Custom House Tavern - Chicago IL): Aromas of blackberry and blueberry, super primary, with some rose and violet in deep background. Powerful bursts of same primary fruit on palate, but already in balance and starting to show interesting nuance and energy behind the massive fruit. Really interesting spice comes through on finish, which I think is from some use of whole cluster, and will most likely continue to add spice and complexity with more time in bottle.
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i know but i just can't keep my hands off. brought to a southern rhone tasting as a rhone ranger ringer. of the nine tasters, two picked australia, two picked france and four picked cali. i knew. decanted four hours. aroma jumps from the glass. big rich and bold but beautifully balanced. no heat. chocolate, dark fruit, pepper and wood all on the nose. palate hits with a big lushness. tongue really likes this. the mid palate is full and smothering with a velvety layer of peppered chocolate and lush perfectly ripe berries. the wood is there but in the background. didnt want to swallow; just wanted this to lay on my tongue and palate. finish is smooth all the way thru and lingers with the best of them.
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First bottle of SQN, and it didn't disappoint. Big red berry flavors with a smooth, lingering finish. I really enjoyed this bottle. Paired with steak, and it complemented the meal well.
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opened for 2-3 hours before we drank it over another 2-3. on opening a nose of dark chocolate. when we drank it the nose was just a hint of chocolate, fruit, earth and smoke. on the palate jammy fruit, pepper, chocolate, and i thought a little bit of earth with a finish that just hung around for a long time. the only possible flaw i could find was a touch of heat just before the finish, but it barely bothered me and went away fast. this wine was just awesome... it was powerful but had a reserved finesse. it will be hard to not drink another bottle right away.
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Opened a second bottle of this last night with grilled pork shoulder. While it paired wonderfully with the meat (including a fantastic lemon, lime, and epazote sauce), this bottle wasn't nearly as spectacular as the first (rated that 96+). Still red-fruit dominated, very smooth, and admirable depth, but I didn't get as much aromatic fireworks or complexity, and the finish was notably shorter than the first bottle. I'd still call it 'outstanding'; just not as 'wow' as the first. Withholding a score, due to less-than-ideal decanting and my belief that this was a slightly 'off' bottle. The '05 Atlantis fe Grenache remains my favorite SQN Grenache from the regular, non-extended aging series.
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Tastes from Hezi's dinner at Ria (Ria Restaurant - Elysian Hotel, Chicago): Taste from Hezi's dinner at Ria. Deep rich dark crimson red color. Nice prune aromas coupled with dark purple fruit, carmalized brown sugar, and tarry Band-Aid. Cinnamon, molasses and some light beefy aromas. Palate is rich and high in glycerin. Sappy raisinated fruit with the same burnt caramel brown sugar play. Really well made and deliciously complete wine. Very nice.
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This was another wonderful SQN bottle. Slightly lighter than I recall from past bottles on the berry flavours but my taste buds might have been thrown off from the previous bottle of Raven syrah. I didn't take notes on this bottle but really enjoyed it's overall balance. I am a big fan of grenache and Sine Qua Non does it very well.
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I last had this wine on July 4th last year, and while I enjoyed it then I was not deeply impressed. However this bottle was a step up. A nice nose of gingerbread and plums moves to a peppery, spicy and stunningly PLUSH and SILKY palate. Texturally this wine is incredible, hedonistic, a sweet core, yet not over the top. There is also a satisfying savory element on the finish that adds some intrigue. Dusty tannins show this has plenty of time ahead and structure to resolve.
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Not so big/huge SQN, but a somewhat softer version, with an enticing nose, beautiful fruit - an approachable wine. Still has more years, though hard to resist now with a few hour decant.
Tasted double blind, I found this very ripe, with a bit of spice. Had an airy alcoholic feel to the nose. Guessed this was a Rhone varietal CA wine... wrote "not crazy about this". Guessed Turley zin, 2002-2007.
As with the Marcassin, felt bad that I didn't dig the wine so much given how generous a donation this was, but glad I got to assess it without being influenced by the fame of the brand. With a few hours of air, after the reveal, this did improve a lot and was quite good by the end of the night (but not extraordinary or beyond other high quality CA Rhone wines I've had).
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an expression of pure grenache in my opinion. big, lush, jammy and bold. yet sexy and laser clean as well. a true dichotomy. full of fruit and spice on the nose and palate. huge mouth feel but no heat, just a sweet lushness that blankets the palate. the finish lingers for seemingly ever.
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audouzed, decanted, venturied, quadruple decanted and put back in the cellar with the cork in place over night. i did everything but call in a shamen to get this wine to do something...anything that i could find worthy of recommending. fail. i just couldn't coax it into a level of even my last tasting, which i consider (despite the decent score) to be lousy, because i hold SQN to a different standard. this wine was merely an unfocused blob. still, better than most, but i'm afreaid i'm giving this the benefit of the producer doubt. double blind, i'd probably ream this a new butt hole for oak and alcohol.
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Good but nothing to get excited about. This lacked the wow factor of other SQN wines. Seems that 06 is a off vintage as the Syrah wasn't anything special either. Too bad this is no Into the Dark. Where are all these huge scores coming from?? No finish. Flat mid palate. This was handily beaten by a $16 2007 Cotes du Rhone in a side-by-side tasting.
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Tasted single blind with Saxum Rocket Block '05 and Autard Cuvee Juline '07. Tough between the 3 to pick a favorite. SQN certainly did not blow away the other 2. Ripe and rich, opened for about 5 hours prior to tasting. Fruit forward with spice elements and nice mouth-feel. A touch of heat on the finish. A good wine but somewhat underwhelming. Pehaps a result of high expectations.
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Intriguing nose. Very "new world". The aromas very shouting: "SUN!!!". Very nice red berry profile and jam-like without a lot of freshness. This has a nice mint-quality as well. On the palate this is very full-bodied and complex, but (surprisingly) it's not hot like e.g. an Australian "fruit bomb". Truck loads of fruit with an amazing depth and length. Very hedonistic and a lot of fun to drink. Although this might have some potential, it is ready to enjoy now. 95-96 P.
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My first SQN grenache. These wines are so freakin' superconcentrated. Massive core of dark fruit. Really big wine. I think it needs a couple years to settle down its alcohol which was hot on the finish. 92pts now but with the potential to get to 95pts.
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Chocolate, pepper, oak and violets on the nose. Full on palate with oodles of fruit. Massive power behind it. Fully charged, it is table-dividing but I thought it brilliant.
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Dark purple/black, no lightening at rim. Intense rich ripe sweet black fruits and cherries on nose with some pepper/spice notes, full-bodied, lush layered fruit, low acid but not flabby, long finish, great drinking on its own before dinner but not a great match for some of the food that night, outstanding unless you don't like the style.
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After 20 minutes or so, the nose has become expansive, rich, and very SQN-like. I will confess that the palate, so far, is pretty tight, and that this could almost pass for Syrah. Unlike the '05 vintage, I think I'd give the nod to the '06 Syrahs at this point, but this is still phenomenal in its vigor and exuberance. The tannins are pretty noticeable, but the fruit is packed and stacked and incredibly vibrant.
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Grenache Smackdown (Wally's, Arlington Heights): nose: big, bold, and rich nose filled with black pepper, herbs, black cherries galore, slight bits of roasted meats, all sorts of black fruits, and tones of thistles. Very perfumed and bold, but not over extracted. Very new world, but with an eye towards the old world too and loads of depth on the nose too
taste: a beautifully seamless medium feel that glides across the palate with polished and silky tones of herbs, black cherries, black fruits, dark red fruits, and hints of roasted meats. Wonderful depth that is just beautiful and heady at the same time
overall: a beautiful and polished grenache. For me this really stuck out in a pretty big pack. Loads of quality and polish, this is just so juicy and delicious that one would be very hard not to pop it now. Certainly showed off its prestige and easily lived up to it
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At Restaurant Sturehof in Stockholm as guest of Fredrik R. It was decanted before closing the previous night. It was the best US Grenache I've ever had, although I did think it was a Syrah. It was much darker and "serious" than most other Grenache. I also thought it was older than 05 but that must have been because of the 18 hour decanting. Very impressive!
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P&P'd. 1st small portion didn't give up much, though you could see, taste & feel this is special. By end of bottle in <30 min with friends it was just starting to open up. Alcohol was hidden, sweet red fruits (raspberry) emerged. Not as huge as SQN's Syrahs, more feminine. Drank too fast with too many people, though everyone loved it. Next time decant for a few hours or more cellar time.
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15.5% alcohol. decanted. #9 for those into that junk. i've become a modestly vocal critic of the atlantis and raven series, so much so, that i emailed manfred to talk about it. per usual, his replies were candid and interesting, talking about vintage challenges, and whole stem inclusion. i've read thru current reviews in the wine blogosphere, and i seem to run against the grain, e.g. i prefer the grenaches over the syrahs in 05/06. the critical difference for me is that the grenache swallows the alcohol and heat more effectively; the tannins are present, but not dominant, and the oak is more effectively ameliorated. that being said, oak, tannin, alcohol still are racheted up too high for me in this wine, but, boy, is there a ton of beautiful red fruit, and a long, chewy finish. nevertheless, i just don't see this wine ever hitting the heights of the grenache run of 2000-2003
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Beautiful. Sweet fruit. Lovely Grenache taste. Smooth. Did not want to put down. Only drinkable San I've tried yet. Syrah was all alchohol, this had alchohol but less overpowering so the sweet fruit complexity shown through. Sad when bottle was empty.
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Funny. I 'tweeted' when I consumed this, and three comments came back immediately from others that they preferred the Syrah to the Grenache. Sheesh, let me make up my own mind... They are quite right thought. This Grenache is lovely, beguiling, silky, roasted plums, nice spice, sappy, mouthfilling, yet not too heavy. A little salty on the finish. However, in a word it is 'yummy' whereas the Syrah is 'serious', not even in the same league with each other.
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Almost black in color, with very strong notes of raspberry and blackberry mixed with a bit of earthy qualities. Not an overwhelming wine, but very well made and a crowd pleaser.
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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 An interesting nose of succulent honey and caramel with tart red fruit rollup and vanilla. HUGE ripe black (slightly bitter) berries mixed in with gobs of bright cherry and toasted oak laid upon a bed of fresh earth. Surprisingly high amounts of acidity on the finish that leaves your tongue tingly with tart chocolate cherries.
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Not a 100 pt wine, IMO, but an extremely good one nonetheless. Still needs time to come together to be even better. Slightly reductive nose transforms itself into ground black pepper and raspberry jam. Well structured.
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At first this wasn't giving too much. Decanted and after a couple of hours it really opened up into something nice. Silky mouthfeel. A good, complex mix of red and black fruit (leaning more towards black though). Also some smoke and meatiness that I often find in Syrah. Long finish.
This was my first SQN Grenache and the best Grenache I've had to date. I think this particular wine needs some time - I'll wait a bit to open another one of these. If you're going to drink now I'd be sure to decant for a couple of hours. Tough to score at this stage for me, but 94-96 pts.
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This bottle was damned near close to perfection and in my Top Three SQN grenaches holding company with the Inaugural and the Ode To E. Amazing juice! Started off with a huge, classic grenache nose but a bit thin in the mid palate and on the finish. After about an hour, the fruit lushed out and gained substantial weight. Not as big as the Atlantis but more refined and almost feminine by SQN standards. I would advise a 1-2 hour decant at this stage. Simply stunning.
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2/23/2024 - Tim Heaton wrote:
I had this in 2011 and didn't really care for it, just too much of everything. Fast forward a decade+ and the wine is finally (for my palate) in the zone, a place it will occupy for a few more years. That said, I see no reason to wait and every reason to open sooner than later, but that's based on my preferences. Enjoyable but still there's something foursquare about it - and it was served double-blind so it wasn't label bias. I'd drink a glass if offered, but maybe not a second, just like this time. 15,5% abv.
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9/30/2023 - oxwombat Likes this wine: 94 Points
Opened at Mosu HK. Slow-oxed for many hours before being served at dinner.
This was my personal WOTN. Gorgeous nose - powerful, yet elegant fruit spectrum backed by slight pepperyness and herbal notes. On the palate it was very well integrated, going down extremely smoothly and handling the tannins and alcohol perfectly.
I found myself comparing this to Rayas, and even though I understand that the winemakers are trying to achieve completely different styles, I felt that this SQN just lacked a bit of complexity and 'effortlessness' to push to a higher score. However, when my mind wanders to these types of comparisons, you know it's an extremely good wine.
I'd consider this bottle to be in its prime drinking window now, considering my personal preference for pronounced fruit and freshness. However, will definitely keep at this level for a few years, and would be very happy to try again. 94+
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7/22/2023 - hanasowner wrote: 94 Points
Popped and poured...big nose of blue fruit and plum...feel like the backbone of spices and flowers I associate with SQN Grenache has drifted away...tannins are fully integrated...medium to long finish...suggest drinking in the next 1-2 years.
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5/28/2023 - WineGeek1989 Likes this wine: 98 Points
On the nose- Big dark fruits, dark blackberries, dark blueberries, cassis, ripe plums, berry pie, dried fruit, figs, dates, dried meat, saddle leather, dark raspberry, dark cherry, wild flowers, incense, wild herbs, baking spices, oak, vanilla, olives, black ink.
On the palate- Big dark fruits and dark blackberries, dark blueberries and cassis, ripe plums and berry pie, dried fruit and figs, dates and dried meat, saddle leather and dark raspberry, dark cherry and wild flowers, incense and wild herbs, baking spices and oak, vanilla and olives with a hint of black ink on the finish. This wine is huge lush and super smooth with amazing depth. I gave this wine 2 hours of slow Ox then poured a glass and let the bottle develop over the course of the night. I think this wine is drinking KILLER right now but will age for 5-7 plus years if not longer with no problem at all.
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5/22/2023 - Ricky99 Likes this wine: 93 Points
just astonishing the intensity of flavor and the sophistication on the pallet...with great friends, flank steak w/chimiichurri
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4/16/2023 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
SQN Dinner (Jordan's Place - Chicago IL): WOTF in 06/07 flight. Rich and spicy, this was layered and complex with Asian and Indian spices while always perfectly harmonious. Even better tonight vs another bottle tasted last week.
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4/15/2022 - Burgundy Al wrote: 93 Points
Some Wine Before/During/After a Seder (The Krengels - Bannockburn IL): Tasted last night, note from memory. Lots of ripe berry aromas and flavors, layered with complex sweet and savory spice. Not the most powerful Sine Qua Non , but very balanced, nuanced, and fun.
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2/26/2022 - hoservin Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted for one hour. Nose of black raspberry liquor, black cherry, mocha and garrigue. Rich, ripe black and red fruit, black licorice, mocha and garrigue on the palate. Very long, layered finish with excellent depth. Full bodied. Served with grilled filet mignon and a mushroom, thyme, cream pan sauce.
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2/13/2022 - Burgundy Al wrote: flawed
Good Wine with an Exciting Super Bowl (The Krengels - Bannockburn IL): Corked
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1/7/2022 - BerkeleyBoy Likes this wine:
Drank with a grilled rib eye meal. Good, not great for $300.
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12/26/2021 - WildeMeeuw Likes this wine: 98 Points
Kleur: Diep donkerrood zonder spoor van verkleuring aan de randen. Aroma / bouquet: Verleidelijk maar bescheiden bouquet, tonen van tomatencompote (toegegeven, nooit eerder gebruikt in een proefnotitie ;-) ) , gedroogd donker fruit, ontbijtkoek, cederhout. Smaak / Afdronk: Zachte zuurgraad, boterzachte tannines, retronasale indrukken van een zacht zoetige kruidigheid. Mondvullend, dik-sappig. Algemeen / potentieel: Er is veel discussie mogelijk over de vraag welke rode SQN de mooiste resultaten brengt… Grenache of Syrah…. Ik denk dat ik de rest van mijn leven nodig heb om het ultieme antwoord te vinden. Na deze Grenache neig ik toch naar Grenache. De volgende keer maar weer een Syrah proberen. Het leven is zwaar... ;-) 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Smaak / Afdronk: 19 + Algemeen / potentieel: 10 = 98/100
Color: Deep dark red with no trace of discoloration at the edges. Aroma / bouquet: Seductive but modest bouquet, notes of tomato compote (admittedly, never used in a tasting note before;-) ), dried dark fruit, gingerbread, cedar wood. Taste / Aftertaste:[/ i] Soft acidity, buttery tannins, retronasal impressions of a soft sweet spiciness. Mouth-filling, thick-juicy. General / potential: There is a lot of discussion possible about which red SQN produces the best results… Grenache or Syrah…. I think it will take me the rest of my life to find the ultimate answer. After this Grenache I still tend to Grenache. Try another Syrah next time. Life is hard... ;-) 50 + Colour: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Taste / Aftertaste: 19 + General / potential: 10 = 98/100
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8/13/2021 - rustyRudy Likes this wine: 97 Points
From magnum. Decanted, drank at the beach with grilled NY Strip. Clearly drinking well now but in no way old. One of the beach highlights.
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8/12/2021 - andrewdodd86 Likes this wine: 98 Points
Beach 2021; 8/7/2021-8/14/2021 (Kiawah Island, SC): All dark raspberry and blueberry compote with a tour of black pepper. Fantastic nose, fleshy Grenache fruit, tannins have subsided and this is drinking at peak. Fantastic!
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3/26/2021 - NuTricks wrote: 97 Points
#1 bottling. Gorgeous ruby red. Absolutely one of the most delicious noses I’ve ever had. Red raspberry, blackberry, black cherry, slight hint of citrus, jammy with some vanilla notes. Beautifully balanced and velvety. Full bodied at 15.5 ABV. Finish was the longest I’ve had for quite a while. Exquisite!
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2/9/2021 - Topper wrote: 93 Points
Black fruit, dark cherries and chocolate. This wine was luscious but also surprisingly austere as if it weren't fully letting go of its treasures. From other notes and tracking this over time, I think that this will hold but not necessarily improve.
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12/27/2020 - jsebiri wrote:
#6 + 7 . Deep color, very syrah fruity , Cali , small green peppers.........12 hours later more of a backbone than was present at opening. Still big nose , less fruit on palate.Very nice. This open bottle got lost on the bar , next time I saw it was Jan 5th not bad at all had a more smooth thing going on , also small sour thing. Stuff could last forever.
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12/25/2020 - Seafoam Manor wrote: 91 Points
This is based on the No. 1 bottling, although I've got no clue as to the differences in the numbers. This is Sine Qua Non, so take any of this under the general umbrella of "within the style", because you should know what you're in for. Flat out, these wines are massive. In no way does this read as a 14 year-old wine and has a polish that makes botox seem appropriate. Rich ripe fruit... red-ish, but just a lot of it. Jammy, with vanilla oak notes and pretty heavy. There's a complexity with spice and cocoa notes and there are lots of layers, but it's a wine that gets to be a bit too much about mid way through the second glass. There was a general sense of the glycerol weight, but not acid or tannin (outside of oak), although it handled the hefty alcohol well. I had this with a very rich meal and it felt appropriate. For me, this is a, fun every once in awhile, guilty pleasure, but if you like a more flamboyant style, this is sort of an apex.
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11/8/2020 - Decanting Queen Likes this wine: 97 Points
This was excellent on day 1 although I didn’t take notes. Even from PNP had an intense floral, fruit and spicy nose and an explosion of fruit on the palate. The alcohol was slightly noticeable but otherwise everything well integrated. Decadent flavors of vanilla, spices, Cassis, black fruits snd dried raspberries. On day 2 absolutely stunning. I am disappointed that I only left one glass for day two because it was a different wine—so smooth, no sense of alcohol, intense fruits, spices, long finish and left me wanting more. So far my best SQN experience. I wish I could be more confident about a 24 hour decant because the SQN grenache that I have had so far is always amazing 24 hrs later.
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11/4/2020 - GFischmann Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dark fruit with great depth and perfect balance of acidity and tannins.
Lovely wine
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6/20/2020 - hoservin Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted for one hour. Nose of raspberry, cocoa, bramble, spice and vanilla. Ripe jammy raspberry, cocoa, anise, bramble and forest floor on the palate. Very long finish. Elegantly balanced. Full bodied. Served with grilled cowboy steaks and a blue cheese, black truffle compound butter.
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3/5/2020 - wineismylife wrote: 94 Points
WIML94
Tasted non blind. Opened and served immediately. Followed over about three hours.
Dark garnet to purple color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of Kirsch, spice box, black berries and dried plums. Flavors of cassis, dried plums and raspberries. Medium acidity, medium tannin, full bodied. Drink over the short term.
BNO/GNO
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1/27/2020 - jaylew1 wrote: 97 Points
Have not been able to restrain myself for this long with most of these SQNs. Wow. Worth waiting! Amazing to see the evolution. Too bad I have no more!
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12/7/2019 - Zweder wrote: 96 Points
Occasional dinner group. Keller, Coche Dury, Guigal La Landonne plus some ringers. (By PVa @ Monarh in Tilburg, The Netherlands): In the bouquet ripe red and dark berries, some leather and a lot of garrigue. On the palate a lush and full bodied wine with a firm amount of sweetness and also beautiful acidity. The alcohol shows a bit.
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11/23/2019 - BROpus One Likes this wine: 94 Points
Beautiful nose and incredible finish. Drinking nicely right now.
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6/29/2019 - G_H wrote: 94 Points
No notes, easy drinking
perfectly first stage maturity now
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6/7/2019 - Kevnzworld wrote: 93 Points
A peppery red cherry, orange liqueur flavors balanced with tannin some minerality and grapefruit on the finish.
A little liquorish and hot ( alcohol) for my taste .
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1/31/2019 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 89 Points
2006 Retrospective (Central Coast, CA): Slow-ox’ed for six hours. The last, and least interesting, of my stash. Monolithic, dense and unyielding, with no typicity. A decant would have helped, but would not have transformed it I’m sure. Smoke, mocha, some candied fruit, but all subordinated to a density that made this a difficult wine to enjoy.
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1/27/2019 - beezer6 wrote: 95 Points
WX+ 'X9 Blind Cabernet Sauvignon Meetup (My House - Hanover Park, IL): This was a real winner tonight. The second off theme bottle this was full throttle out of the gate. Decanted about six hours and this was undoubtedly SQN not the nose.
Super heady dark berry aromas coupled with camphor, exotic baking spices, freshly picked violets and bloody meat.
The palate was awesome with more dark fruit, smoke and forest floor. The finish went on and on. This showed some subtle signs of age but there is still lots of life left here.
Definitely prefer SQN with some years under their belt. Has more nuance and the finish is more balanced than young SQN.
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12/24/2018 - Fid Likes this wine: 93 Points
PnP at Christmas eve dinner at N.’s house. Great SQN flowery nose. Good fruit in the red spectrum. Tasty accompaniment to turkey and potatoes.
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10/6/2018 - hoservin Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted for one hour. Violets, raspberry liquor, espresso and garrigue aromas. Red and black berries, mocha, spice, underbrush and fine tannins on the palate. Long, layered finish with good depth. Full bodied. Served with grilled Delmonico steaks.
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8/24/2018 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 93 Points
Performed admirably in the August afternoon heat, with loads of sweet red fruit, coffee, spice and licorice. Very long finish.
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6/15/2018 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 91 Points
well made but HUGE, and therefore not my style... I think this wine - for its style is a winner, so those that prefer to be punched in the face would rate this 93+
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4/27/2018 - Kemo Sabe Likes this wine: 93 Points
Definitely needs a decant. Comes out of the bottle pretty big and needs some time to relax. A couple hours in and we got some dark fruits, black fruits, a brooding nature, dark spices, blackberries, black cherries, spice box, cola and hints of red fruits. Very well textured. Big wine, monumental. A little less nuanced than some previous bottles. Very Cali is style and very delicious.
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4/7/2018 - Christoffer78 Likes this wine: 99 Points
The 2006 Raven Grenache is a result of one of those truly mythical producers in the world. It certainly delivers a lovely experience when tasting. All Sine Qua Non wines are built like a solid rock and extremely powerful. They remain like that year after year after year. Ageing is very very subtle or just slow. What makes them stand out is they are always carefully balanced and integrated, albeit powerful to the verge of oblivion. The best description of an wine from SQN is 'liquid velvet'. The 2006 Raven Syrah exhibits the luxurious nose of dark, deep and profound Grenache fruit. There is abundant dark chocolate, dark berries, dried flowers and a whiff of elegant blueberries. There is old saddle leather and soft gently dried tobacco leaves - after about four hours in the glass. This effort seems to be on age curve far beyond anything else... The palate is quite perfectly integrated with a brilliant texture and structure. Tannins are silky and soft. There is a never ending length on the finish which certainly puts that final dot over the i for me. As written many times before, it is always a memorable experience to taste SQN - this being the 36st time since 2010. (score is 99+)
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2/19/2018 - Cabernet4me2 Likes this wine: 94 Points
We opened this bottle to cap the night off, so no decant.
This is a bruiser and in looking at the drink dates, showing end date of 2021, well kinda had to chuckle, as I think i would hold this, maybe until 2021 before retrying - or a nice long decant.
It is a typical SQN, where that initial fruit is like a cold slap in the face, and this was after the palate was already primed!!
The alch was a bit sharp on opening but blew off rather quickly. The flavors were not given the benefit of a decant, so were a bit primary (but no complaints here) as they were a pretty incredible 'primary'.
The wine had great structure and acidity, with intense flavors of black raspberry, strawberry, pomegranate, & plum, with some leather, baking spice, herbs and pine.
This was a serious and wonderful mouth coating shellacking, and the finish was a good 45+!!
Think this with a nice long decant or a few more years of bottle age, might pop a point or two!
94.5
Thanks so much Bob, was a real treat!
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12/17/2017 - rocknroller wrote: 93 Points
Annual Tasting Group Holiday Party (I Nonni, St. Paul, MN): A big about face from what we'd been drinking. Big, bold and intense with amazing concentration, silky, layered and lush with oodles of big black fruits, blackberry liqueur, plum and spice. Decadent and pretty tasty. Worked at the end as more of a dessert wine.
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12/1/2017 - retired_and_roving wrote:
Grenache with Panache (New York, NY): 2nd in flight of SQN grenache following (Rayas & Bonneau). The color is inky and not as fragrant as the '05 Naked Truth. On the palate another big bruiser with dark red fruits (cranberry, pomegranate) and a spicy element, but the fruit really takes center stage. Ka pow - these wines really hit you in the face with their flashy style. I would enjoy trying this again perhaps on its own where I could give the wine more focus.
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12/1/2017 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Grenache with Panache (Friends apt): I took the learning from our last experience a few weeks ago and got this into the decanter as soon as I arrived and we didn't pour it until prob close to 3 hours later so it had a decent amount of time. That helped a lot as it started more open than a few weeks ago and then as with all SQN just continued to move and change in the glass. All of the great fruit and spice and herbal and savory here but I caught more of the acidity at the end which pulled it into balance. With the longer decant, in a nice place, but if we had another bottle I'd prob hold for another 5-10 years.
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11/30/2017 - bengti Likes this wine: 90 Points
HK Wine Society Tasting and Dinner JW Marriott HK
Usually one of my favs, but today this was less perfectly structured and more closed. Bottle variation ?
Nose of chocolate, candy apple, pine nuts; palette of hay, honeysuckle sandalwood. Quelle precision.
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11/9/2017 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Agree with previous note that this is perhaps not the best SQN, however it's still an SQN (aka - pretty **** good). Opened and decanted and it needed time to open. Started a bit tight. Once past that it was dark red fruits (a bit darker in fruit than some of their other Grenaches where I usually get almost more of a cherry flavor) and cocoa and good spices. It's perhaps less over the top than some others and as a result I get less of that balancing acidity that pulls it back from the edge. Overall, I enjoyed the wine and would certainly drink again, but would look to source other years over this one.
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10/14/2017 - ChristyLeighNY wrote:
We found this a little disappointing vs other SQN bottles. Overpoweringly fruity and tannins too soft to stand up to it. First night, nose was dark chocolate covered cherries and kirsch, loads of vanilla. Second night was more interesting, transformed to more like cherry cola, some light anis notes came through the vanilla. I honestly can't decide if it too young or too old, right leaning towards too old believe it or not. Reminds me of a Herman Story wine (which we love), but that's a $50 bottle, not $250
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8/6/2017 - KingSlacker999 wrote:
Birthday Celebrations (Woodberry Kitchen): Huge, too much so. Purple. Just overpowering. Maybe it’ll balance out with more time? In the company it was consumed with, rather disappointing, sadly.
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7/7/2017 - Kemo Sabe Likes this wine: 95 Points
Popped and poured. I find this wine to be underrated in the general scheme of Manfred's wines. This non-EBA is always sensational and tonight was no different. Lush, big, depth and complexity underscore this wine. Its a big wine but has such perfect balance. Loads of fruit and high alcohol but you dont get that sense when drinking it because of how well made the wine is. A great effort that is aging nicely.
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4/15/2017 - hoservin wrote: 95 Points
Decanted for 1.5 hours. Nose of raspberry, red licorice, mocha, dried herbs and forest floor. Ripe red and black berries, coffee, forest floor and fleshy tannins in the palate. Leads to a very long finish. Full bodied. Served with herb encrusted roast beef.
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2/4/2017 - tbushnell Likes this wine: 96 Points
Outstanding bottle of wine. It really opened up after 2 hrs. Pepper and cherry nose...meaty balanced finish.
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1/1/2017 - Geoff Likes this wine: 96 Points
Great fruit, flavors, balance , finish. Not much else to say except Wow!
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12/19/2016 - Amerique wrote: 96 Points
This is a great wine! Previous tasting notes apply.
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12/7/2016 - ScottPreston wrote: 93 Points
Started to show itself after 90 minute decant. Beautiful expression of Grenache. Bold and rich, but not over the top or syrupy (surprising given the alcohol). Full of red berries, with licorice, some baking spices. Layers across the palate with a 30 second+ finish.
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10/16/2016 - KenK Likes this wine: 96 Points
A wow wine. Rich ripe creamy red fruit flavors exceedingly well balanced wit a long succulent finish. Guessing at its pinnacle or close, yet no sense of fading. Blillent stuff. Opened as pre-game wine before Cubs NLCS game 2 at Jenna's.
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9/10/2016 - acyso wrote: 70 Points
Flickinger Warehouse Tasting (Chicago, IL): Oh, how palates change. It seems like I opened a bottle of this three years ago (almost to the day). I loved it then. I can't stand it now. Overdone blueberry syrup. Offensive vanilla, coconut, and oak. Sickly sweet and cloying. I'm pretty glad I sold the rest of mine.
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8/2/2016 - Amerique wrote: 95 Points
Previous note applies. Leathery flavors also noted. Fruit was spectacular. Despite 10 years of age, freshness was still present.
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7/9/2016 - Kemo Sabe Likes this wine: 95 Points
As always with this wine and this winemaker - stunning. Short decant. Mouth coating flavors of dark fruits, charcoal, spice and the texture is pure SQN. For a non-EBA this is possibly one of his best wines ever. Very classic. These have a long life ahead. 95-97
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6/30/2016 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 92 Points
The Taste Pilots, 2.0: Grenache Night (An Undisclosed Gem of a Private Room Somewhere in Buellton, CA): I've loved this in the past but found it almost impenetrable tonight. Nose of pepper, bacon and dark berries. Concentrated flavors of sweet currants, berry jam, coffee, spice and licorice. Dense and somewhat unyielding, monolithic, with a long finish.
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5/25/2016 - KenK Likes this wine: 94 Points
Sweet penetrating raspberry, strawberry, and boysenberry aromas jump from the glass. A deep pure delicious intense dark red fruit flavor profile that is creamy and mouth coating, yet nicely balanced. Interesting spicy layer adds some complexity. Finishes with a bitter chocolate bite and a touch of warmth. Quite nice and friendly, sure to impress a crowd of wine lovers. A guilty pleasure.
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5/25/2016 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
Sine Qua Non Dinner (Formento's - Chicago IL): Blackberry and blueberry throughout with intriguing combination of Indian curry and French baking spice. But the highlight here is the excellent balance of fruit, spice, structure, textures and earth. Best experience ever with this wine, it is clearly in its peak drinking window now.
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5/8/2016 - zding Likes this wine: 95 Points
Rich black fruit, highly extracted and concentrated, strong backbone and long finish
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5/1/2016 - Amerique wrote: 94 Points
Rich, delicious blackberry/black raspberry fruit, lush, highly extracted, excellent structure, long finish, but lacked complexity of flavors and depth
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3/28/2016 - Peech Likes this wine: 100 Points
served 1½ hours after decanting. Soooo powerful, so sweet and rich. The alcohol was so sharp it burned the hairs of one’s nose. Minty and a little dried herbs on top of the sweet fruit, like a young Bonneau one would taste in the master’s cellar, but cleaner. Almost a little pine needle with black pepper. Love how it tastes on the palate. A little coffee after 2 ½ hours and still really sweet. An amazing wine.
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3/22/2016 - Dale B. wrote:
OK, I admit I'm as label biased as the next person, but I found this monolith and alcoholic. Red and black fruits on the nose, alcohol too. Those fruits do appear in the mouth, but they can't over take the alcohol smack in the face. The finish is short and hot. My wife thought she smelled a hit on TCA (and she is hyper sensitive) but even if, that wasn't what was all wrong.
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3/14/2016 - kstoddard wrote:
G5 (Dale): Not a fan of these wines. Unrated.
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1/11/2016 - TerroirHunter wrote: 95 Points
Whew. Quite a ride. Opened while my soon-to-be wife and I were constructing our wedding cake at 10PM the night before the ceremony with parents and future in laws voraciously stuffing flowers into vases. Everyone stopped in the middle of their duties to roll their eyes back into their heads in delight. I did it on several occasions. Don't worry, the cake turned out fine.
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12/5/2015 - bablues wrote: 99 Points
Annual Christmas Wine Dinner and Cellar Raid (Naperville, IL): Didn't take detailed notes. Part of Christmas wine dinner and cellar raid. As close to perfect as a wine could get. This was so elegant compared to so many of the powerhouse wines that come out of the Central Coast. I have had a few SQN's and by far this one lives up to the hype.
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11/14/2015 - dbg wrote:
Wine of the night by acclamation. Outstanding. Drinking beautifully now and for years to come.
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11/7/2015 - hoservin wrote: flawed
Aerated with a Vinturi and decanted for 1.5 hours. Nose of raspberry, blackberry, chocolate, cedar, spice and wet cardboard. Tainted on the palate as well. Dang! Manfred's corks should be sacred. I am so bummed...
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10/13/2015 - CO_Roots13 wrote: 97 Points
Full bodied and lush. Deep and concentrated spiced cherry and vanilla with floral undertones and chocolate dusted meat. Plush and long on the palette. Really great bottle.
9-19-10-9
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10/10/2015 - AllRed wrote: 95 Points
Memphis SQN Dinner (Erling Jensen, Memphis, TN): Dark color featuring purple and blue fruit notes with spice, underbrush, pepper and oak undertones. Given the darker/blue fruits in the bouquet the palate is surprisingly red-fruited and shows vanilla and spice cake elements. Lengthy finish. Medium tannins with a dusty edge; good length on the finish.
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9/5/2015 - Janstan Likes this wine: 95 Points
Bright fruits, beautifully knitted and balanced. Opened 2 hours before drinkibng but did not decant. Most of us drank it without any food a couple people tried with cheese and said it went well.
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5/16/2015 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote: 96 Points
Decanted for a couple of hours. The wine faired better on its own. Noticeably alcoholic and clumsy at dinner but improved as the night went on. Thick bodied but not syrupy like other years. Very smokey with extracted sweet berry notes. I would have guessed it was the Syrah.
http://www.maxsatisfactionwine.com/post/119111460464
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4/17/2015 - tcarter Likes this wine: 99 Points
Peter Bothe's 40th Birthday (Michael Mina's Bourbon Steak in Glendale): Quite possibly the Wine of the Night, and a nearly perfect wine. Stellar, stellar stuff. More lush than the Raven Syrah.
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2/28/2015 - rcg62 Likes this wine: 98 Points
Wow wine! As good of an expression of Grenache as I can remember. Drinking great. Beautiful nose, and giant long, lingering palate of dark tart berry. This is terrific. Like a top Clos des Papes but more deep dark fruit. Decanted two hours.
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2/22/2015 - BinVA Likes this wine: 95 Points
Mark's Duck House for birthday lunch.
From magnum. Let it sit in the glass 45-60 minutes, really softened and changed over the hour. Dark color, medium-full bodied, fruit was primary with drying tannin. This will go many years longer and probably get even better. A special treat, lucky guy.
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1/27/2015 - Papies wrote: 92 Points
Double decanted and served almost 2 hours later. Granted the food we had was not the most compatible with this wine but still the wine felt very powerfull and with pronounced alcohol. 15.5% if we remember well. The nose is very special though, full of red fruits, complex and very giving. The alc is evident on the nose too but plays second fiddle to the beautiful fruit. This is grenache nose at a very high level. The palate is not there though and could well be due to youth, but we have no data point to compare unfort. Rich but also on the overpowering side, ripe light raisiny. It didnt talk to us . 92
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12/20/2014 - JeffGMorris Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dinner with Steve, Barb & Mom for Dena's Birthday at Black House. #9. Dark purple as expected. No decanting time but it would have benefited from some. Rich but young and somewhat tight. Great purity of fruit. Plenty to enjoy now but a strong future ahead of it. 50+13+13+9+9=94
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12/7/2014 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 95 Points
A day of lots of SQN and a few more!; 12/7/2014-12/9/2014 (Loretta Paganini School of Cooking and the Woods of Newbury): Purchased at retail (Whole Foods) from back in the day when SQN was available at retail in Ohio. This was the last vintage for that sadly. Purple in color with some ruby at the rim. The nose is very nice with black cherries, cranberries, spice, and some smoke. Also some earthiness. On the palate, this has a nice complexity. Not as big as most of the wines this day but that of course, is relative. Lots of lush cherries and black cherries on the palate. Tight layering. Great acidity. Long finish.
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11/22/2014 - hoservin wrote: 96 Points
Aerated with a Vinturi and decanted for two hours. Expressive nose of raspberry, huckleberry, blackberry, licorice, forest floor, coffee and spice. A jammy raspberry and blackberry core combines with coffee, licorice, milk chocolate and spice on the palate. Leads to a very long finish with waves of fruit flavor. Full bodied with a rich, dense, layered texture. This wine is special. Paired with beef stew.
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7/25/2014 - Philippe_C wrote: 98 Points
Explosive nose of ripe strawberries, white peper, loads of iodine, black cherries.. very powerful, pepery, very sappy red fruit
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7/24/2014 - Zweder Likes this wine: 98 Points
SQN vs C9duP and some extra's (@ PC): Extremely luxurious bouquet with a hint of pleasant barnyard, luxurious smoky oak and ripe fruits. On the palate sweet spices like cinnamon, herbs and spices, chocolate, ripe and juicy red fruits, a beautiful balance between sweetness and beautiful acidity. A very complete wine. A great beauty already and no problem waiting until 2018+
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2/14/2014 - Knicksfan wrote: 95 Points
Stellar
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1/12/2014 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 97 Points
Awesome Dinner with Friends (Erasmus, SQN, Saxum, Pride, Dehlinger++) (Out and about): Really outstanding but coming after the Clos Erasmus, its differences were evident. This is a brute right now. Big with black raspberries, peppery, lavender, saddle leather on the nose. At first I thought I brought the Syrah, but it was the Grenache. On the palate, for all the jammy fruit, it is smooth and deft. Long finish. This kept opening all night as well. Needs a few more years, but it pretty special right now.
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1/6/2014 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 93 Points
Cellar Reduction, The Fun Way (Santa Ynez Valley): Such a powerhouse. Nose of bacon and dark berries. So many flavors swirl in the mouth, from the first sip of the bottle to the last. Sweet currants, berry jam, coffee, spice and licorice. Medium bodied but ponderous as well, with a long finish. My best Raven yet.
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11/9/2013 - Rosengoo Likes this wine: 95 Points
This was popped and poured with some friends. Although this wine is 7 years old, it's still very youthful and in a great place right now. Very clear and ruby red in colour. This wine had a great mixture of candied cherries and chocolate both on the nose and in the glass. The acidity was at a medium level but the tannins were quite strong. I really enjoyed this bottle tonight and would love to open another one but I think I'll wait and see how it evolves over the next little while.
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10/12/2013 - Kemo Sabe Likes this wine: 95 Points
Amazing. Only gave it about 15 mins of air before we started drinking but drank over 2-3 hours. What a wine. Balanced, refined, smooth and big all at the same time. Outstanding effort here by Manfred and Elaine.
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9/6/2013 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Inky. Very alluring nose of sweet blueberries and black peppers, perhaps to the tune of a breakfast plate of pancakes with blueberry syrup and peppered bacon. Reminds me of To The Rescue. The palate has a nice hit of sweetness, as well as matching notes of blueberries. Definitely has a red-velvet feel, this is a bottle of wine on the plush side without too much else to lean on. Nonetheless, delicious, in small quantities (beware of the 15.5% abv). A bit light on the acidity, this is much easier to approach slightly colder than cellar temperature.
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9/4/2013 - Mr T wrote:
My first SQN.....very ripe, pure fruit...very pleasant to drink...not sure anything all that complicated but definitely a nice drink and generous gift
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8/31/2013 - hoservin wrote: 96 Points
Aerated with a Vinturi and decanted for 2.5 hours. A hedonistic nose of raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, milk chocolate, licorice, spice and vanilla. Layers of velvety, rich raspberry and blackberry jam, baking spice and chocolate combined with fine tannins. The finish is very, very long with waves of jammy fruit and tannins. Another great SQN experience. Paired with filet and roasted red pepper sauce.
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8/1/2013 - wineismylife Likes this wine: 94 Points
WIML94
Tasted non blind at a wine dinner.
Dark garnet to purple color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of bacon fat, currants, plums and black berries. Flavors of currants, cherries, berries and raspberries. Medium acidity, medium tannin, full bodied. Drink now with some air or continue to hold. No rush here.
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5/17/2013 - beezer6 wrote: 95 Points
Berserker Fest Friday Dinner - SQN Table (Blue Star Bistro - Chicago, IL): Perfume. Lots of floral play. Very nice and one of the most pronounced aromatics of the group. Lots of cinnamon, exotic purple spices. Asian balsamic and blood orange accents.
Very long and clean finish. Glad I have one in the cellar.
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5/17/2013 - Burgundy Al wrote: 92 Points
Chicago Berserkerfest Dinner (Blue Star Bistro - Chicago IL): Precocious and incredibly primary, this really comes across needing more time in the cellar. Accessible but slightly heavy today. Dense and somewhat brooding. Long finish shows good balance which gives me confidence this will emerge in a nicer place in another year or three.
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5/12/2013 - Productman Likes this wine: 95 Points
For me this is about as good as it gets in a Grenache. Totally stands up to and is improved by a three hour decant. I bought three bottles at auction and will desperately search for more... Served to a group of extreme wine people and it was the wine of the night - creating more conversation than a Vega Unico 1991 and a VERY special Eschezaux. Surprising currant mocha combo with endless finish.
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5/5/2013 - JimN Likes this wine: 94 Points
A stand-in following a corked bottle of Into the Dark. No decant, as was not expecting to serve, but poured through a vinturi and then again with each glass. Hedonistic, ripe fruit and exotic spices. Not at all overdone for such a big wine. Some real spine to it. A rich wine for after supper.
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4/20/2013 - bwaverley wrote: 94 Points
Bouquet of sweet strawberries, cedar, baking spices, boysenberry and vanilla. The finish is cinnamon, a variety of red berries, currants and chocolate.
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4/6/2013 - Rosengoo wrote: 94 Points
I brought this bottle to a local restaurant where it was decanted for only 30 minutes. The wine was a wonderful bright purple in colour with no real standout nose to it as it was still slightly chilled from cellaring.
The first sips of this wine showed some thinness with tastes of blueberries but after approximately one hour, the wine thickened up and added some cherries and vanilla became flavours. Despite it's high alcohol levels, it really balanced the acidity and tannins in a good way.
This was a really fun wine to drink.
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3/9/2013 - Knicksfan wrote: 95 Points
magic in a bottle.
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3/6/2013 - dbg wrote:
Pristine cork and fill. Dark purple core, minimal lightening at rim. Intense forward nose of cherries, dark berries, tar and spice. Full body, smooth palate coating ripe fruit, tar and spice, reasonable acidity, moderate tannins, all well-integrated, fruit and tannins joust for superiority through the long finish. Not for the intensity adverse, a great wine to sip on its own or paired with intensely flavored beef or lamb. Outstanding to extraordinary.
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2/23/2013 - Knicksfan wrote: 94 Points
Simply marvelous. Decanted but delicious from the first sip. Classic SQN.
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2/1/2013 - Eric wrote: 94 Points
I enjoyed this more than I expected. I am usually pretty skeptical about domestic Grenache, but this is spicy and alluring. Crazy aromatics. Gorgeous texture and freshness. A lot to like here.
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1/26/2013 - bruinesq84 wrote: 96 Points
opened and slow ox'd for 8 hrs. recorked and took to dinner. decanted and drank over another 2 hrs. all i have to say is :) :) :) I am not worthy to describe all that goes on in this wine. no heat and smooooooth.
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1/13/2013 - cadamson Likes this wine: 95 Points
About as different as one could come up with from the 1989 Beaucastel, but almost as pleasing. This is big done right, which Krankl seems to have mastered. Could give you the blah blah blah about perfect balance, etc. but one just knows it when they taste it, everything is right, harmony is achieved and a smile crosses your face. While not transcendental, certainly a good case for the joys of hedonism.
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1/7/2013 - Chriskrueger wrote: 96 Points
Unique wine. Extraordinary. Meat, licorice, pepper, and lots of berries. Not a hard edge and the acidity is amazing.
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12/30/2012 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION Likes this wine: 97 Points
Decanted for at least 3 hours. Cork was almost entirely soaked through (same with 05 SQN Atlantis Syrah) but came out clean. Deep medium ruby tint that coats the glass. Vegetal nose with hints of lavender, coffee grinds and olive. Silky smooth taste of olive brine, spice, grilled meat, blackberry jam, pepper, and creamy oak. Extremely thick texture with 30 second finish. A little bit of manageable heat. Had with grilled skirt steak and balsamic marinated portobello mushrooms.
See more detail at
http://maximumsatisfaction.tumblr.com/post/39280190942
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10/25/2012 - pilot360 wrote: 97 Points
2006 Raven SQN - excellent wine that had significant amount of pepper, spiciness, grilled meat, loads of black cherry. This was a very well balanced wine, and was drinking well. A standout of the evening. 97pts
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9/5/2012 - MQuentel@web.de wrote: 97 Points
Von der Raven Serie des Jahres 2006 gibt es Grenache und Syrahweine. Bei uns im Glas war Syrah Nr.5. Auch wenn er einen Tick kleiner war als der En Cerise von Cayuse, so hatten wir unzweifelhaft einen ganz großen Wein im Glas. Dieser dick bepackte Stoff ist etherisch, dicht, extraktsüß, sehr schwarz in der Frucht, unsponnen von feinen Hozaromen; Speck und auch ein Touch Schokolade und Menthol. Trotz der Dichte und der 15,5% Alkohol eine frischer, kühler Einruck am Gaumen. Männlich-kräftig gebaut, hinten heraus eine Spur schwarzer Pfeffer. Trotz aller Dichte und Extraktion, besitzt dieser saftige Bursche extrem feinkörnige Tannine, einen polierten Charme, Esprit und durchaus Eleganz. Leider eine Einzelflasche!!
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9/1/2012 - hoservin wrote: 96 Points
Aerated with Vinturi and decanted for 1.5 hours. A beautiful nose of raspberry, blackberry, spice, vanilla, and tobacco. An amazing mid-palate with waves and waves of jammy berry fruit and soft fine tannins. Leads to a very long, velvety, rich finish. Full bodied with outstanding balance and depth. A great wine. Paired with beef tenderloin and a mushroom sauce.
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7/20/2012 - Rosengoo wrote: 93 Points
We drank this one after approximately 45 minutes of decanting and I think it suffered (in the beginning) from this. Although the wine still had an amazing deep colour and a great nose to it, it was slightly hot to taste with a slightly overbearing spiciness to it. I was almost wondering if I pulled a Raven syrah by mistake.
The wine did settle down after another 30 minutes and it became another wonderful example of other SQN Ravens that I have had and I did notice strong flavours of berries and caramel.
In the future, I suggest an at least a 2 to 3 hour decant on this to get full enjoyment out of it.
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5/25/2012 - Christoffer78 wrote: 97 Points
Compared to 2005 Atlantis Grenache tasted alongside, the 2006 Raven Grenache is more dense and slightly more closed. Still the nose is amazing and fully packed with all the classy components so often found in these high quality efforts. Tonight I feel a strong scent of yew, quite interesting. The wine is a true pleasure to drink, but will continue to age gracefully.
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4/1/2012 - SUN-J wrote: 90 Points
Quite dark in color. Decanted for 1.5 hours. Nose of sweet dark fruit, oak and a little spice. Palate was similar but more simple than I was expecting. Finish had low-moderate acidity and low tannins -- also not super long. Not a bad wine by any means but just not that expressive or unique, esp for a wine with this pedigree and price. Note: bought this at a charity auction so no idea of its provenance.
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3/18/2012 - caeleric Likes this wine:
slow ox'd for 4 hours, then consumed over 5. i don't know how krankl gets so much extraction out of his grenache, because this was so densely colored. initially there was a lot of funk on the nose when i popped it, but this blew off by the time we started in on it. the wine gave up massively sweet, liqueur-like raspberries and cherries. the oak was really well-integrated. in the mouth this was a little one-dimensional, which was not what i was expecting based on prior sqn experience. it was still delicious, but not as mind-blowingly complex. the finish was long and deeply-fruited.
in retrospect, i a) should have decanted this wine for 3-5 hours, and b) should have waited to open it for another 2-3 years. i loved it, but i think i loved it because i paid $300 for it and really wanted to love it. if scoring, 91-93.
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3/7/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
A blend of 90% Grenache and 10% Syrah produced a wine packed with licorice, vanilla, ripe cherries, black raspberry, earth, spice, coffee bean and blueberries. Round, plush, open and packed with layers of sweet, ripe, jammy berries, spice and earth, the wine is already showing well. Popped and poured, the wine improved in the glass. This is already drinking well. If you have a bottle, there is no reason to wait.
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1/20/2012 - Ary wrote:
Rhone dinner (semi blind) (Amsterdam Dufay): Deep dark red colour. Cake, licorice, ripe cherry and pepper in the nose. Nice balance on the palate but heavy wine, nearly liquor. Compote, jammy fruits, trifle/ bread and butter pudding notes. Excellent wine, very pure, but too heavy for me.
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12/23/2011 - Rosengoo Likes this wine: 95 Points
Popped and poured at home and drank over the course of 2 hours. It's always a treat to have one of these and as usual, this one didn't disappoint. Lots of blueberry on the nose with mid colouring. Quite a lot of strawberry jam in the glass with nicely balanced acidity. Not overly strong on the alcohol levels. This was a great start to the holidays and was followed by a 2005 Mr. K Noble Man.
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12/11/2011 - Zweder wrote: 95 Points
Beautiful wine with beautiful soft dark fruits, sweet spices, chocolate, a lot of refinement and a beautiful balance between sweetness and acidity. A great and complex beauty. Imho many Syrah wines of SQN have a lot of elegance, but this Grenache wins it on that point. Beautiful wine now and a good future.
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12/10/2011 - jkoenen wrote: 92 Points
An evening with Sine Qua Non (Restaurant Bottles, Sas van Gent): (Raven #1) Hummm. Maybe there is hope... Liked this example of Grenache a lot better than the Pictures. Darker, smokier, more complex. More spice and bite. Maybe more Syrah in the blend? Or is it just the extra year of bottle time? Big and bold, sure. But lively acidity and burgeoning complexity make sure that this is also interesting for me. Good stuff. 18/20
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12/10/2011 - WildeMeeuw wrote: 98 Points
Kleur: Diep donkerrood Aroma / bouquet: Krachtig, prachtig fruit, frisse en kruidige toets. Heel mooie balans. Smaak / Afdronk: Dik, krachtige tannines, voldoende frisse zuren, zoetige indruk. Extreme vulling, extreme balans. Algemeen / potentieel: Prachtige wijn. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Smaak / Afdronk: 19 + Algemeen / potentieel: 10 = 98/100
Color: Deep dark red Aroma / Bouquet: Powerful, beautiful fruit, fresh and spicy touch. Very nice balance. Taste / Finish: Thick, powerful tannins, plenty of fresh acidity, sweetish impression. Extreme filling, extreme balance. General / potential: Beautiful wine. 50 + Colour: 5 + Aroma / Bouquet: 14 + Taste / Finish: 19 + General / potential: 10 = 98/100
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11/12/2011 - dav_slu wrote: 96 Points
Crème de Cassis, black fruit and plum notes with a rich velvety mouth. You could barely tell this was a grenache—it was almost syrah-like. Super long finish with great balance. Very high alcohol content but it was amazingly well integrated with absolutely no signs of it. Easily the best grenache I've had to date.
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11/12/2011 - jwittich wrote: 95 Points
Dark fruit, matched up well with line-up of Syrahs
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10/3/2011 - dgoerisch wrote: 96 Points
Fantastic Grenache. Tons of dark fruits -- black cherry, blackberry. Very well balanced for a wine with 16+% alcohol.
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9/24/2011 - Tim Heaton wrote:
Slow-O 3 hours, decanted for sediment (virtually none) and returned to bottle, serving at cellar temp. My first experience with this wine and my overall takeaway is that it's very nice, very pure, but not worth the hype or money, IMHO. This gains a bit of weight and complexity with airtime, but never goes out of bounds. Considering the alcohol (16%, IIRC), this comes across as balanced, if such a thing is possible. There is nothing cloying or overly ripe here, which is odd given my preference for old world wines. It's on the lighter side of full-bodied, to be sure. While everyone seemed to enjoy this, there was one at the party that said it was one of the best she'd ever had...maybe the best. For me, not even close. Different strokes, I suppose. Drink thru 2016, B+/A-
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8/20/2011 - huntinpagan wrote: 95 Points
Popped and poured. Dark garnet/purple color. Nose of blackberry, bing cherries, asphalt and some dried herbs. Full bodied and concentrated without any heaviness. Very smooth and polished. Palate of blackberry, bright cherry, licorice, and spices. Long finish with bright cherry fruit, some oak notes and black licorice.
Very good, but not up to the quality of the extended aged Grenache. Ready to go.
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8/16/2011 - vinoballo wrote: 95 Points
Wow. Very SQN. Not quite the same level (yet) as Ode to E but could get there.
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6/19/2011 - Eric Likes this wine: 94 Points
This continues to improve. I have a strong bias for Chateauneuf-du-Pape when it comes to Grenache, but this is a beautiful wine. When first opened it had some of the overripe, grilled plum elements that tend to turn me off, bit with air it quickly settled and moved into more of a cherry and white pepper direction. Fresh, red-fruited, bright, with nice acidity. So delicious I considered popping a second bottle as the first ran dry...
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6/16/2011 - shadow wrote: 97 Points
fresh and clean, got the nose , mouth feel, graceful finish, yummm
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5/26/2011 - wino31 wrote: 97 Points
Spectacular wine, best grenache I've ever had (not that I've had all that many). At a BYOB, drunk after decanting for 15 minutes. An explosion of red fruits, very smooth, long finish. Maybe it should have scored higher except that we concurrently drank a Robert Foley '04 Claret, an outstanding exemplar of Cab S, and there's a reason that grenache is the lesser cultivated grape -- it's simply less structured and complex than Cab S, even at its best. But the three of us loved the SQN.
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4/24/2011 - Snoman wrote: 98 Points
Krankl's art in the craft of winemaking continues to amaze. Expected motor oil, got ambrosia. This was a Grenache that was rich, yet refined; explosive, yet subtle; extracted, yet balanced and structured. I'll let the other descriptive comments suffice, they're all right. Paired at a meal with Buffalo filet, lamb Provencal, and roast duck. All were perfect. A versatile and memorable effort.
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4/22/2011 - Cow Town wrote: 95 Points
My first SQN grenache. Decanted for and hour, drank over the next two at Ellerbe's. Seemed dark for a grenache, with less funk and earth than its European counterparts. Didn't have the dense richness of the Raven syrah, but it was like drinking liquid silk with a finish that lasted at least 30 seconds. Matched well with steak and redfish, surprisingly, but was best just on its own or with the garlic and rosemary potatoes.
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3/27/2011 - golfman wrote: 95 Points
Wow
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3/26/2011 - Doctorryan wrote: 94 Points
Spicy balanced creamy tannin terrific
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2/26/2011 - slywka7 Likes this wine: 94 Points
It had a lot of dark fruit and cherry on the nose. It wasn't tannic at all so that made it really difficult to pinpoint what it was. The wine had some nice flavors of cherry and blueberry, which seemed very Zin like to me. The finish wasn't as long as the first wine though, which my friend was quick to point out. Based on the jammy fruit I thought the wine was excellent but my friend influenced me from what he said about the finish. This did improve as the night went on though. Started off as a 91....improved to a 94.
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2/20/2011 - cadamson wrote: 92 Points
This is a monster of a wine, simply huge. Black, massive nose of black fruit and spicy oak, perhaps some pepper and meaty notes lurking under the surface. Enjoyable, and impressive for coming together on the palate for how large it is (no heat, good acidity), but it needs to settle down and say something about itself..right now it is just a big wine like many, could have been from anywhere.
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2/15/2011 - phenricsson wrote: 96 Points
Rich, fresh, intense, focused. Lots of kirsch and spice. Explosive mouthfeel. Long aftertaste.
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2/9/2011 - scooter260 wrote: 98 Points
Exceptional once again. Monster long finish, well-integrated. Enjoyed w/friends during Super Bowl
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12/30/2010 - hoservin wrote: 96 Points
2 hour decant. Gobs of jammy fruit with black pepper integrated. The texture was layered and dense, velvety smooth mid-palate, and the aftertaste didn't end. A great experience.
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12/22/2010 - Kemo Sabe wrote: 95 Points
I mean, come on. This is simply special juice that is made in such a unique way by such a unique guy that there really is no comparison to SQN. It stands alone. Decanted for 30 mins before the first taste. A little funky on the nose at the open but after the 1/2 hour it was showing a beautiful bouquet of spice, chocolate, cherry, blackberry and pepper. As always, smooth and absolutely no hard edges. Complex and integrated. This is special winemaking; its unique and one-of-a-kind. These fabulous treasures that E+M craft are to be obtained at any reasonable price. For any Rhone fan this is by far the finest US expression of the region and for all wine lovers this is winemaking at its best.
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12/18/2010 - Rosengoo Likes this wine: 97 Points
Drank at a restaurant. This bottle was opened and decanted for approximately 30 minutes. Tonight this wine was better than ever with strong notes of vanilla and some honey. There was no lingering alcohol to the taste and the wine had a wonderful balance to it. If that is what happens to it after 30 minutes, I'm curious to see how it develops after a couple of hours.
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12/11/2010 - patwjr wrote: 94 Points
Popped & poured. Needed to decant. Bottle got better, smoother and more fruit exposed as we drank the bottle. Really nice stuff!
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11/26/2010 - scooter260 wrote: 99 Points
Enjoyed with Thanksgiving dinner. Super long finish, velvety smooth, not too heavy. WOTN against Atlantis Syrah and Pictures Grenache.
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11/23/2010 - B Paul wrote: 94 Points
Decanted for 2 hours. Like all of the SQN's I've had, this had an amazing, complex nose - blackberry, cherry and chocolate. Still has firm tannins on the palate. Very well-made with great mouthfeel and finish. I'd recommend holding this one for a bit.
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11/22/2010 - Lord Rayas wrote: 94 Points
excellent once a year type of wine. leaves nothing to imagination. very upfront fruit bomb.
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11/20/2010 - patwjr wrote: 95 Points
Beautiful wine.
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11/18/2010 - mjf@ulkner wrote: 95 Points
Decanted one hour. Seamless smooth and plush, this is all rounded edges. A big wine, but it seems fairly well balanced. Probably not the best food wine, and I'm not sure how much underlying structure there is for long term aging. Nevertheless, a terrific wine- true hedonism.
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11/12/2010 - scollier wrote: 97 Points
Tasted right out of the gate. Was tight and somewhat muted. Had planned all along to decant this for a few hours. Did just that and decanted it for just over 4 hours. This is amazing! Not like any other grape/varietal. Completely enjoyable from start to finish, which does linger. Certainly does not disapoint. 97+
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11/10/2010 - kstoddard Likes this wine: 90 Points
Mattias' Send Off: Black in color. Blackberry and cherry. Extremely full bodied to a point of almost being over the top. Good freshness and acidity. Fruit forward finish with power to spare. This wine has no soul or sense of place. Nonetheless one of the better Sine Qua Non wines I've had in a while. 15.5% alcohol.
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11/10/2010 - jeff nowak wrote: 90 Points
apparently, i'm out of the loop on this one. tasty, for sure, but not to the level of the past vintages, or my expectations.
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10/23/2010 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
Sine Qua Non Dinner: the Younger Wines (Custom House Tavern - Chicago IL): Aromas of blackberry and blueberry, super primary, with some rose and violet in deep background. Powerful bursts of same primary fruit on palate, but already in balance and starting to show interesting nuance and energy behind the massive fruit. Really interesting spice comes through on finish, which I think is from some use of whole cluster, and will most likely continue to add spice and complexity with more time in bottle.
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10/20/2010 - jc-mmb wrote: 96 Points
i know but i just can't keep my hands off. brought to a southern rhone tasting as a rhone ranger ringer. of the nine tasters, two picked australia, two picked france and four picked cali. i knew. decanted four hours. aroma jumps from the glass. big rich and bold but beautifully balanced. no heat. chocolate, dark fruit, pepper and wood all on the nose. palate hits with a big lushness. tongue really likes this. the mid palate is full and smothering with a velvety layer of peppered chocolate and lush perfectly ripe berries. the wood is there but in the background. didnt want to swallow; just wanted this to lay on my tongue and palate. finish is smooth all the way thru and lingers with the best of them.
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10/15/2010 - G_H wrote: 94 Points
2007 Grenache Series; Finished 3rd out of 4
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10/9/2010 - hoservin wrote: 94 Points
First bottle of SQN, and it didn't disappoint. Big red berry flavors with a smooth, lingering finish. I really enjoyed this bottle. Paired with steak, and it complemented the meal well.
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9/24/2010 - pchubb wrote:
opened for 2-3 hours before we drank it over another 2-3. on opening a nose of dark chocolate. when we drank it the nose was just a hint of chocolate, fruit, earth and smoke. on the palate jammy fruit, pepper, chocolate, and i thought a little bit of earth with a finish that just hung around for a long time. the only possible flaw i could find was a touch of heat just before the finish, but it barely bothered me and went away fast. this wine was just awesome... it was powerful but had a reserved finesse.
it will be hard to not drink another bottle right away.
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9/7/2010 - Knicksfan wrote: 96 Points
Sublime.
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8/24/2010 - O>-< wrote:
Opened a second bottle of this last night with grilled pork shoulder. While it paired wonderfully with the meat (including a fantastic lemon, lime, and epazote sauce), this bottle wasn't nearly as spectacular as the first (rated that 96+). Still red-fruit dominated, very smooth, and admirable depth, but I didn't get as much aromatic fireworks or complexity, and the finish was notably shorter than the first bottle. I'd still call it 'outstanding'; just not as 'wow' as the first. Withholding a score, due to less-than-ideal decanting and my belief that this was a slightly 'off' bottle. The '05 Atlantis fe Grenache remains my favorite SQN Grenache from the regular, non-extended aging series.
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8/11/2010 - phenricsson wrote: 98 Points
Wow, this is better than I had expected at this stage. Delicious but serious.
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7/27/2010 - beezer6 wrote: 95 Points
Tastes from Hezi's dinner at Ria (Ria Restaurant - Elysian Hotel, Chicago): Taste from Hezi's dinner at Ria. Deep rich dark crimson red color.
Nice prune aromas coupled with dark purple fruit, carmalized brown sugar, and tarry Band-Aid. Cinnamon, molasses and some light beefy aromas.
Palate is rich and high in glycerin. Sappy raisinated fruit with the same burnt caramel brown sugar play. Really well made and deliciously complete wine.
Very nice.
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7/8/2010 - Rosengoo wrote: 94 Points
This was another wonderful SQN bottle. Slightly lighter than I recall from past bottles on the berry flavours but my taste buds might have been thrown off from the previous bottle of Raven syrah. I didn't take notes on this bottle but really enjoyed it's overall balance. I am a big fan of grenache and Sine Qua Non does it very well.
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6/7/2010 - WinstonWolfe wrote: 95 Points
Smoke, pepper, dark fruit and a great finish. It was our first SQN and after trying it, we all got the hype.
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5/16/2010 - Eric wrote: 93 Points
I last had this wine on July 4th last year, and while I enjoyed it then I was not deeply impressed. However this bottle was a step up. A nice nose of gingerbread and plums moves to a peppery, spicy and stunningly PLUSH and SILKY palate. Texturally this wine is incredible, hedonistic, a sweet core, yet not over the top. There is also a satisfying savory element on the finish that adds some intrigue. Dusty tannins show this has plenty of time ahead and structure to resolve.
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4/10/2010 - patwjr wrote: 94 Points
Not so big/huge SQN, but a somewhat softer version, with an enticing nose, beautiful fruit - an approachable wine. Still has more years, though hard to resist now with a few hour decant.
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3/8/2010 - Jimbot Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted. My second favorite wine ever (after the Pahlmeyer). Super smooth and delicious.
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3/7/2010 - amateurwino wrote:
Tasted double blind, I found this very ripe, with a bit of spice. Had an airy alcoholic feel to the nose. Guessed this was a Rhone varietal CA wine... wrote "not crazy about this". Guessed Turley zin, 2002-2007.
As with the Marcassin, felt bad that I didn't dig the wine so much given how generous a donation this was, but glad I got to assess it without being influenced by the fame of the brand. With a few hours of air, after the reveal, this did improve a lot and was quite good by the end of the night (but not extraordinary or beyond other high quality CA Rhone wines I've had).
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2/21/2010 - jc-mmb wrote: 97 Points
an expression of pure grenache in my opinion. big, lush, jammy and bold. yet sexy and laser clean as well. a true dichotomy. full of fruit and spice on the nose and palate. huge mouth feel but no heat, just a sweet lushness that blankets the palate. the finish lingers for seemingly ever.
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2/14/2010 - Knicksfan wrote: 93 Points
Delightful from the first moment. Not the same "kapow" as from other SQN bottles but a very tasty delicate wine.
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1/17/2010 - patwjr wrote: 93 Points
Very nice this time, but not as good as the first bottle last August. I'll wait on the next bottle.
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1/2/2010 - jeff nowak wrote:
audouzed, decanted, venturied, quadruple decanted and put back in the cellar with the cork in place over night. i did everything but call in a shamen to get this wine to do something...anything that i could find worthy of recommending. fail. i just couldn't coax it into a level of even my last tasting, which i consider (despite the decent score) to be lousy, because i hold SQN to a different standard. this wine was merely an unfocused blob. still, better than most, but i'm afreaid i'm giving this the benefit of the producer doubt. double blind, i'd probably ream this a new butt hole for oak and alcohol.
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12/30/2009 - winelovr2001 wrote: 94 Points
Very young, but still showing some of what it has. Needs a few years to really shed it's baby fat.
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11/28/2009 - the godfather wrote: 92 Points
Better than last, a very solid Cali Grenache, I like the pepper. Thanks to YS!
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11/27/2009 - JOsgood wrote: 90 Points
Good but nothing to get excited about. This lacked the wow factor of other SQN wines. Seems that 06 is a off vintage as the Syrah wasn't anything special either. Too bad this is no Into the Dark. Where are all these huge scores coming from?? No finish. Flat mid palate. This was handily beaten by a $16 2007 Cotes du Rhone in a side-by-side tasting.
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11/26/2009 - vinocerus wrote: 93 Points
Tasted single blind with Saxum Rocket Block '05 and Autard Cuvee Juline '07. Tough between the 3 to pick a favorite. SQN certainly did not blow away the other 2. Ripe and rich, opened for about 5 hours prior to tasting. Fruit forward with spice elements and nice mouth-feel. A touch of heat on the finish. A good wine but somewhat underwhelming. Pehaps a result of high expectations.
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11/20/2009 - Weinlakai wrote: 95 Points
Intriguing nose. Very "new world". The aromas very shouting: "SUN!!!". Very nice red berry profile and jam-like without a lot of freshness. This has a nice mint-quality as well. On the palate this is very full-bodied and complex, but (surprisingly) it's not hot like e.g. an Australian "fruit bomb". Truck loads of fruit with an amazing depth and length. Very hedonistic and a lot of fun to drink. Although this might have some potential, it is ready to enjoy now. 95-96 P.
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11/13/2009 - Jared wrote: 95 Points
My first SQN grenache. These wines are so freakin' superconcentrated. Massive core of dark fruit. Really big wine. I think it needs a couple years to settle down its alcohol which was hot on the finish. 92pts now but with the potential to get to 95pts.
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10/30/2009 - CamWheeler wrote: 94 Points
Chocolate, pepper, oak and violets on the nose. Full on palate with oodles of fruit. Massive power behind it. Fully charged, it is table-dividing but I thought it brilliant.
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10/24/2009 - dbg wrote:
Dark purple/black, no lightening at rim. Intense rich ripe sweet black fruits and cherries on nose with some pepper/spice notes, full-bodied, lush layered fruit, low acid but not flabby, long finish, great drinking on its own before dinner but not a great match for some of the food that night, outstanding unless you don't like the style.
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9/28/2009 - spotfin wrote: 94 Points
Full bodied, ripe red fruit are front and center, a bit warm, delicious and I am very curious where this is headed.
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8/29/2009 - MarkC wrote:
After 20 minutes or so, the nose has become expansive, rich, and very SQN-like. I will confess that the palate, so far, is pretty tight, and that this could almost pass for Syrah. Unlike the '05 vintage, I think I'd give the nod to the '06 Syrahs at this point, but this is still phenomenal in its vigor and exuberance. The tannins are pretty noticeable, but the fruit is packed and stacked and incredibly vibrant.
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8/28/2009 - KeithAkers wrote: 95 Points
Grenache Smackdown (Wally's, Arlington Heights): nose: big, bold, and rich nose filled with black pepper, herbs, black cherries galore, slight bits of roasted meats, all sorts of black fruits, and tones of thistles. Very perfumed and bold, but not over extracted. Very new world, but with an eye towards the old world too and loads of depth on the nose too
taste: a beautifully seamless medium feel that glides across the palate with polished and silky tones of herbs, black cherries, black fruits, dark red fruits, and hints of roasted meats. Wonderful depth that is just beautiful and heady at the same time
overall: a beautiful and polished grenache. For me this really stuck out in a pretty big pack. Loads of quality and polish, this is just so juicy and delicious that one would be very hard not to pop it now. Certainly showed off its prestige and easily lived up to it
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8/22/2009 - phenricsson wrote: 99 Points
At Restaurant Sturehof in Stockholm as guest of Fredrik R. It was decanted before closing the previous night. It was the best US Grenache I've ever had, although I did think it was a Syrah. It was much darker and "serious" than most other Grenache. I also thought it was older than 05 but that must have been because of the 18 hour decanting. Very impressive!
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8/21/2009 - patwjr wrote: 96 Points
P&P'd. 1st small portion didn't give up much, though you could see, taste & feel this is special. By end of bottle in <30 min with friends it was just starting to open up. Alcohol was hidden, sweet red fruits (raspberry) emerged. Not as huge as SQN's Syrahs, more feminine. Drank too fast with too many people, though everyone loved it. Next time decant for a few hours or more cellar time.
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8/19/2009 - shadow wrote: 98 Points
soft and sweet, pure panty remover, great now but will blosom in a few years
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7/16/2009 - jeff nowak wrote: 92 Points
15.5% alcohol. decanted. #9 for those into that junk. i've become a modestly vocal critic of the atlantis and raven series, so much so, that i emailed manfred to talk about it. per usual, his replies were candid and interesting, talking about vintage challenges, and whole stem inclusion. i've read thru current reviews in the wine blogosphere, and i seem to run against the grain, e.g. i prefer the grenaches over the syrahs in 05/06. the critical difference for me is that the grenache swallows the alcohol and heat more effectively; the tannins are present, but not dominant, and the oak is more effectively ameliorated. that being said, oak, tannin, alcohol still are racheted up too high for me in this wine, but, boy, is there a ton of beautiful red fruit, and a long, chewy finish. nevertheless, i just don't see this wine ever hitting the heights of the grenache run of 2000-2003
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7/5/2009 - Michael wrote: 95 Points
Beautiful. Sweet fruit. Lovely Grenache taste. Smooth. Did not want to put down. Only drinkable San I've tried yet. Syrah was all alchohol, this had alchohol but less overpowering so the sweet fruit complexity shown through. Sad when bottle was empty.
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7/4/2009 - Eric wrote: 91 Points
Funny. I 'tweeted' when I consumed this, and three comments came back immediately from others that they preferred the Syrah to the Grenache. Sheesh, let me make up my own mind... They are quite right thought. This Grenache is lovely, beguiling, silky, roasted plums, nice spice, sappy, mouthfilling, yet not too heavy. A little salty on the finish. However, in a word it is 'yummy' whereas the Syrah is 'serious', not even in the same league with each other.
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6/28/2009 - win wrote: 91 Points
Almost black in color, with very strong notes of raspberry and blackberry mixed with a bit of earthy qualities. Not an overwhelming wine, but very well made and a crowd pleaser.
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6/20/2009 - the godfather wrote: 90 Points
Pleasant and fruity but not wow or special
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6/13/2009 - kenv wrote: 97 Points
Steve Saxon Offline @ Zach's in Mt. Snow (Zach's Ski House near Mt. Snow Vermont): Stunning nose of red berry fruit with hints of graphite and coffee. Massive, rich, extracted, yet still harmonious. Terrific sweet red fruit. Wow!
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5/25/2009 - clayfu wrote: 93 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
An interesting nose of succulent honey and caramel with tart red fruit rollup and vanilla.
HUGE ripe black (slightly bitter) berries mixed in with gobs of bright cherry and toasted oak laid upon a bed of fresh earth. Surprisingly high amounts of acidity on the finish that leaves your tongue tingly with tart chocolate cherries.
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5/17/2009 - FakeAccount wrote: 95 Points
Not a 100 pt wine, IMO, but an extremely good one nonetheless. Still needs time to come together to be even better. Slightly reductive nose transforms itself into ground black pepper and raspberry jam. Well structured.
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5/10/2009 - B Paul wrote: 95 Points
At first this wasn't giving too much. Decanted and after a couple of hours it really opened up into something nice. Silky mouthfeel. A good, complex mix of red and black fruit (leaning more towards black though). Also some smoke and meatiness that I often find in Syrah. Long finish.
This was my first SQN Grenache and the best Grenache I've had to date. I think this particular wine needs some time - I'll wait a bit to open another one of these. If you're going to drink now I'd be sure to decant for a couple of hours. Tough to score at this stage for me, but 94-96 pts.
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4/15/2009 - thenapalist wrote: 99 Points
This bottle was damned near close to perfection and in my Top Three SQN grenaches holding company with the Inaugural and the Ode To E. Amazing juice! Started off with a huge, classic grenache nose but a bit thin in the mid palate and on the finish. After about an hour, the fruit lushed out and gained substantial weight. Not as big as the Atlantis but more refined and almost feminine by SQN standards. I would advise a 1-2 hour decant at this stage. Simply stunning.
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