The Other 7% of California (Chicago, IL): From half-bottle. This is golden raisins squeezed into juice. Layer upon layer of complexity, with lots of sweet fruit here. You keep looking for that botrytis spice (well, at least, I do, because those are the typical sweet wines I drink) but there is none here. It's as opulent and hedonistic as you can get. There's actually a nice zing of acidity on the back end to freshen things up too. Super concentrated and sweet, but this is actually quite well-balanced. Could it be that I've finally found a roussanne I like?
Nose of rich perfume, oranges, apricots, candied honey, golden in colour. Kept evolving in the glass with dried apricots, citrus extracts and sugared apples. Satisfying finish with enough bite to keep you wanting more. Another amazing amazing wine.
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Coompletely gorgeous wine. Apricot is the dominant note, with apple, peach, nectarine and the rest of the summer fruit basket coupled with viscous body, explosive aromatics, a finish that won't quit and enough acidity to keep it from being cloying. Marvelous job!
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Translucent amber-orange-honey. Lovely in appearance.
Honey, sweet alfalfa, hay, pollen. Mouth is thick, rich with dried peach and dried Turkish apricot. Completely coats the palate. Great acidity. Finish is rich and takes on same fruits, hints of vanilla. Very nice indeed.
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From a half bottle. Amber hue. Very extracted aromas, with notes of honeysuckle, pear, grapefruit, and some vanilla. On the palate, there is a lot more acidity than is usual for a SQN (dessert) wine, but there is still the immense amount of extract and concentration that is typical for SQN stickies. Slightly astringent, it seems that some wood tannin has leached its way into the drink. This would be brilliant if that sharp note weren't there; as it is, this is just your typical high-end yet well-made dessert wine. Very long.
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Brought by Blue Oval to a Christmas party at my house last weekend. This was the 3rd SQN dessert wine I have had in the last 2 months (all courtesy of other board members). Each has been outstanding. Included in that group was the 2005 Sine Qua Non Grenache Atlantis Fe203~2d Vin de Paille which I liked better than this wine. This was probably the least concentrated of the 3 but still an extremely big and concentrated dessert wine. Far superior to any Phelps Eisrebe I've had. These SQN dessert wines are really in a class by themselves as far as new world dessert wines go. This wine was loaded with apricot marmalade and pear extract notes. The syrupy fruit and spice just leapt from the glass. The next day the empty bottle was so sticky that I had to pry it out of my hand to throw it away. 94-95 points.
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The color of a Provence rose. Nice acids with flavors of oranges and spices. Quite intense and tasty but blown overboard by the amazing selection of Germans served alongside. A bit cloying in comparison. Still, it held it's own and was a treat to taste.
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Golden/copper already at 5 yrs old. Decent aromas of apricot, honey, and faint spring flowers, but the real impact is on the palate: wow! Layers of vibrant tangerine, peach, apricot, buttery pineapple, and honey - just fantastic! Absolutely nervy acidity allied to full-bodied weight and depth, creating a wine that shows wide-eyed exuberance. Better than the '05 Straw Man I had earlier this year, IMO. Beyond my already high expectation. Bravo!
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Root 246 Dinner (Root 246, Solvang, California): Opened and served immediately. Yellow color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Big nose and palate of honey, lychee, a mix of rich tropical fruits with a dash of peach towards the finish. Bright acidity, full bodied. Think and unctuous on the palate without being cloying. Drink or hold. 96?
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I don't have a lot of experience pairing dessert wines on my own so I took the wine to Parcel 104 at the marriott in Santa Clara. We left the dinner/dessert choices in the hands of the professionals- Brain, the resturant manager and Executive Sous Chef Carlos Sanchez. We had eaten a late lunch, so Brian's recommendation of the pork belly hot pot was perfect. The wine picked up a spicy peachy pit. Becaue their menu changes often, go soon to give this a try. the pairing was fantastic! We continued with a three course dessert menu prepared by Carlos we sat at the counter and watched the magic happen, Warm tapipocia pudding poured over fresh fruit, perfect flan, and chocolate preparations that were magical. All perfectly paired to our wine. An exceptional experience!
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Fantastic. had at a gathering at a friends house. honey and orange rind. didn't find anything cloying, in fact the acid attack with the big honey flavor was great. everything faded perfectly in sync for me. could have had it all night... topped the 05 Mr. K we had next to it.
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TN: Huet, SQN, Spotteswood, ZH, Ussegglio, HL, Cos, Borgogno and lots more: Pinkish/golden in color. The nose has noney and pineapple. Thick and unctuous. On the palate, this is slightly cloying and very sweet. Sugary finish. Just too sweet for my taste to really love it. It is very nice but I prefer more acidity.
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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: GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE wiz. Tons of succulent honey comb with sweet yellow melon on the nose. With honey dew, fresh honey, and soft sweet juice dripping Bartlet pears on the palate. Great acidity to pear with the sweetness, wonderfully balanced and teases the line of being too sweet. Way better than the over the top MR. K's for me.
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Great acidity to balance out the intense sweetness of this wine.
I initially consumed this too warm and it felt a bit bloated and overly sweet. After an additional hour in the fridge it was a whole different ballgame.
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2/12/2021 - DaveF wrote:
Spectacular. Apricots. Acid. Last bottle. Sucks Manfred stopped making stickies.
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1/16/2021 - CCGCCG Likes this wine: 97 Points
Nearly perfect.
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6/20/2016 - acyso wrote: 95 Points
The Other 7% of California (Chicago, IL): From half-bottle. This is golden raisins squeezed into juice. Layer upon layer of complexity, with lots of sweet fruit here. You keep looking for that botrytis spice (well, at least, I do, because those are the typical sweet wines I drink) but there is none here. It's as opulent and hedonistic as you can get. There's actually a nice zing of acidity on the back end to freshen things up too. Super concentrated and sweet, but this is actually quite well-balanced. Could it be that I've finally found a roussanne I like?
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10/29/2014 - bengti Likes this wine: 99 Points
Nose of rich perfume, oranges, apricots, candied honey, golden in colour. Kept evolving in the glass with dried apricots, citrus extracts and sugared apples. Satisfying finish with enough bite to keep you wanting more. Another amazing amazing wine.
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7/19/2014 - Topper wrote: 96 Points
Coompletely gorgeous wine. Apricot is the dominant note, with apple, peach, nectarine and the rest of the summer fruit basket coupled with viscous body, explosive aromatics, a finish that won't quit and enough acidity to keep it from being cloying. Marvelous job!
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10/23/2013 - EMichels wrote: 92 Points
Solid dessert offering; Light color; Nice edge
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3/1/2013 - tp096255 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Translucent amber-orange-honey. Lovely in appearance.
Honey, sweet alfalfa, hay, pollen. Mouth is thick, rich with dried peach and dried Turkish apricot. Completely coats the palate. Great acidity. Finish is rich and takes on same fruits, hints of vanilla. Very nice indeed.
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12/18/2012 - BaroloRob wrote: 96 Points
Pear, lychee, caramel with a long finish of orange marmalade.
Delicious.
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9/15/2012 - HRT wrote:
Deep caramel color; honey, sweet stone fruits. Thick and rich but enough acidity to balance the sweetness.
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3/25/2012 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
From a half bottle. Amber hue. Very extracted aromas, with notes of honeysuckle, pear, grapefruit, and some vanilla. On the palate, there is a lot more acidity than is usual for a SQN (dessert) wine, but there is still the immense amount of extract and concentration that is typical for SQN stickies. Slightly astringent, it seems that some wood tannin has leached its way into the drink. This would be brilliant if that sharp note weren't there; as it is, this is just your typical high-end yet well-made dessert wine. Very long.
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12/12/2011 - Vino Me wrote: 94 Points
Brought by Blue Oval to a Christmas party at my house last weekend. This was the 3rd SQN dessert wine I have had in the last 2 months (all courtesy of other board members). Each has been outstanding. Included in that group was the 2005 Sine Qua Non Grenache Atlantis Fe203~2d Vin de Paille which I liked better than this wine. This was probably the least concentrated of the 3 but still an extremely big and concentrated dessert wine. Far superior to any Phelps Eisrebe I've had. These SQN dessert wines are really in a class by themselves as far as new world dessert wines go. This wine was loaded with apricot marmalade and pear extract notes. The syrupy fruit and spice just leapt from the glass. The next day the empty bottle was so sticky that I had to pry it out of my hand to throw it away. 94-95 points.
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6/11/2011 - Patman2108 wrote: 98 Points
Syrupy sweet butterscotch
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2/21/2011 - dream wrote: 91 Points
The color of a Provence rose. Nice acids with flavors of oranges and spices. Quite intense and tasty but blown overboard by the amazing selection of Germans served alongside. A bit cloying in comparison. Still, it held it's own and was a treat to taste.
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12/17/2010 - O>-< wrote: 98 Points
Golden/copper already at 5 yrs old. Decent aromas of apricot, honey, and faint spring flowers, but the real impact is on the palate: wow! Layers of vibrant tangerine, peach, apricot, buttery pineapple, and honey - just fantastic! Absolutely nervy acidity allied to full-bodied weight and depth, creating a wine that shows wide-eyed exuberance. Better than the '05 Straw Man I had earlier this year, IMO. Beyond my already high expectation. Bravo!
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9/2/2010 - wineismylife Likes this wine: 96 Points
Root 246 Dinner (Root 246, Solvang, California): Opened and served immediately. Yellow color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Big nose and palate of honey, lychee, a mix of rich tropical fruits with a dash of peach towards the finish. Bright acidity, full bodied. Think and unctuous on the palate without being cloying. Drink or hold. 96?
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7/24/2010 - tall2002 wrote: 97 Points
I don't have a lot of experience pairing dessert wines on my own so I took the wine to Parcel 104 at the marriott in Santa Clara. We left the dinner/dessert choices in the hands of the professionals- Brain, the resturant manager and Executive Sous Chef Carlos Sanchez. We had eaten a late lunch, so Brian's recommendation of the pork belly hot pot was perfect. The wine picked up a spicy peachy pit. Becaue their menu changes often, go soon to give this a try. the pairing was fantastic! We continued with a three course dessert menu prepared by Carlos we sat at the counter and watched the magic happen, Warm tapipocia pudding poured over fresh fruit, perfect flan, and chocolate preparations that were magical. All perfectly paired to our wine. An exceptional experience!
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5/8/2010 - AlexRed wrote: 97 Points
Fantastic. had at a gathering at a friends house. honey and orange rind. didn't find anything cloying, in fact the acid attack with the big honey flavor was great. everything faded perfectly in sync for me. could have had it all night... topped the 05 Mr. K we had next to it.
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5/8/2010 - ews3 wrote: 95 Points
Great Grapes for a Great Cause SQN Tasting -- 3rd Annual; 5/7/2010-5/8/2010 (Mandarin Oriental, Washington DC): Sharp acid on the attack prepares your palate for an onslaught of honey. The acid fades a little faster than the sugar on the long finish, which leads to a bit of cloying as it fades.
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12/13/2009 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 91 Points
TN: Huet, SQN, Spotteswood, ZH, Ussegglio, HL, Cos, Borgogno and lots more: Pinkish/golden in color. The nose has noney and pineapple. Thick and unctuous. On the palate, this is slightly cloying and very sweet. Sugary finish. Just too sweet for my taste to really love it. It is very nice but I prefer more acidity.
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9/7/2009 - shadow wrote: 99 Points
Thick and chewie, fruit taken to another level, I never used to like desert wines, now I'm looking forward to the next one
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5/25/2009 - clayfu wrote: 95 Points
IS SINE QUA NON THE GREATEST WINE IN THE WORLD? We go to school to find out!; 5/22/2009-5/25/2009: GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE wiz. Tons of succulent honey comb with sweet yellow melon on the nose. With honey dew, fresh honey, and soft sweet juice dripping Bartlet pears on the palate. Great acidity to pear with the sweetness, wonderfully balanced and teases the line of being too sweet. Way better than the over the top MR. K's for me.
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5/8/2009 - quigley13 wrote: 98 Points
Great acidity to balance out the intense sweetness of this wine.
I initially consumed this too warm and it felt a bit bloated and overly sweet. After an additional hour in the fridge it was a whole different ballgame.
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