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2004
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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 95.9 pts. and median of 96 pts. in 181 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by NoTrollingerPlease on 4/27/2024: Mystery wine evening (@Private location): *** only for my memory, no detailed note or rating ***
Glass: Spiegelau Definition Bordeaux
Tasted double blind. Not much to add to my previous note. Very well made, but too much of everything. Not joyful at all. (232 views) | | | Tasted by jfpwine on 3/26/2024 & rated 93 points: High-end Rhone Dinner at a friend's house. (Hollywood): Very opaque ruby. Nose of plums, red cranberries, black pepper, leather and licorice. Plate is dense and mouth filling, resolved tannins, medium- acidity. This is quite big and opulent, yet still has balance. Ends with a long finish (221 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 12/3/2023: Candied black cherry, really big, not a lot of zip. Meh. (1180 views) | | | Tasted by RockinCabs on 12/2/2023 & rated 96 points: California Wine Weekend; 12/1/2023-12/3/2023 (Mos Eisley Cantina & Waterhouse Restaurant): Blackberry of the darkest ilk with cassis, bacon, lavender, violet, graphite and crushed rock. A wine of paradox. Hard and Soft, Fat and Lean, Hot and Seamless all at once. The push and pull keeps this interesting and the tannin suggests this has a long way to go in the cellar.
This really was right behind Just for the Love of It (681 views) | | | Tasted by tcarter on 10/27/2023 & rated 96 points: Ojai Food + Wine Festival; 10/26/2023-10/29/2023 (Ojai Valley Inn): Yes please. This is killer juice. Loved it, wish I had some more. (647 views) | | | Tasted by SMHalps on 6/7/2023 & rated 95 points: A friend brought this to a Syrah dinner for my wine group. While I think Dunnuck's 2007 review, where he said it showed "decadent fruit with black currant" is no longer accurate, this is an amazing wine. Beautiful nose, full bodied and a long finish. It probably has years of life ahead of it. Right now, I think it is in a great place, some spice notes balanced against the big fruit. A real treat. Definitely less fruity than the 2 younger new world Syrahs we had (2016 from WA and 2015 from Austrailia), but it more than held its own. (833 views) | | | Tasted by Minnesota on 5/1/2023 & rated 95 points: Whoa, too inky rich to sip half bottle over 90 minutes. Certainly well-made but lacking in nuances. Decanted two hours prior. (792 views) | | | Tasted by Papies on 5/20/2022 & rated 98 points: 2022 Athens Wine Event (CTC , Athens): Tasted blind . Straight to SQN Syrah guessed 2011 vintage non EBA.
A magnificent wine full stop. Came at the end of a full online up and followed Masseto and Araujo 2005s and shown and blew them out of the water. Big and massive but also harmonious and balanced in its elevated state as we usually say for the top SQNs . We can go on and on here but really this could well be a perfect wine.98 (1883 views) | | | Tasted by Tudz Drkl on 1/27/2022: Tasting the Americans (Chez Nous): We decanted for an hour before drinking. This is deep deep purple slanted ruby. Deeply opaque and showing very little signs of aging on the edges. The nose is a melange of dark berries and dark red fruits augmented by a smoky meatiness and spice cabinet. On the palate this is thick and full bodied, with a port-like creaminess, expressing - without doubt - powerful fruits. Finishes with very good length. This is pretty boozy and the fruit power are almost like drinking concentrated juice. Great but 1 glass is enough. (1743 views) | | | Tasted by AlanM68 on 9/18/2021 & rated 95 points: Wow. More than 5 years after I last tried it, this is singing. Rich, together, great length and utterly enjoyable. Still a hint of oak there that I would like to see fade, but that’s a minor blemish. And maybe it’s time for bottles that weigh less than a kilo? (1848 views) | | | Tasted by jlgnml on 8/17/2021 & rated 97 points: Wow. Decanted for 30 min and this was a pure joy to put in my mouth. Served with BBQ baby back ribs and this was dynamite. Drink. (1840 views) | | | Tasted by WildeMeeuw on 1/29/2021 & rated 98 points: Kleur: Diep en ondoordringbaar donkerrood met een paarse vleug. Aroma / bouquet: Explosief stuivend en verleidelijk bouqet, kenmerkend voor Sine Qua Non-Syrah. Donker fruit, Mon Cherie / kersenlikeur, menthol, laurier. Zacht zoete drop en gemberkoek, chocola en mokka. Smaak / Afdronk: Ook in de mond maakt deze wijn een verpletterende indruk.Meer concentratie is bijna nietdenkbaar maar bij SQN is dat vrijwel altijd in een prachtige balans. Dik en supergeconcentreerd sap, met zachte zuren en boterzachte, droppige tannines. Algemeen / potentieel: Zoals Galloni beschrijft: "A big, bombastic wine, the 2004 Syrah Poker Face blasts across the palate with tons of pure density and pure volume". En beter is deze wijn niet te beschrijven. Extreem veel, in volledige harmonie. Punt! 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Smaak / Afdronk: 19 + Algemeen / potentieel: 10 = 98/100
Color: Deep and impenetrable dark red with a hint of purple Aroma / bouquet: Explosively dusty and seductive bouqet, characteristic of Sine Qua Non-Syrah. Dark fruit, Mon Cherie / cherry liqueur, menthol, bay leaf. Soft sweet liquorice and gingerbread, chocolate and mocha. Taste / Aftertaste: This wine also makes a stunning impression in the mouth. More concentration is almost unthinkable, but at SQN it is almost always in a beautiful balance. Thick and super concentrated juice, with soft acidity and buttery, droppy tannins. Overall / Potential: As Galloni describes: "A big, bombastic wine, the 2004 Syrah Poker Face blasts across the palate with tons of pure density and pure volume". And this wine cannot be described better. Extremely much, in complete harmony. Point! 50 + Color: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Taste / Finish: 19 + Overall / potential: 10 = 98/100 (2463 views) | | | Tasted by aquacongas on 3/10/2020 & rated 97 points: not blind
Still too Young but well drinkable in this stage. Powerful, balanced. A bit too high in alcohol. 97+ (3032 views) | | | Tasted by Zweder on 3/7/2020 & rated 96 points: Occasional dinner group: Great whites and Cult Napa (@ Merlet): So sorry, again not so many notes after a fantastic evening with great company and enormously beautiful wines. Just; complex, concentrated, beautiful sweetness and acidity. Soft tannin. A feast! (2824 views) | | | Tasted by peternelson on 1/31/2020 & rated 92 points: Dense black-purple; band aid note, cassis, blackberry, minty, eucalyptus, forest fruits, lots of oak spice; full bodied, ripe and sweet attack, hot on the palate, creamy texture. There was some cool meaty notes on this and lovely fruit which saved this for me. Guessed 2010 Saxum, Saxum vy GSM. Even if not my style, drinking very well for this old. Heritage Wine Blind Wine #8 at the Tasting Finals at Jean-George Las Vegas (2241 views) | | | Tasted by NoTrollingerPlease on 11/23/2019 & rated 93 points: Best bottle (@Private location): Glass: Josephinenhütte White/Universal
Popped and poured. Deep purple color. Clean, intense nose with Syrah on steroids! Spices, white pepper and Cassis. Monster, but not yet balanced.
How can I describe a wine that rare and expensive? I was not impressed or pleased. Can I write that? With over 100 CT notes averaging 96pts? But we had a great comparison this night with the 2003 La Turque. Wonderful acidity, very deep and dense, lots of red fruit, still very primary, mighty silky tannin, very spicy. But also a bit short on the finish.
Yes, this is a great wine with great potential and it might get 96+ pts in 20 years. But, at the moment it is rather chubby and compared to the other wines we had around 92-93+ (2701 views) | | | Tasted by Kevnzworld on 10/17/2019 & rated 93 points: 90 minute decant.
Decent fruit and nose. A little plum, current and eucalyptus but too tannic and hot.
Not concentrated enough to hold up while waiting the tannin to mellow
Time in the decanter didn’t improve it...maybe it’s a pnp at this point. (2049 views) | | | Tasted by MC2 Wines on 5/15/2019: Acker Auction - May 2019 (Zuma in NYC): I do like these with age and would even say this one is still pretty young. It's a bit more refined though than its peers. Lots of blackberry jam and chocolate and spice and maybe even a touch of fir or evergreen notes. It's tasty. If we had a bottle though I'd be waiting another 10+ years. (2339 views) | | | Tasted by mattiasjansson on 5/14/2019 & rated 97 points: Acker SQN Dinner (NoMad Rooftop): Surprisingly youthful for a 15-year old wine. Still massive. Tannins just starting to integrate. The fruit is just beautiful. (2077 views) | | | Tasted by KenK on 5/14/2019 & rated 94 points: Very good, yet next to 17th Nail and Not an Exit clearly shows some age and a touch faded. Acids now beginnig to peak through more than the fruit. Drink up, lovely stuff, but not what it once was. See long very slow decline from here. Remains a real treat. (1824 views) | | | Tasted by Buddy318 on 4/16/2019 & rated 95 points: It’s still all there. I would guess at least 5-6 years left. (1588 views) | | | Tasted by agbanker on 2/11/2019 & rated 98 points: Still strong fruit of blackberries, currants, and bing cherries. Very rich and concentrated with a great mouthfeel. A finish that lasts at least 1.5 minutes. Tasted after being decanted for 5 hours and again after 24 hours and the concentration was still there after being exposed for 24 hours. The acid was more noticeable after 24 hours which made it more well rounded. Served it with roasted short ribs that were almost like an osso buco and it was a great pairing. This is still evolving and has at least 10 years of life left. (1631 views) | | | Tasted by dbhatiamd on 11/20/2018 & rated 98 points: Fortunate to have this tonight. Opened one hour before tasting. Gigantic Syrah nose! The fruit is perfectly balanced with the acid and alcohol. The tannins have softened some and it was a joy to consume. Cassis, liqueur and berry (dark) were incredibly evident. The wine was chewy in a great way. (1515 views) | | | Tasted by dcwino on 5/30/2018 & rated 96 points: Jailbreak Brewery restaurant opening SQN wine dinner with Justin Bonner (Jailbreak Brewery, Laurel, MD): As always, unbelievably big and concentrated wine. Explosive nose displaying intense black fruit, crushed blackberry, crème de cassis, dry cranberry, fruitcake, ink, licorice, liquid smoke, incense, lavender, dark spices and earth. Incredible concentration, layers upon layers of intense sweet black fruit, unctuous and dense yet quite silky, bright acidity, strong mineral presence and unending finish. The scale is mindboggling. It remains very youthful and will drink well for a few more decades. Quintessential SQN. (3089 views) | | | Tasted by Ben Christiansen on 4/7/2018: I think that may be corked. (2431 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Santa Barbara: On the Road (Aug 2015) (8/1/2015)
(Sine Qua Non Syrah Poker Face Central Coast) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Santa Barbara: The Thrill of Discovery (Jul 2014)
(Sine Qua Non Syrah Poker Face California) Subscribe to see review text. | By Josh Raynolds
Vinous, November/December 2007, IWC Issue #135
(Sine Qua Non Syrah Poker Face California) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jeb Dunnuck
JebDunnuck.com, Bonus Reviews (9/21/2007)
(Sine Qua Non Syrah Poker Face) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (4/15/2008)
(Sine Qua Non Syrah Poker Face) Dark red violet color; big, smoky plum and black fruit nose; big, rich, soft plum, black fruit, pepper, intense Syrah; long finish 93+ pts. 93 points | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (7/19/2007)
(Sine Qua Non Syrah Poker Face) Deep black red color; Cote Rotie style nose with bacon and vanilla oak; concentrated, tight yet, black fruit and graphite; long finish 92 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous and JebDunnuck.com and RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Sine Qua Non Producer website
Ken Vastola's cool Sine Qua Non pages.
An Interview of Manfred Krankl - PodcastSyrah Varietal article (Wikipedia) | (Wines Northwest)
Note that some producers in the Northern Rhone distinguish between simply Syrah and "Serine", the latter described as ‘an ancient clone of Syrah, the berries of which are more oval-shaped and less deeply pigmented than Syrah’ by producer Tardieu-Laurent. USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Central Coasthttp://www.ccwinegrowers.org/links.html
http://www.discovercaliforniawines.com/regional-wine-organizations/
http://beveragetradenetwork.com/en/btn-academy/list-of-winegrowers-association-in-central-coast-california-274.htm
Central Coast AVA Wikipedia |
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