External search
Google (images)
Wine Advocate
Wine Spectator
Burghound
Wine-Searcher
Vintages
2011
From this producer
Show all wines
All tasting notes
|
| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 95 pts. and median of 95 pts. in 183 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Ex-Ray on 3/8/2024 & rated 94 points: Previously tasted in 2015 and 2021. Tasted over two nights. Still dark garnet and totally opaque. Very viscous. Moderately pronounced aromas of dark cherries, plums and blackberries. Very concentrated dark fruit flavors, powerful but one-dimensional, without elegance or complexity. Tannin has softened since the prior bottles but it remains hot on the late palate and very long aftertaste. Went well with full-flavored grilled steaks. I don't think it will improve, so time to drink my remaining bottle.
Ric (614 views) | | | Tasted by Goodwine4ever on 3/4/2024 & rated 93 points: Tellement massif et tellement jeune, ce vin sera éternel mais pour moi c'est beaucoup trop intense, tannique et riche. Je comprend l'enthousiame envers SQN mais ce n'est pas mon style. (657 views) | | | Tasted by culater on 2/10/2024 & rated 95 points: Decant needed, 17C. Mufflon potatoes and sardell.
Big on fruit, acidity and balanced tannins.
Great match with brie and thyme flawors Lemon and Dijon mustard match excellent.
https://www.jaktojagare.se/mat/stekt-mufflonfar-med-kramig-potatisbakelse/ (700 views) | | | Tasted by Quiet Lion on 1/31/2024 & rated 98 points: Decanted briefly. Spectacular showing for my last bottle of this. Deep and balanced with thick furry tannins and savory black fruit with some tertiary notes of sous bois and herbs. Wonderful, probably at peak. (907 views) | | | Tasted by VinoGeeko on 12/31/2023 & rated 93 points: dark blossom, drank with some home made Cheese burgers
Pop n pour, Hated myself for it, but I told people it would “blossom” with some air, sure enough, it did.
Inky in color, plush modern
Med aromatic intensity - ripe black plum, smoke, plush boysenberry, blackberry, topsoil, black olive, licorice,
black , bay leaves, peppercorn, med+/high tannin, med+ acidity , alcohol 15.5% - legs visible, but hides the alcohol incredibly well. Well balanced (somehow!!)
93-94pts (752 views) | | | Tasted by JonnyG on 10/10/2023 & rated 94 points: To set the stage, first see my TN from almost five years ago: “A hard wine to get excited about, frankly. Tannic and backward, with little typicity. Some savory dark fruit notes, pepper and oak. Maybe the vintage is showing itself, or perhaps time will reveal something more interesting.” Fast forward to 2023, and it’s an entirely different story. Popped and poured, at cellar temp (and I think it showed its best while relatively cool). The wine is just singing. Clean, savory and suave, brimming with energy. Dark fruit, pepper, sweet oak and a glycerined texture, but no evident heat. Patience rewarded. Well done. (1299 views) | | | Tasted by Geoff on 9/21/2023 & rated 95 points: Beautiful dark fruit, floral notes with sweet tannins, full bodied and inviting. Hides the 15.5% alcohol well, long long finish. Very enjoyable. (1129 views) | | | Tasted by D'Yquembe Mutumbo on 8/29/2023 & rated 94 points: Another lovely, rich, expressive black pepper and smoked meat laden Syrah from SQN, Dark Blossom is not as showing or concentrated as some of the other offerings over the years, but that takes nothing away from this outstanding wine that is in a perfectiy mature spot right now and is a good deal if you can find it for <$300 in this inflated market. (1256 views) | | | Tasted by andrewdodd86 on 7/8/2023 & rated 98 points: Seabrook Beach Trip 2023; 7/8/2023-7/15/2023 (Seabrook Island, SC): Darker fruit than the B20. Blackberries, açaí, blueberry. Some earth and tobacco. Leather. But it’s not funky. Fresh and modern. Cooler vintage. Chocolate and black pepper. (1446 views) | | | Tasted by rustyRudy on 7/8/2023 & rated 97 points: Dark purple, spicy nose, cranberry and vanilla also on the nose, well balanced, moderately intense, dark fruits (1220 views) | | | Tasted by Geoff on 5/26/2023 & rated 97 points: In rereading my previous note from several years ago, all comments still apply in spades with the addition of this: this is a focused, pure and profound wine with a long life still ahead. (1103 views) | | | Tasted by culater on 5/13/2023: Deacant needed, 3h aeration. with grilled steak. 16-17C.
Dark and blue berries, herbs, newly cut green grass, white pepper.
Did not really sing tonight. Bad match, still a good wine. Next time…
Better at 18C, eat with garlic plum lamb. 1-2h decant is good. (1069 views) | | | Tasted by Decanting Queen on 5/5/2023 & rated 95 points: Five hour decant but you could drink this pnp, I just like the way it evolves and probably would prefer day 2. But this wine is in its sweet spot of perfection right now, I liked it 3 years ago but even better now and no reason to hold. Dark rich fruit, big and intense yet stays balanced. So smooth. Long finish. (1899 views) | | | Tasted by hoservin on 3/18/2023 & rated 95 points: Decanted for one hour. Aromas of blackberry, blueberry, gamey meat, bramble and spice. Ripe blackberry, black plum, blueberry, gamey meat, spice and fine tannins on the palate. Very long finish with waves of flavor. Full bodied. Gorgeous wine that is drinking beautifully. Served with corned beef, cabbage, carrots, potatoes and horseradish cream sauce. (1000 views) | | | Tasted by Mario17 on 1/3/2023 & rated 95 points: Un nez de Syrah intense, aromatique et très beau. Bouche riche, puissante, fruitée à souhait, c’est dense mais frais et tellememt facile à boire, intense et avec beaucoup de classe, tellement long. Superbe. 95-96
Gorgeous Syrah nose, great fruit, violets, rich,dense,powerful, classy, fresh, intense, nicely textured, very long. (1861 views) | | | Tasted by Pearboy on 12/26/2022: Solid, wish I had decanted it, was very muddy and could have used more time to open up. But I was thirsty and that’s what ultimately matters. (1269 views) | | | Tasted by Papies on 12/1/2022 & rated 95 points: Second time we are lucky enough to cross path with this wine in 3 months and consistent once again. This time round from the cellar of The Ledbury in London. One of the of the treasurers in their list.
Impressive and special as always and we feel this is now drinking at its first peak, the fruit peak in a way ( frankly we have very little exposure to 20yr+ SQNs so not sure if their is a second secondary and smoky peak much like their cousins from France) , impressively energetic and albeit a big wine has that elevated harmony that only the Krankls can deliver. Even better was served to people not familiar with SQNs and it was to them as impressive as it is to us. This is a relatively early blooming SQN and a joy once again. 95 (1691 views) | | | Tasted by 2loyal on 10/17/2022 & rated 93 points: Wonderful varietal flavors, deep color, perfect weight and nice finish, but I was expecting more arromatically (and a longer finish or something else exceptional) given the price point, scarcity and required cellaring. Very enjoyable to be sure, with enough tannins and acidity to last several more years, but this one is for the price-insensitive only. (1810 views) | | | Tasted by tcarter on 10/15/2022 & rated 96 points: Wow! This is in a surprisingly great sweet spot! Drank next to the 2011 SQN EBA “Patine” and the Dark Blossom was actually far more approachable. If you have the privilege of choosing which to open, I’d pop the Dark Blossom and sit on the Patine for a few more years. (1548 views) | | | Tasted by Mtnmd1 on 9/19/2022 & rated 96 points: Sleek balanced Syrah with good acidity and primary fruit on presentation. Savory tilting in style. Tannins present but tame. Alcohol well hidden in the mix. Decanted and shared over 2 hours. Still young. Exceptional! (1507 views) | | | Tasted by Papies on 9/4/2022 & rated 95 points: Tasted blind. Funnily enough when we tried blinded Alban Seymour 2014 ( Papies 94) the night before we commented that the main diff we find between the two ( Alban and SQN) is that for SQN the alcohol is never pronounced in the wine ( albeit all have big Alc ).enter this beauty and the style was textbook and with the alcohol feel a lot more refine went straight to SQN.
Big wine in a way that SQN makes big but harmonious wines, amplified bit every level of it is amplified so the wine almost sits in a higher octave but still all is there. Impressive as always and this been our second time we cross paths with it ( first time in 2015 , Papies. 95) we felt the wine has a few decades ahead of it. 95 once again (1559 views) | | | Tasted by Topper on 7/13/2022 & rated 94 points: Excellent wine that will only improve with time. Still big and brawny but quite delicious. Not sure that I would have pegged this as the syrah if tasted blind. (1666 views) | | | Tasted by wineismylife on 6/13/2022 & rated 95 points: WIML95
Tasted non blind. Followed over about 3 hours.
Purple color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of lavender, leather, currants, black pepper and black cherries. Flavors of black raspberries, cherries and plums. Bright to tangy acidity, medium to firm tannin, full bodied. Drink with air or hold. (1460 views) | | | Tasted by 100PercentArabica on 5/9/2022 & rated 96 points: A remarkable wine from a difficult vintage. Shows no sign of age. Highly recommend. (1528 views) | | | Tasted by Backdoctor on 3/27/2022 & rated 95 points: decanted three hours. Full bodied, balanced with long finish (1611 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Santa Barbara: The Thrill of Discovery (Jul 2014)
(Sine Qua Non Syrah Dark Blossom California) Subscribe to see review text. | By Josh Raynolds
Vinous, November/December 2013, IWC Issue #171
(Sine Qua Non Syrah Dark Blossom) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Santa Barbara's Stunning 2011s (Jul 2013)
(Sine Qua Non Syrah Dark Blossom California) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (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 |
|
