Ripe stone fruit aromas with some toasted nut background notes. Sweet, ripe peach and apricot flavors with some baking spice hints. Good balance for its alcohol level. I've often found my favorite SQN whites to be those based on Rhone varietals with a good dollop of Chardonnay added, like The Petition.
Ripe fruit aromas, slightly tropical with vanilla and licorice background hints. Similar fruit on palate, very lush and robust with good spice, good energy. New oak can use another year to integrate better.
Similar to a couple of bottles I opened this spring, this showed lots of ripe fruit aromas and flavors with good supporting spice, great density and concentration, then lots of minerality and acidity coming through nicely from middle to finish. This wine should continue to improve for a few more years, then drink well to perhaps 2025.
Black fruit and subtle spice aromas, then completely identical on palate. Very good balance. Perhaps a little less interesting overall vs. another bottle from earlier this year with showed a little more cigarbox aromas and acidic edge.
Not a personal favorite tonight. Very fat, ripe fruit with good spice. Palate comes across as almost jammy with a fair amount of acid but modest tannins, giving an overall odd textural sense.
Black fruit with great floral elements to start and some intense five spice in background. Mostly black fruit on palate with some red cherry hints. Same huge spicebox flavors come through particularly on long, precise finish. Really impressive.
Ultra ripe black fruit aromas and flavors, lots of new oak spice. Fat and seemingly light on acidity and energy. I can appreciate the wine's quality but it is not my preferred style.
Blackberry and black cherry aromas with great spice aromas supported by charming floral notes in the background. Very similar fruit profile on the palate with black pepper, anise and dried thyme. One thing I find particularly remarkable for SQN Syrah and Grenache is they they retain incredible balance and finesse despite the fairly robust alcohol levels, which almost never protrude.
Very impressive. Still incredibly fresh black fruit with (at various points) hints of green pepper, dill, mint and black pepper. Reasonably long, incredibly well balanced.
Golden color. Sweet and spicy aromas to start with very ripe stone fruit character, hints of roasted nuts in background. Similar flavor profile on palate with good length and structure.
1979 Stony Hill Chardonnay
USA, California, Napa Valley
Well past its peak.
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2005 Sine Qua Non The Petition 91 Points
USA, California
Ripe stone fruit aromas with some toasted nut background notes. Sweet, ripe peach and apricot flavors with some baking spice hints. Good balance for its alcohol level. I've often found my favorite SQN whites to be those based on Rhone varietals with a good dollop of Chardonnay added, like The Petition.
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2007 Ridge Chardonnay Monte Bello 91 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Ripe fruit aromas, slightly tropical with vanilla and licorice background hints. Similar fruit on palate, very lush and robust with good spice, good energy. New oak can use another year to integrate better.
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2004 Arnaud Ente Meursault La Seve du Clos Plus Vieilles Vignes 94 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault
Similar to a couple of bottles I opened this spring, this showed lots of ripe fruit aromas and flavors with good supporting spice, great density and concentration, then lots of minerality and acidity coming through nicely from middle to finish. This wine should continue to improve for a few more years, then drink well to perhaps 2025.
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1991 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 92 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
Black fruit and subtle spice aromas, then completely identical on palate. Very good balance. Perhaps a little less interesting overall vs. another bottle from earlier this year with showed a little more cigarbox aromas and acidic edge.
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2003 Ridge Monte Bello
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Not a personal favorite tonight. Very fat, ripe fruit with good spice. Palate comes across as almost jammy with a fair amount of acid but modest tannins, giving an overall odd textural sense.
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2005 Clos Erasmus Priorat 96 Points
Spain, Catalunya, Priorat
Black fruit with great floral elements to start and some intense five spice in background. Mostly black fruit on palate with some red cherry hints. Same huge spicebox flavors come through particularly on long, precise finish. Really impressive.
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2004 Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
USA, California, Napa Valley
Ultra ripe black fruit aromas and flavors, lots of new oak spice. Fat and seemingly light on acidity and energy. I can appreciate the wine's quality but it is not my preferred style.
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2005 Sine Qua Non Syrah Atlantis Fe2O3~1a, b & c 96 Points
USA, California, Central Coast
Blackberry and black cherry aromas with great spice aromas supported by charming floral notes in the background. Very similar fruit profile on the palate with black pepper, anise and dried thyme. One thing I find particularly remarkable for SQN Syrah and Grenache is they they retain incredible balance and finesse despite the fairly robust alcohol levels, which almost never protrude.
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1985 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Bonny's 93 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Very impressive. Still incredibly fresh black fruit with (at various points) hints of green pepper, dill, mint and black pepper. Reasonably long, incredibly well balanced.
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1998 Weingut Knoll Grüner Veltliner Beerenauslese Loibenberg
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Golden color. Sweet and spicy aromas to start with very ripe stone fruit character, hints of roasted nuts in background. Similar flavor profile on palate with good length and structure.
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