Uncorked DK Sine Qua Non Event (and some pretty interesting jokers...)

Restaurant Premisse, Copenhagen
Tasted Friday, February 20, 2009 by gorm with 1,134 views

Introduction

Friday, February 20th, 2009 the members of Uncorked was again gathered at Restaurant Premisse in Copenhagen. This time for a much anticipated event: a Sine Qua Non tasting generously donated and put together by group member Michael Christensen.

As always the mood was high and the setting at Premisse very good. This night however I sensed a higher than usual degree of anxiety and seriousness about the wines. Clearly everybody was really keen on getting a good perspective of the SQN portfolio. Personally I had really been looking forward to this.

All wines were served 100% blind. For each wine I have listed my own points as well as the Uncorked DK group average and lowest as well as highest ranking given.

Flight 1 - Heat 1: Austrian Riesling (1 Note)

  • 2006 Franz Hirtzberger Riesling Smaragd Singerriedel 94 Points

    Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

    Slightly golden yellow. Lightly sweet very mineralistic almost vulcanic nose with smoked exotic fruits. Full-bodied and fat, yet with good acid. Dominated by exotic fruits. Nice aftertaste with some cinnamon like spicyness and a bit of alcoholic warmth. The nose reminded me of a Heymann-Löwenstein, but the wine pretty much fooled us into thinking of a white rhône blend.
    (Uncorked DK average: 93,5 - lowest: 93 - highest: 94)

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Flight 2 - Heat 2: Older SQN Syrahs (2 Notes)

  • 1997 Sine Qua Non Impostor McCoy 97 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast

    Dark red core with a slightly lighter rim. Very sweet and deep nose with dark berries, herbal notes, cinnamon, earth and dried grass. In the mouth this is very intense, big and broad, yet light and elegant. Has some alcoholic warmth in the aftertaste together with licorice and more complex herbal notes. Like a Burgundy Grand Cru on steroids. My first sip of a SQN and I am hooked! This was the most mature of the wines this night and for me it established a reference for hedonistic pleasure, balance and complexity. It was difficult to rate as it was the first wine tasted and I hesitantly gave it 96 points. I later went back and raised to 97. Also the label on this one is very stylish.
    (Uncorked DK average: 95,9 - lowest: 95 - highest: 97)

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  • 1998 Sine Qua Non E-Raised 95 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast

    Very dark red. Very intense nose with some acidity peeking through. Pitch black berries, cinnamon and loads of licorice. Very dense and intense and seems just a bit closed showing its tannic claws. Extremely long aftertaste with mint and licorice. Still has many years of development ahead of it. One of my favorite labels of the night (Manfred has "e-raised" the label to satisfy all the "nay sayers" who tell him to focus on the wine and forget the labes).
    (Uncorked DK average: 95,4 - lowest: 94 - highest: 96)

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Flight 3 - Heat 3: SQN Grenache blends (2 Notes)

  • 2000 Sine Qua Non Incognito 96 Points

    USA, California

    Dark red with slightly light rim. Sweet and earthy nose with licorice, dried herbs, strawberries, caramel and coffee licquer. Big and velvety mouthfeel with lots of sexy fruits and a long licorice dominated aftertaste which after a little bit of air time also shows complex notes of dried exclusive tobacco. Good acid which adds balance and lightness. Another SQN which really hits the mark with me and one of the groups favorites.
    (Uncorked DK average: 96,4 - lowest: 96 - highest: 97)

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  • 2004 Sine Qua Non Into the Dark 94 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast

    Dark red core. Intense and deep nose with waxed mahogany, salty licorice, blackberries. Huge mouthfeel, very powerful and strong wine with some alcohol showing. This is clearly too young and will probably express itself much better in 4-5 years time.
    (Uncorked DK average: 94,1 - lowest: 94 - highest: 95)

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Flight 4 - Heat 4: SQN Syrahs (2 Notes)

  • 2000 Sine Qua Non Syrah In Flagrante 94 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast

    Dark red. Sweet nose with deep and dark forrest fruit, smoke, herbs and meat. Very airy and sexy wine with tremendously intense taste of blackberries, licorice, herbs and smoke. Nice balancing acid and good aftertaste.
    (Uncorked DK average: 94 - lowest: 93 - highest: 95)

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  • 2002 Sine Qua Non Syrah Just For the Love of It 95 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast

    Very dark red. A bit more shy nose of cool dark berries and herbs. In the mouth this is very strong and extremely intense with a tight structure. First impressions is of licorice and slate rock. To me it was unapproachable and monolithic - an iron fist in an iron glove! Clearly a very serious wine with a huge potential, but not easy to enjoy in the present state. I did however enjoy the coolness of the fruit and depth of the minerality. As can be seen from the averages the group disagreed with me and really took a liking to this monster wine.
    (Uncorked DK average: 96,7 - lowest: 95 - highest: 98)

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Flight 5 - Heat 5: Champagne Intermezzo (1 Note)

  • 2002 Diebolt-Vallois Champagne Fleur de Passion Brut 95 Points

    France, Champagne

    Light yellow. Fine mousse. Deep nose with soap, flowers, lemon, green apples and ginger. Very slim and perfumed. A very stylish, pure and just delicious champagne which reminded me of Taitttingers Comtes de Champagne and even a bit of Krugs Mesnil. Bravo!
    (Uncorked DK average: 94,7 - lowest: 94 - highest: 95)

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Flight 6 - Heat 6: Newer SQN Syrahs and a joker (3 Notes)

  • 2005 Sine Qua Non Syrah Atlantis Fe2O3~1a, b & c 96 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast

    Very dark red. Very intense nose dominated by mint, intense herbal notes, loads of roasted coffee, juniper and pepper! Intense with a great presence in mouth. At present it doesn't really unfold over the mid palate, but still impresses with a seriously long aftertaste of liquid pepper. To me it seemed like a next of kin to Imposter McCoy and Incognito and even if it will never be 100 points it is still a classic in the making.
    (Uncorked DK average: 95,7 - lowest: 95 - highest: 96)

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  • 2001 Greenock Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Roennfeldt Road 94 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    Very dark red. A truly one of a kind nose of shoe polish, mint, sage and prosciutto di parma... Dominated by mint and sage in the mouth as well. Appears very mature and complex, but lacks fruit or something else to buffer the more odd flavors. Aftertaste is dominated by some cheese like elements. This is clearly terroir as a concept taken to the max. Overstated terroir in a slightly artificial way. A very UNIQUE wine, but as you can see the group was not overly impressed. I was very happy to try it even if it was more puzzling than pleasing.
    Thank you to Peter Solberg who brought this rarity as a joker to the tasting.
    (Uncorked DK average: 93,3 - lowest: 92 - highest: 94)

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  • 2003 Sine Qua Non Syrah Papa 95 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast

    Very dark, almost inky black. Very sweet and dense nose with some light herbal impressions, licorice, coffee, meat and bacon. Seems very delicious, deep and with great balance. Almost seamless and easy to enjoy. In many ways one of the most generous wines of the night. Only drawback is a slight burn in the aftertaste.
    (Uncorked DK average: 95,6 - lowest: 95 - highest: 97)

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Flight 7 - Heat 7: SQN Grenache blend and a rare Chateauneuf-du-Pape (2 Notes)

  • 2003 Sine Qua Non Li'l E 94 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast

    Dark red. Intense and deep nose with an undercurrent of licorice root. Nice structure and concentration with very dense fruit, herbs and a nice bite. Probably didn't get enough attention as the second wine stole the spotlight.
    (Uncorked DK average: 94,6 - lowest: 94 - highest: 96)

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  • 2003 Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Plume du Peintre 96 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Extremely dark wine with a very sweet and intense nose of earth, iodine, sweet berries, marzipane, glue, horse stables, bacon and meat. Clearly the nose is intriguing - what is going on?! When it enters the mouth it has some of the most massive tannins I have ever encountered. I literally had to peel my lips from my teeth and almost had to pick my tongue out of the spit bucket... Tastewise there is licorice essence and loads of pepper. The Mourvedre fireworks on the nose is very impressive, but the structure prevented me from any enjoyment from drinking the wine. Once again other group members were more enthusiastic and found it to be a profound example of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. I would like to try it again in 20 years time... (Parker says that this wine is off the charts in terms of dry extract and polyphenol levels and calls it strikingly backward)
    Another extremely rare wine - only 1500 bottles produced.
    (Uncorked DK average: 97 - lowest: 96 - highest: 98)

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Flight 8 - Heat 8: SQN Syrah and a Hermitage (2 Notes)

  • 2003 Domaine des Rémizières Hermitage l'Essential 96 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Dark red. Intense and very herbal nose. Licorice, coffee, some caramel and juniper. Very concentrated and intense, yet light. Seems a bit backward, but not entirely unapproachable. Long aftertaste. Once again the second wine quickly commanded all available attention from the group.
    (Uncorked DK average: 95,7 - lowest: 95 - highest: 96)

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  • 2003 Sine Qua Non Syrah The Inaugural Eleven Confessions Vineyard 97 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast

    Very dark red. Extremely intense and strong nose of licorice - almost salmiak like. Enormously concentrated, yet much more approachable than the Mordoree Plûme de Peintre. With time in the glass the gradually opens up and gains an almost seamless quality as well as the longest aftertaste of the night. As the last Sine Qua Non served the wine itself seemed to summarize some of the key characteristics of the SQN portfolio: intense aromatics, concentration and intensity married to elegance as well as dark fruit, licorice and herbs. Amazingly the wines never seem to get flabby or show too much alcohol. The groups as well as mine WOTN (at least we didn't disagree on this). Also this wine sported the most bizarre bottle design with an almost pornographic bottleneck and American stars around the shoulders.
    (Uncorked DK average: 97,4 - lowest: 97 - highest: 98)

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Flight 9 - Heat 9: Amarone joker (1 Note)

  • 2003 I Campi Amarone della Valpolicella Campo Marna Cinquecento 95 Points

    Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella

    Dark red. A very intense nose with warm raisins, herbs and nuts. In the mouth there is loads of dark sweet dried fruit, Amarena cherries, yet also a fresh acidity which ensures that the wine maintains its balance in spite of the many warm notes. A very complex and interesting Amarone.
    This was yet another rarity as there is produced no more than 700 bottles. It was generously brought by Peter Gade as a joker.
    (Uncorked DK average: 94,3 - lowest: 93 - highest: 96)

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Flight 10 - Heat 10: Sweets for the sweet (3 Notes)

  • 2001 Château Suduiraut Castelnau de Suduiraut 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Golden yellow. Delicious nose of exotic fruit, glue, marzipane. In the mouth it is sweet, intense and very fat, yet balanced due to sound acidity. Clearly this second wine makes a clear statement of the quality of the 2001 vintage in Sauternes.
    Donated by Restaurant Premisse.
    (Uncorked DK average: 93,4 - lowest: 92 - highest: 94)

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  • 2005 Schloss Schönborn Hattenheimer Pfaffenberg Riesling Auslese *** 92 Points

    Germany, Rheingau

    Light yellow. Dense and intense nose with baked apples, lemon and sweet grapefruit. Nice depth in mouth with some caramel in a good aftertaste, yet it appears a bit shy or closed. All in all sweet and charming with no special points of interest.
    (Uncorked DK average: 92 - lowest: 91 - highest: 93)

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  • 2005 Schäfer-Fröhlich Schloßböckelheimer Kupfergrube Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 93 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    Light yellow. Intense and very floral nose with sour yellow fruit and sweetness. Nice body dominated by fresh fruit and a long aftertaste.
    This was an auction wine (versteigerung).
    (Uncorked DK average: 93 - lowest: 92 - highest: 94)

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Closing

In conclusion there really is no need to say much. They didn't disappoint. They didn't make us question the reason for their fame. On the contrary. This has got to be one of the most consistently high quality, personal and quite simple hedonistic portfolio of wines around. I did find some of the wines to be closed or difficult to drink at the moment, but there is no questioning of their quality. In a word: WOW!

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