18 bottles of Sine Qua Non
Copenhagen, Denmark
Tasted November 20, 2010 by KristianT with 1,056 views
Introduction
Over the past years I and some friends have managed to collect a few different bottles of the much acclaimed wines from Sine Qua Non. Hence we decided to make a tasting to try these very interesting wines side by side. Some of the attendees we invited to the tasting also had some bottles of Sine Qua Non in their cellars, so we managed to collect an impressive line-up of 18 different bottles. We were only 8 tasters, so we all had a good chance to really taste the different wines.
My tasting notes are fairly brief and does not do these complex wines much justice, but the evening was not only about the wines, but also about the company, so I did not want to spend to much times writing notes as we went along.
Flight 1 - The Pinot Noirs (2 notes)
The two last vintages of SQN Pinot Noir from Oregon grapes. Both very good wines albeit quite different in style.
Red
2002 Sine Qua Non Pinot Noir Hollerin' M
USA, Oregon, Yamhill County
Surprisingly fresh - no signs of age at all, but not immature or closed. A little restrained initially, but after a few minutes in the glass it opened up very nicely and showed a classic elegant and refined style - more Oregon than Californian. Tasted alongside Omega 2003.
Red
2003 Sine Qua Non Pinot Noir Omega
USA, Oregon, Yamhill County
Next to the 2002 Hollerin' M - the Omega was much different. A little darker in colour and much more spicy. The spicy character was very interesting and very forthcoming as soon as it was poured into the glass. A very good Pinot. Unfortunately the very last of the SQN Pinots on Oregon grapes.
Flight 2 - The Whites (2 notes)
The two whites did no shine as brightly as the Whisperin' E we had some years back, but they still managed to impress.
White
2004 Sine Qua Non The Rejuvenators
USA, California
Golden colour and almost oily texture. My expectations were therefore for a much heavier wine than it turned out to be. It had a surprising freshness with notes of pineapple and grapefruit.
Completely dry and quite long. A very good and interesting wine.
White
2007 Sine Qua Non Body & Soul
USA, California
Tasted next to the 2004 Rejuvenators. The Body & Soul is not as forthcoming and elegant as the Rejuvenators, but is still a very good wine. It was lighter in the colour and with much more acidity. The exotic fruit notes and the acidity reminded me of some of the Scholium Project wines.
Flight 3 - Syrah and Grenache (9 notes)
These wines are the main driving force for SQNs claim to fame - and deservedly so. My favourite was Naked Truth with Atlantis Syrah as second. Papa and Midnight Oil both got extra points for their maturity now, but wines like Just For the Love of It will probably outshine them in the years to come.
Red
2001 Sine Qua Non Midnight Oil
USA, California, Central Coast
Impressive bottle (ridiculously heavy). Very dark colour, but ever so soft and elegant. Perfectly mature. The aftertaste just keeps on lingering - very persistent. A perfect example of why SQN is so popular: A great combination of intensity and balance. A truly great wine.
Red
2002 Sine Qua Non Syrah Just For the Love of It
USA, California, Central Coast
A 100 point wines is always met with very high expectations. Next to the 2001 Midnight Oil the JFTLOI appeared almost identical - nearly pitch black. The nose was truly wonderful and very complex (blackberries was one of the more dominant notes I found). This is a great wine, although on the day the Midnight Oil was better because it showed better maturity. I have no doubt though that the JFTLOI will be an even better wine in the future.
Red
2003 Sine Qua Non Syrah Papa
USA, California, Central Coast
Fabulous wine! Very dense and spicy. Nicely mature with an ever so long aftertaste. Syrah at its best. Very nice wine.
Red
2004 Sine Qua Non Grenache Ode to E
USA, California, Central Coast
After tasting 3 SQN Syrahs - we had a this magnificent Grenache. Almost as dark as the Syrahs, but a bit softer and more chewy - almost fat. It did have a nice cherry-like note that brought balance to the equation and made this into a truly great wine.
Red
2007 Sine Qua Non Syrah Labels
USA, California, Central Coast
The 2007 Syrah from SQN had a bit of a hard time after 05, 03, 02, and 01. This is a very good wine, but far from mature. Shows a lot of promise, but after tasting the more mature offerings, this seemed a little muted.
Red
2005 Sine Qua Non Grenache Atlantis Fe2O3~2a, b & c
USA, California
After tasting a line up of SQN Syrahs, getting (back) to Grenache was a nice change. In this setting the Atlantis Grenache appeared very soft and smooth with a very long aftertaste. Surprisingly elegant also - not the typical more rustic style (which I also happens to like a lot). Great wine
Red
2007 Sine Qua Non Grenache Pictures
USA, California
A young wine with a lot of potential - but for now (and especially compared with some of the more mature wines from SQN) this was a quite restrained in its offerings. Had some of the nice elegance of the Atlantis Grenache (2005), and will probably get there with time.
Red
2005 Sine Qua Non Grenache The Naked Truth
USA, California
As the 13th wine (and last red) of our 18 bottle SQN line up, I had feared that I my tasting capabilities had started to decline, but this bottle really managed to capture my attention. This rare bottle of the long term aged SQNs was incredibly soft and showed very nice maturity, but also still great potential. A truly great wine - very close to perfection. This was the wine of the night in my opinion.
Flight 4 - The sweet ones (5 notes)
Admittedly - we were getting a little tired, and having a whole flight of these incredibly concentrated wines were maybe a bit much - nevertheless an amazing opportunity to try the up against each-other. My favourite on the night was the Gewürztraminer "Ice Man", which provided a much need touch of freshness at the right time. On other nights some of the others might very well have stolen the show.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2005 Sine Qua Non Marsanne Mr. K The Straw Man
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
Tasted next to the Straw Man 2004 (Semillion) - almost identical dark amber colour and with the same incredible density. The very high sugar levels numbs out the acidity a little to much - probably this wine will benefit from further ageing. Very interesting and very good, but a 100 points... hmm not in my book.
Closing
An impressive range of wines and overall an incredible tasting. Luckily no bottles were corked or flawed in any way. The tasting verified the acclaim of Sine Qua Non ranking amongst the very best wines in the world. Not only do they have the wow-factor, but they also show balance, refinement and elegance. Finally - it was good to see that that the older bottles showed nice maturation (but still all with further potential).
All in all a fantastic evening
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