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Sine Qua Non vertical
Carlton Restaurant, Zurich
Tasted June 8, 2012 by G_H with 1,086 views
Introduction
While the Syrahs performed beautifully as expected, I really also liked the Grenache based wines nearly as much. The sweet wines unfortunately fell short of the expectations.
Flight 1 - The whites (including the legendary first Krankl white wine) (2 notes)
White
1995 Sine Qua Non The Bride
84 points
Sweet corn, a little honey, just slowly in decline, but still good. Less Rhone-style than younger vintages of SQN whites
White
2003 Sine Qua Non Sublime Isolation
92 points
Classic Rhone notes, minerals, Hermitage style, citrus flavors, good
Flight 2 - Krankl's Grenache through time (4 notes)
Red
1998 Sine Qua Non The Antagonists
92 points
Leather, mocha, classic CdP like, very warm wine, very elegant with a long finish.
Red
2000 Sine Qua Non Incognito
95 points
Popcorn, leather, super intensive nose, butter, yellow flowers with a long long long finish, great stuff
Red
2008 Sine Qua Non Grenache THE Line
94 points
Cassis, packed nose, black berries. Less elegant than the incognito but with the same endless finish.
Red
2009 Sine Qua Non Grenache Upside Down
92 points
Sweet, nearly artificial sweetness, like a bubble gum, clearly note as special as the incognito or THE line, but also long, a bit one dimensional though
Flight 3 - The early Syrahs - The rise to fame (4 notes)
Red
1995 Sine Qua Non Red Handed
90 points
Some heat on the nose, a tad of sweet corn, which usually puts me off, but was OK here. Very floral rather light and a tad medicinal, not bad though but with the competition it was though.
this was clearly a different animal as a GSM blend but I like the majority Grenache and majority Syrah offerings better
this was clearly a different animal as a GSM blend but I like the majority Grenache and majority Syrah offerings better
Red
1995 Sine Qua Non The Other Hand
92 points
A bit stinky in the beginning but opened up later. Leather, Rumtopf, some honey, nice length
Red
1996 Sine Qua Non Against the Wall
94 points
Caramel, nice sweetness, really tons of the sticky caramel toffee that I used to eat at fairs... This fell apart after 20 minutes in the glass though, what a pity, but when it was at it's best clearly a 94 points wine
Red
1997 Sine Qua Non Impostor McCoy
96 points
What a beauty, dense, licorice (the raw material) and licorice (the end product), apple pie, layers of layers of fruit-licorice-fruit. Really nmice
Flight 4 - The Syrahs 1998-2001 - Becoming legandary (4 notes)
Red
1998 Sine Qua Non E-Raised
96 points
At the beginning a bit holding back in the nose, but what a palate!! This is so powerful yet velvety soft. Really good stuff!!
Red
1999 Sine Qua Non Syrah The Marauder
84 points
This under-performed significantly, but it was no clear bottle flaw. Some fish/seafood notes, a bit of curry and mixed herbs, rather light some green bell peppers and seemed over the hill, pity!
Red
2000 Sine Qua Non Syrah In Flagrante
90 points
Fresh in the nose, some cherry yogurt, mixed herbs, curry, good but nothing special
Red
2001 Sine Qua Non Midnight Oil
97 points
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G...
Really, awesome, black berry, concentrated creme de cassis, fat, classic SQN note of curry and mixed herbs. clear winner and WOTN for me
Really, awesome, black berry, concentrated creme de cassis, fat, classic SQN note of curry and mixed herbs. clear winner and WOTN for me
Flight 5 - The Syrahs 2002-2005 - Becoming legendary-er (4 notes)
Red
2002 Sine Qua Non Syrah Just For the Love of It
96 points
Incredibly dense, black berries with some licorice, way too young!!
Red
2003 Sine Qua Non Syrah Papa
93 points
Curry, mixed herbs all the classic SQN ingredients but it just lagged behind in depth with the other SQN's just next to it
Red
2004 Sine Qua Non Syrah Poker Face
95 points
Initially holding back a little, quite different from other SQN syrahs as it has strong notes of vanilla and vanilla bean, incredible wine and very elegant, as it balances the herbs/curry notes with elegantly integrated sweetness.
Red
2005 Sine Qua Non Syrah Atlantis Fe2O3~1a, b & c
96 points
You drink this wine and you instantly know this is a heavyweight, a bit alcoholic, in fact one of the few where alcohol still is a bit dominant, but very very good nevertheless, sweet with an entire oriental spice market hidden in that bottle. What a wine!!
Flight 6 - The Syrahs 2006-2009 - Moving to estate grown fruit (4 notes)
Red
2006 Sine Qua Non Syrah Raven Series
94 points
Curry leaves, nice fruit, well integrated alcohol with nice length and good power. This has a nice life ahead of it!
Red
2007 Sine Qua Non Syrah Labels
92 points
While it had all the nice SQN ingredients, Curry leaves, nice fruit, well integrated alcohol with nice length and good power I do think this was too young, good fun to drink now though...
Red
2008 Sine Qua Non Syrah B 20
93 points
Same here as the wine before and the wine thereafter, while it had all the nice SQN ingredients, Curry leaves, nice fruit, well integrated alcohol with nice length and good power I do think this was too young. It had a nice balance and some notes of black tea that set it a bit apart of the labels but other than that it was very similar
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Red
2009 Sine Qua Non Syrah The Thrill of...
93 points
Very funny that this is so much more similar to the 'Upside down' than to the other young Syrahs that we had. Sweet, nearly artificial, bubblegum and strawberries.
Give it some time and it will be exotic and fantastic
Give it some time and it will be exotic and fantastic
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Flight 7 - The sweet wines (3 notes)
White - Sweet/Dessert
2006 Sine Qua Non Chardonnay Mr. K The Noble Man
90 points
While the reds outperformed, the sweet wines were not that spectacular, this had sweet corn, though less than the straw man, but it was truly nothing exciting for me
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White - Sweet/Dessert
2006 Sine Qua Non Marsanne Mr. K The Straw Man
79 points
Tons and tons of sweet corn, which put me off completely, not harmonious, tons of botrytis but I didn't like it...
White - Sweet/Dessert
1999 Sine Qua Non Sémillon Mr. K Vin De Paille
91 points
Austrian type of botryits (this acetate glue type of smell), moroccan mint, some rubber, balanced, tons of honey and very very sweet. This is good stuff...