Community Tasting Notes 10

• sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: 97 points

  June 24, 2023 - Late night taste with CT friend A_M at friend Brian’s restaurant. On the nose and palate, candied citrus, sweet apricots, prunes, raisins, maple syrup, marshmallows, honey, jasmine and molasses. Orange gold like one those briefly trendy Georgian wines (no, DQ, the other Georgia), full bodied, thick legs. Intense sweetness with a note of booziness. VG+ complexity, crazy persistence and intensity. It’s all about the expectations. I’ve been critical of some SQNs for unmediated fruit, sweetness and booziness, but surprise, loved this, arguably the most like that of any of the SQNs, because of its spec as a dessert wine, and calling to mind the wonderful Oscar Wilde quote that nothing succeeds like excess. Not unlike the Albala of a couple of years ago, in ways mostly good from my perspective, this wine overwhelms, kinda steamrolling everything in its path, so that it’s not so much a dessert accompaniment as dessert itself, as dishes you might serve with other sweet wines, like a fruit tart or even foie gras, would just be laid waste to in its wake. I could never drink another dessert wine and my life wouldn’t be that much the poorer, and God knows, I can’t imagine craving anything more than a small quantity of this occasionally, but it sure was pleasurable last night. Maybe that’s what my bete noirs Mike Smith and Kirk Venge need to do to curry my favor: give up any pretense of making dry wines and go all in on dessert! I don’t know how long this will last, but smart money isn’t betting that it won’t be going strong after I’m not. 96-97+

  Comment

• slywka7 Likes this wine: 95 points

  August 29, 2021 - Hard to believe this is a red wine. Aromas of raisin, prune, black cherry and black currant bud. Flavors of honey, shortbread, Christmas cookie and tough of candied apple. Ends with a 30-35 second finish with his notes. Certainly an interesting wine. Surprised it so dark.

  Comment

• dbg wrote:

  December 31, 2013 - Cellared since release, perfect cork and fill. Orange-gold color, apple cobbler, honey and spice on the nose carry through to the palate. Thick viscous palate feel, very rich, ripe and sweet with enough acid to keep it from being cloying as long as it remains a bit below cellar temp, gets flabby as it approaches room temp. This wine doesn't go with dessert, it is dessert. Really captures the vin de paille style. Outstanding, but not for everyone, though it got raves from everyone in our group.

  Comment

• jlgnml wrote: 90 points

  January 14, 2012 - BYOB Pot Luck Dinner (Our House): Good, not a real fan, super thick, syrup, great color.

  Comment

• JDB Does not like this wine: 85 points

  July 11, 2010 - 30 weight honey, holy crap is this stuff over the top, viscous, overpoweringly sweet, like drinking straight maple syrup. It has no botrytis to help cut the sweet, no acid to balance the sweet... it is just sweet. consumed over three days and time did not help any. Interesting flavors in the background but totally overwhelmed by a cloying, thick honey. I so wanted to like this... especially for $100.00

  Comments (1)

Pro Reviews 1

Wine Definition

• Vintage 2003
• Type White - Sweet/Dessert
• Producer Sine Qua Non
• Varietal Sémillon
• Designation Mr. K The Straw Man
• Vineyard n/a
• Country USA
• Region California
• SubRegion Central Coast
• Appellation Edna Valley

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 5 (3%)
• In Cellars 112 (59%)
• Consumed 73 (38%)

Food Pairing

Who Likes This Wine

More About This Wine