Community Tasting Notes 39

• Matt Scott Likes this wine: 97 points

  March 23, 2024 - This is absolutely unbelievable. The vines were planted in 2001 and by 2003 they were producing Syrah of this quality. Also, this has aged exceptionally well. Such a siren to all things Syrah. It is really something, there’s smoked meat, peppercorn, blueberries, camphor, hope chest and wet earth. Full with body and a slight silky tannin remains, with a finish that glides along without effort. Drinking well within its window and shall hold on for many years; truly an experience. Not too ponderous, and not too tame. Such a long, satisfying finish. The body is quite full. Drink now - 2033.

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• Papies wrote: 96 points

  December 8, 2023 - 2023 Athens Wine Event; 12/8/2023-12/9/2023 (Athens, Greece): Tasted blind. Textbook SQN Syrah no doubt and spotted as such. The question which one and how old. We went with 10 years old such energy and unwavering power this wine had. Impressive, amplified in all respects like all great SQNs , big of course but also harmonious and a magical wine in its own special way. Impressively so young and this has easily another 2 decades of life and maybe more. 96 and definitely a lot more once it evolves further.

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• GlobalNomadGuy Likes this wine: 100 points

  December 25, 2022 - OMFG. That’s it. That’s my review of the 2003 SQN The Inaugural Syrah. This wine was an absolute pleasure to drink. This brooding bomb of tasty goodness had a finish longer than the wait to get an SQN allocation. The wine was silky with perfect acidity and tannins and was an absolute masterpiece. Here are our notes:
  
  On the nose…
  Medium Rare New York Steak
  Black Pepper
  Spicy Tobacco
  Smoke
  Black Fruits
  Leather
  
  On the palate…
  Blackberry Liquer
  Smoked Meats
  Tobacco
  Fruitcake
  Cassis/Currants
  
  Paired like Romeo and Juliet with Beef Wellington. Need to walk home now. Hope I can get up out of my chair.
  
  Merry Christmas all!

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• imbibe wrote:

  January 20, 2021 - A perfect wine for a perfect celebration, Biden's inauguration! Zingy blackberry, integrated oak and tannins.
  The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are medium. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like blackberry, blueberry, black currant (cassis), black pepper and clove. The body is medium/full. The wine has silky texture. The wine finishes long. The wine has medium acidity.

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• MC wrote:

  November 23, 2020 - Decanted 3 hours. Dark fruit, rare red meat, and some forest floor on the nose. Maybe not as expressive on the nose as I expected. On the palate this has rich, concentrated, dark fruit with some minerals and an incredibly long finish with the tannin in the background and completely integrated. This is a wonderful Cali Syrah that is bigger, meatier, more brawny than the Grenache tasted last night, but more enjoyable for my taste. Needs to be paired with a big grilled steak or after dinner. Would be fun to taste next to an '03 Chave Hermitage! A

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Pro Reviews 3

Wine Definition

• Vintage 2003
• Type Red
• Producer Sine Qua Non
• Varietal Syrah
• Designation The Inaugural
• Vineyard Eleven Confessions Vineyard
• Country USA
• Region California
• SubRegion Central Coast
• Appellation Central Coast

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 5 (1%)
• In Cellars 569 (60%)
• Consumed 377 (40%)

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