October 4, 2020 - One of the oddest and not expected wines to come out of the US. A Rhône white style wine, amberish color, viscous, multi dimensional through and through, oils, lanolin, beeswax, toasted coconut, hints of honey and vanilla bean. Craves foie gras or a coconut pie. Borderline desert wine. I would argue other then the fact that this is produced stateside, you can find this same quality for half the price in Rhône.
July 4, 2020 - Rhone varietal concept, neither bad nor especially interesting.
February 7, 2020 - Kleur: Medium goudgeel Aroma / bouquet: Prachtig complex bouquet waarin het complete rijke assortiment aan rijpe tonen van een gerijpe SQN-blend voorbij komt. Tropisch fruit, vooral banaan en overrijpe ananas. Boenwas, venkel, cederhout en zelfs een vleugje kaneel-(zuur) stok . Smaak / Afdronk: Wow, een intense, complexe en uitgebalanceerde smaakexplosie. Een beperkte aciditeit, mondvullend en dik-sappig, wat vat-tannines. Maar vooral een retronasaal feest van aroma's, vooral boenwas, caramel, rozijnen. Indrukwekkend lange afdronk. En met zoveel concentratie valt het royale alcoholpercentage nauwelijks meer op. Algemeen / potentieel: Blend van 37% Viognier, 33% Roussanne, and 30% Chardonnay 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 13 + Smaak / Afdronk: 19 + Algemeen / potentieel: 9 = 96/100
Color: Medium golden yellow Aroma / bouquet: Beautiful complex bouquet in which the complete rich assortment of ripe notes of a matured SQN blend is revealed. Tropical fruit, especially banana and overripe pineapple. Scrub wax, fennel, cedar wood and even a hint of cinnamon stick. Taste / Aftertaste: Wow, an intense, complex and balanced taste explosion. Limited acidity, mouth-filling and thick-juicy, some barrel tannins. But above all a retronasal celebration of aromas, especially wax, caramel, raisins. Impressively long finish. And with that much concentration, the generous alcohol percentage hardly stands out anymore. General / potential: Blend of 37% Viognier, 33% Roussanne, and 30% Chardonnay 50 + Color: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 13 + Taste / Finish: 19 + General / potential: 9 = 96 / 100
September 4, 2019 - Served 45 minutes after opening. Honey on the nose, with lots of straw and Chinese licorice. Some 1 hour and 45 minutes after opening, showing a really overripe palate. More than 4½ hours after opening the wine was nice and ripe, with candied pineapple and a hint of bitterness.
March 25, 2019 - corked
August 15, 2017 - BYO dinner with Jim N and Paul G (Russet, Philadelphia PA): This was a generous contribution from Jim N, nicely chilled, opened for about 30 minutes prior to the first glass. We drank first 2 bottles blind, took a few tries to guess this (with some guidance).
Medium gold color. Citrus zest, white flowers on the nose. Rich and expressive palate of tropical fruits, buttery pineapple, nuts/almonds, mild oak. Nice secondary notes through the mid palate - a nice "oily" texture throughout. Long and layered finish.
This is a blend of Viognier, Rousanne and Chardonnay...which is a first for me. A lot going on with this wine. Still very youthful and fresh, really great now, should go for a while if wanting to cellar. A decant would have been ideal for this bottle...we saved a bit a drank again later in the evening - it was really singing 90 minutes in. Lighter chill and 90 minutes of air time if drinking again. Amazing stuff
May 30, 2017 - Caramel hay for rich horses.
November 25, 2016 - Popped this for friends at our post-Thanksgiving day after orgy of leftovers and it was just an awesome drinking experience. It had a deep and magnificent dandelion yellow hue and once we tasted it, the wine was beautifully balanced full of tropical and mineral nuances. Wish i had more bottles of this cuz it still has years left in the tank.
March 13, 2016 - Beautiful texture, color, acidity, minerality, and finish, well rounded classic SQN white.
January 19, 2016 - Celebrating in Style (Capo, Santa Monica): Quick decant, then nursed over the course of several hours, with little discernible evolution. Remarkably fresh and youthful, with a myriad of flavors and no notable heat. Peach, pear, lychee, beeswax, almonds, cut flowers, oil, cinnamon, lanolin and lemons, with a lovely, silky texture, always in balance. More restrained than opulent, with many years seemingly left.