With ribeye & air fried potato wedges. Excellent. In excellent condition with many more years ahead of it. Unfortunately my last Grenache from this vintage, but it made the evening.
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75% Grenache, 16% Syrah, 2.5 % Mourvedre, 4.5% Roussanne and 2% Viognier...splash decanted...still showing glorious florals of crushed cherries, kirsch liqueur, autumn leaves, brownies with raspberry...soft and luscious red berry fruits...liqueured, yet has a wonderful graphite and red licorice dryness...spicy white pepper tannins and crushed granite give it a nice grip, but does a finessed George Gervin finger roll to a super balanced elegance...little smoky tar, leather, and viognier nuances bring out the exotics...little alc bite and tart cherry skin in the finish. Drinking fantastic at 13yrs, but I see this one going strong 20+. My benchmark SQN Grenache is the 2000 Incognito I had at age 15, and this is close...but the slight alc heat knocks it down a little. That 2000 was "Rayas"esk!
Attractive pale to medium ruby color. On the palate ripe red cherries and some sweet and smoky spice notes. On the palate juicy red cherries, ripe blackberries, some sweet tobacco and soft greenish herbal notes. Medium (+) bodied with a nice medium intense acidity. Great, completely integrated, velvety tannins. The high alcohol (15.4%) is integrated absolutely fabulous. It doesn’t feel hot or too extracted at any time. Beautiful complex fruit structure and depth. The overall balance is amazing - it’s quite fruit forward but without being crude, it’s rather elegant. Great long and savory finish. Wow, this was super interesting. Not French style, not Spanish style - it has its own style. If tasted blind I would never have guessed this correctly. It doesn’t need any decanting in my opinion. Just let it breathe for some minutes after uncorking. It’s drinking absolutely fantastic now and just shows very soft tertiary notes. Drink from now until 2033. (IG)
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Pop and pour. Needed 5 minutes to open. Just delicious. Herbal, raspberry, integrated wood and umami. Light on its feet despite the alcohol. We fought over the last glass. Just fantastic, and in a great place now!
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This is an over-alcoholed, over-oaked, over-extracted mess. It does, however, appeal to 18-year-old boys looking for high alcohol. I am so glad I have no more of these. I honestly don’t know what to make of this - crazy high price. I am not an inexperienced taster - but I think this is drek. Overpriced drek. Cool label though.
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Black raspberry, plum, cherry central. Nice and fleshy, Great concentration without being cloyingly sweet. Tobacco and some mild earth but very modern and fruit forward. Chocolate. Pomegranate, white pepper, just flat out gorgeous and the best domestic producer of Grenache bar none.
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Decanted for one hour. Nose of black raspberry, cherry, milk chocolate, anise and bramble. Raspberry liquor, chocolate covered cherries, vanilla, spice and bramble on the palate. Very long, layered finish with excellent depth. Full bodied. Paired with filet Béarnaise.
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Kleur: Diep donkerrood. Aroma / bouquet: Een - voor SQN gebruikelijke - explosie van rood en vooral donker fruit, verleidelijk, gepolijst, Smaak / Afdronk: Hoewel ik het soms serieus lastig vind om onderscheid te maken tussen de verschillende creaties, heeft ook deze wijn weer precies datgene waarom ik zo verslaafd ben aan SQN… gepolijste kracht, een vuistslag met een fluwelen handschoen, extreme concentratie met behoud van compleiteit en gelaagdheid. Zachte zuurgraad, boterzachte fluwelige tannines, retronasale indrukken van donker fruit en verfijnd hout. En een afdronk die maar BLIJFT! doorgaan.... Algemeen / potentieel: Indrukwekkend! En extreem lekker ;-) 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 13 + Smaak / Afdronk: 18 + Algemeen / potentieel: 9 = 95/100
Colour: Deep dark red. Aroma / bouquet: A - usual for SQN - explosion of red and especially dark fruit, seductive, polished, Taste / Aftertaste: Although I sometimes find it seriously difficult to distinguish between the different creations, this wine again has exactly what makes me so addicted to SQN… polished power, a punch with a velvet glove, extreme concentration while maintaining complexity and layering. Soft acidity, buttery velvety tannins, retronasal impressions of dark fruit and refined wood. And an aftertaste that LIVES! continue.... Overall / potential: Impressive! And extremely tasty ;-) 50 + Color: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 13 + Taste / Aftertaste: 18 + General / potential: 9 = 95/100
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Open THAT Bottle - at Dan's!: Decanted for 2 hours. Love SQN wines, but this fell slightly short of my lofty expectations. Fruit was there in spades (mostly red and black fruit) with some spice and a perfumed nose. Tertiary flavors includes mostly earth and bramble. What was really missing was the silkiness I associate with SQN. Even with 12 years of age, this drank quite young! Good now, but I suspect will get even better. Easy 95+
Open that bottle - Jason chooses 2010 SQN Five Shooter Grenache: 2 hour decant, drank about 1/3rd of the bottle over at least 2 hours. Fruity (a lot of fruit here), earthy. The fruit is flashy in a modern style. With a filet mignon, the wine paired well and seemed in check. Without food it started to get too big for me. Still, a very impressive wine.
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In my cellar since release. One hour slo-ox, 3 hour decant. Distinct strong nose of peanuts rushed from the bottle on opening. So much that I asked my wife if she was eating or using peanuts. She was not. This was striking but had dissapated by the time I decanted the wine an hour later. Dark color, but not as dark as most SQNs, with a reddish twinge. The wine had a nose of red and dark fruit, cherries and blackberries, with layers of secondary and floral notes. Smooth in the mouth with resolved fine sweet tannins. Over the top nuances which progressed in waves. The wine continued to evolve in the glass and became more complex through the evening. Full bodied, but pleasantly so, and less so than many SQNs. Dare I say civilized, balanced and elegant. Very long and pleasing finish, adding even more nuances. This is a great wine. I was interested in the peanut nose, and read other tasting notes after finishing the bottle. I was surprised to find a note by Rosingoo from 09/05/2019 which described the same phenomenon. Niether of us had ever smelled that before from a bottle of wine. He assumed he had a flawed bottle. I continued with a moderate decant and was pleased to find a remarkable wine.
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Plush and juicy with plenty of complexity, but not incredible length and not a powerful aroma. Definitely not too old (still fresh), but I had hoped for more.
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The 2010 Five Shooter Grenache is in an excellent place right now. Delicious, very juicy with tons of pepper, grilled figs, olives, charred herbs. This begs for some game meat. One slight criticism is that this was a little bit less unique than other SQN Grenaches I've had. In fact, I found the profile to be very similar to an equally outstanding Alban Grenache I had not long ago.
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Friday Wine Group - JL (Blind Lunch): Tasted blind - Bright red in the glass, and bright red fruit aromas. Fresh cherries on the nose and palate. Very well integrated tannins and fruit, and tasted fantastic. I called a 7-10 year old grenache based CDP.
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This wine was very good, though for me there was less “wow” factor than usual for an aged SQN Grenache. A prefect cork with slight cloudiness to the last inch. In order, this wine was best on: Day 2, Day 1, Day 3, so decanting a bit is likely better than PNP.
There is a chance my disappointment - if that’s the correct word - could relate to bottle variability, but I’m wondering if perhaps vintage may be a factor. Can anyone recommend a detailed vintage chart for the Central Coast, considering the diversity of grapes and many sub-regions of the AVA? For example, there is a WS guide showing 2010 Paso Robles at 97 and 2010 Santa Barbara at 87.
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well this was very good. it had integrated nicely and while still hot the fruit had structure and soft tannin and the alcohol was not a bother. there is lovely little herbal/weedy things going and some sort of elegance that feels like it comes more from the roussanne/viognier addition than an excess of french oak.
this is california rhone done right. glad my friend has a couple more in the cellar.
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Wow, this is amazing grape juice. Very fragrant and mineralic nose, intense minerals and richness on the palate, no sign of maturity at all, ages much slower than comparable Chateauneuf. Stunning
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Nice color, lots of good tart red berry fruits on the nose and palate. Not the voluptuousity (?) of some of the other SQNs. Also was a bit hot on the palate. Good, not great. Cool label FWIW.
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Rich, delicious round dark strawberry, black raspberry fruit with smokey flavors, excellent balance, ample finish, despite being 10 years old wine tasted relatively fresh and young, tannins completely mellowed, terrific wine but not worth its price tag, equal grenaches can cost 1/3 the price
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Just an amazing bottle of wine as we continue the celebration of my 45th wedding anniversary with good friends. Slow ox'd for 8 hours. The nose was dark cherry and hints of chocolate. The palate was dark cherry, dark plums, tobacco, olive, smoke and hints of chocolate. The finsh went on forever. Just wonderful
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Another Saturday at Chevalier...Mostly Blind 2010 (Chicago IL): Tasted double blind. Easily identifiable as a great New World Rhone varietal, this wine just keeps getting better each time I have it. Black plum and cherry with both sweet and savory spice. This is putting on more weight with time in bottle, while also finding greater harmony.
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Dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of smoke, tar, plum, dark berries, cherries and potpourri. Flavors of boysenberries, plums and black cherries. Medium to bright acidity, medium to firm tannin, full bodied. Big wine but incredibly balanced nonetheless. Calming down a bit with age.
Farewell Farpointer
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Dense ruby color, and garnet pink at the edge, slight haze. Smells are cherry jolly rancher, blackberry, smoke, and wet stone. Tastes like ripe blackberry, orange zest, minerals, and very subtle peppery spice. Texture is crisp and bright, tannins are satin like and the finish is fruity and dry. This wine is finesse and hedonism rolled pleasurably together.
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5 min. decant, rebottled/recorked for ride to restaurant, reopened & decanted 1 hour later, then poured & drank 1.5 hours later from decanter (last flight). Wine after this 2.5 hours was smooth & delicious.
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Decanted for one hour. Nose of raspberry, cherry, chocolate, spice and underbrush. Raspberry liquor, chocolate covered cherries, underbrush, spice and fine tannins on the palate. Very long finish. Layered with good depth. Full bodied. Served with blackened tuna.
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This wine was slightly cloudy and garnet red (with a touch of orange and brown) in colour. The nose on this was dark cherries and something that I've never smelled in a wine before, peanuts. In the glass were flavours of dark cherries, caramel and a surprising amount of pepper. The wine was tangy and too hot for my liking. There was a semi long unpleasant finish on this although the tannins and acidity were pleasant. I'm quite sure that this bottle was flawed as this is a wine that I have enjoyed in the past.
SQN & BBQ (The Krengels - Bannockburn IL): Magnum. Small glass, brief note from memory. Ripe black fruit with sweet baking spice. Starts out lush, then perfectly balancing structure brings this together in impressive harmony. Very good length. I preferred this over the Syrah.
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Drunk at Amuse Bouche Hong Kong - Great structure, fruit and power I just can't get my head around the level of alcohol. Nevertheless, its an extremely well made wine.
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Poured through an Ullo filter with no air setting. Rich purple in color. Smooth and balanced on the palate with licorice, earth and chocolate flavors. Drank out of large Pinot glasses. It went pretty quickly. Not as mind-boggling as other SQN’s I have had. But still very good.
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This dark purple and clear wine was decanted for 30 minutes prior to pouring. With a strong nose of chocolate and some butterscotch, this bottle had a ton of dark cherry flavours along with some caramel hints. The tannins and acidity were both quite strong but were nicely balanced. There was a long finish on this bottle which tonight showed wonderfully.
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Dark, fairly round and rich, and displaying a ripe and ready attack of brooding black and crimson core fruit. Less of the funk than its Syrah counterpart, but equally as opaque. No high-toned red cherry fruit here, though super dark cassis and kirsch notes make fleeting attempts at acknowledgement, peeking through the prominent black raspberry profile. Subtle earth rounds it all out in the end.
I’m convinced this is a drink-now wine. If you wanna wait another decade, then you best be a plastic cork Beaujolais fan because the acid/grip-to-fruit ratio certainly leans light on the structure/frame side at this stage. It’s not a problem right now by any means; it’s just ready...now. Though a bit soft and plush on the scaffolding side of the house (mostly in comparison just because the fruit is so ripe and rich), it maintains a push of flavor that isn’t devoid of energy.
PnP service is advisable (I wouldn’t bother with a decant). Drink now..as in, right now...like, get the corckscrew as you’re reading this kind of right now...
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Popped and poured and this seemed ready to go from the start. Lovely over the course of 2 hours. Certainly in the SQN style, but everything is balanced and this is not over the top. Seems to be in a good spot now.
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Great structure and lightness to it. Plenty of dark fruit with a flowery note. Has some nice acidity and minerality but perhaps lacks a little bit of aftertaste/lenght. Still, it seems very young and could perhaps need some more time in the bottle as it would benefit from a bit more complexity. The wine does have a lovely energy to it which I just adore.
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Decanted and tasted periodically over three hours. Wonderful lifted nose of red and dark fruit and sweet pastille, with dark brooding notes haunting the background. The mouthfeel was large but didn’t meet the nose, tannins were present but fine and the finish long, but not a blow me away wine. After unblinding: QPR not right. Will have to try some more SQN grenaches to get a better feel and try rest of bottle tomorrow. Wife knew right away my impression did not match the price tag by the look on her face after several tastes!
Next day there was some significant added complexity, particularly on the nose which added so many elements including an incredible fresh asphalt note. Had to raise it a bit. Fine tannins are nice; no hurry to drink this I don’t think.
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My first time with the Five Shooter Grenache, it delivered. Layered black fruit, with a surprising minerality that gave this a nice freshness. Dark flowers on top of blackberry, black plum, and slate. Paired with sous vide Flannery NY Strip. Finish is long but the fruit fades a touch more than I would expect from SQN. Excellent.
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This was a bottle of the stink, not of the pink! :-) wow, what a full-bodied Grenache! Really did not believe this one was a Grenache variety. Almost appeared to drink with blueberry and vanilla. Very viscous and very ample. I was getting herbs, baking spices, blackberry. Was enjoyed with a 2008 Lillian Syrah and it's really amazing how you can see the similarities in winemaking style yet the obvious differences that the grape gives. This wine is showing its capability to sit in anyone's cellar for 10 years or longer and not bat an eye.
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Deep flavorful nose. Lovely flowers. Mouthfeel is a punch. Deep powerful, tart fruit. Powerful tannins, heavy dark fruit flavors woth meat and barnyard / forest floor flavors. Incredibly solid. Wine of the year so far. Could use 3-4 years more time to take to tannins.
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Inky colored. Intense boysenberry and blackberry jam notes intermingle with saline and baking spice flavors. Full bodied, and highly structured, dense tannins are still present on the seemingly never ending finish. A terrific wine- one of my favorite reds of the year thus far.
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Sine Qua Non dinner (Eddie V's - Tysons Corner, VA): Expressive nose displaying blackberry liqueur, blackberry jam, baking spices, ash and tobacco. Excellent concentration, very packed black fruit, bright acidity, nicely integrated tannins and a long intense black fruit driven finish. This seems less opulent than the Stockholm Grenache. Once again, a classic none barrel aged SQN Grenache. Add 3 to 4 more points if you like them like Bob or Jeb.
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7th Annual Christmas dinner and cellar raid (Naperville, IL): Part of Christmas wine dinner and cellar raid and didn't take detailed notes. Opened with the Five Shooter Syrah. While this was amazing, the Syrah just had a bit more finesse to it
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Probably the most Chateauneuf lookalike of all the SQN Grenaches I ever had. Reminds me of a hypothetical blend of the 2007 Janasse Chaupin and the 2007 Janasse VV. Incredibly deep and rich. Lucky us!
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Purple color with a rich plum flavor and some less definable spiciness. Wonderful balance and nuance with a long finish. Another great wine from SQN. Drunk after the excellent Aubert 2011 UV-SL at Canlis, a very special restaurant in Seattle at the beginning of our visit to Washington, accompanied by my sister and brother-in-law, also wine lovers.
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Decanted and over the course of dinner, we grew to love this wine. A new world expression of the greatest CDPs. Big grenache - all dark fruit, some vanilla and warm spices we couldn't put our finger on, plus perfect balance of acid and tannin - both clearly present, but well integrated and smooth. Tannin feels like it's coming from the small percent of syrah. Very hot !! - thought that was black pepper from the syrah but think it was just high alcohol. Great, expertly balanced wine
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Big, deep and rich. Dark color, hiding its alcohol well. Drinking quite nicely with a pop and pour. Slightly tight on the nose but just beautiful and expressive now on the palate and finish. An American Chateauneuf du Pape. Drink now or hold. Long life ahead. 95-96
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Birthday Celebration (Chicago, IL): Black berries throughout with dark chocolate and baking spice hints. Very good concentration, nice balance and a finessed finish. Very good now, with upside.
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This bottle was drank at home without decanting. I'm usually a huge fan of SQN wines and have loved this in the past but tonight this bottle wasn't that great. With a nose and flavours of dark berries mixed with some overripe and sour cherries, the wine seemed a bit "all over there" and unbalanced. Even the tannins were too strong for my liking. All that being said, it was not a horrible bottle, I just expected more. I'll have to see what the next one brings...
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Grenache blend. Deep garnet hue. Full bodied with a glycerin richness that was great with a steak. Slightly Smoky with plum and black cherry fruit. Enjoyable but took a back seat to the maya tonight. Well recommended.
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really full throttle wine. not particularly complex, but very flavoursome!! very much reminds me of a Greenock Creek Cornerstone grenache. not sure this will improve, but drinking beautifully and no hurry to drink.
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Wow this wine is at the top of it's game and drinking so well now. Joan and I loved it. Not sure I would have guessed that the wine was a grenache but who cares it's so good. No rush to drink my remaining bottles.
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At CraftSteak in Vegas. Splash decant. Drank over an hour.
Little tight at first, but blossomed by the second glass. A beautiful nose on this wine - I found myself sticking my nose in the glass all night just to take it in.
Expect it will be even better in years to come.
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Monthly Tasting Group: Spain (The Kenwood, Mpls, MN): Small pour. 15.4% ABV. Ultra ripe and herbal. Long finish, very green and herbal. A bit OTT for me, but it is more the herbal aspect i don't care for. I'm sure others will revel in this.
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Drank at beaver creek. Best Grenache based wine ever. Absolutely spectacular juice. Fireworks across your tongue, berries, licorice, light spice. This winemaker is a genius. We had smiles plastered to our faces the entire time. The blackbird vineyards paramour 2012 (no slouch of a wine) tasted like plonk after this spectacular bottle.
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[SQN Dinner, Table, HK] Despite its relative youth, just incredibly well made Grenache. An intoxicating nose of dozens of frangrances - coal, leather chocolate, lavender, stone, sandal wood, dark fruits. On the palette JUST the right weight to carry through intense fruit flavours on a very lengthy persistent ending with succulent finely dusted tannins. Will do better in the years to come now doubt but very memorable now.
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Brought to the family wine exchange. This is as spectacular as the 2007 I loved several years ago. Huge but very refined with beautiful aromatics. Amazingly the 2008 Mondavi Reserve was hotter tasting (although it was good).
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Very Grenache based flavor but in the SQN style, velvety texture, massive concentration, oak treatment throughout and very well balanced. I'm usually not a fan of the SQN Grenache given their very sweet profile, but I felt this wasn't as over the top. Great wine.
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Very nice wine but lacks the complexity and depth of other SQNs. Give it a few more years in the cellar, still building up it's backbone to be a very nice and deep wine.
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Domestic Wine Dinner - a bunch of Napa cabs and a SQN (Eddie V's - Tysons Corner): We are at a cougar centric restaurant and Assaf mentions the need to have at least one wine with butt showing. Decadent sweet nose displaying blueberry liqueur, Chambord, cinnamon, black pepper and dark spices. Excellent concentration, nicely layered, silky and polished, good acidity, nice balance and a long sweet black fruit driven finish. It is a big scale yet elegant wine that is still very primary, Very SQN and enjoyable.
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Pre-Tasting Lunch, Rhone Varietal Edition (Happ Inn - Northfield IL): Tasted double blind. Cross-section of red and black fruit comes across brightly with very good balance. Elegantly styled, moderate weight and intensity. Surprised to see this SQN, but this has also previously come across in this lighter, elegant style.
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Succulent style with tremendous balance. Bright cherry fruit that is seamless in quality. Wonderful structure and tension with pure cherry fruit quality. Not overly complex, yet vey nice.
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I have not tried many SQN's in my day, but perhaps I need to seek out more because the two times I have tried this wine, both have wow'd me. The pairing with pizza worked quite well - just layer after layer of flavor. Starts out right out of the gates with jammy blackberry fruit up front, then sour cherry, leather, spice, bacon fat, and chocolate. Bold and in your face - no modesty, just like the label!
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This was a "bonus" wine that our host pulled after we had consumed 2012 Schrader and Realm cabs. Popped and poured.
Trademark SQN style. Big wine. Still very young, and think it will round out with time. But boy, it is powerful stuff right now. And who doesn't love the label on this one?
Heritage Blind Wine Challenge (The Milling Room): Wine #8: I thought the hardest of all of the wines to place this one was all over the place. In fact, the Burgundy earlier in the flight was the closest of the wines to an '01 SQN Grenache we'd had about a week before and so I didn't even think of it for this. Again some cough syrup flavors, there's a candied aspect to it that I do often get on SQN wines, but there wasn't the exploding plethora of flavors that I expect and some of the elegance was missing (perhaps because it was on the heels of an older Bordeaux).
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Heritage Blind Tasting Challenge (Milling Room): Served double-blind. Sweet, jammy, powerful, ripe, dripping black fruit, noticeable oak, hint of VA. Lots of extract, lots of ripe, rich tannins, surprisingly decent acid and the tannins are from fruit, not oak. No real complexity, but it's pretty darn tasty even if it's kind of boring. No real varietal character to me, but obviously a CA wine. I guessed a 2009 Maybach cab. First time I've ever tasted an SQN and given my usual AFWE preferences I was pleasantly surprised, although I'd never pay the $250 or whatever it is this costs. I may have to surrender my AFWE card now though.
A little vanilla and a little sweat on the nose enveloping intense raspberry. The palate is intense and bright with ripe berries and a little lemon peel. Long and delicious with just a little bite. I love this.
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Lots of great wines with friends; 12/19/2015-12/20/2015 (E, 4th St.): Another great showing for this wine. The nose has dark cherries, raspberries, spice and chocolate. This is a big wine but handles it reasonably deftly. Lots of black cherries on the palate with some dark chocolate.Also some black licorice. Nice acidity. Finishes very smooth. Still just a baby, I would give it some air.
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Drank from magnum that was decanted 3 hours prior. Lighter bodied than anticipated but still with nice concentration. Plenty of cherry syrup, raspberry, milk chocolate and anise. Ready now but will pick up additional heft over the next few years.
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Sine Qua Non's on a Saturday afternoon (Loretta Paganini School fo Cooking): Wow, what a nose. easily the best nose of the afternoon. Probably the best wine, eventually. This was pop and pour and I never felt like it really opened. There is a glass or two left which we will drink tomorrow. Purple in color. Black raspberries, black licorice, spice and floral notes on the nose. Rich full bodied texture. Great acidity. The palate is quite tight as it unwinds in the glass. Black raspberries, charcoal and licorice. Nice balance. Long finish but some heat on the finish. I think air/age will cure this.
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HDH auction tasting at Tru; 5/15/2015-5/16/2015 (Chicago, IL): For such a high-octane wine, this actually isn't that bad. Tons of black fruit and black pepper, very ripe and sweet, surprisingly good acidity, and definitely some high-toned oak on the finish. Interestingly this doesn't finish hot -- very silky and smooth. Nonetheless, it's still just too big of a wine for my taste.
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Nice nose of raspberries and some cocoa. I stretched this out over three days and while it was best on the third day, it never filled out the way these usually do. My remaining two will rest. Good but not wow.
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Delicious and very classy. A bit more dark and blue fruit than normal (because of the higher Syrah content?) Not quite the high, bright intensity I normally get with SQN Grenache. Velvety in the mouth and long, smooth aftertaste.
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Sunday Night Sine Qua Non Dinner (RPM Steak - Chicago IL): Dense, firm black fruit aromas and flavors that are still a bit monolithic today but showing signs of emerging elegance with great raw materials. Preferred vs Five Shooter Syrah in next glass. I typically find these wines start hitting their stride at 5+ years, so expect this really shine a year from now.
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Not my usual choice for a Friday night at home. Still quite a primary Grenache at this point. Although a big wine, a bit sweet for my taste. It picked up some interesting flavors over a couple of hours, hinting at better things to come, so I won't be touching the next bottle for a couple of years at least.
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I drank this bottle without decanting outside after a wonderful neighbourhood fair. It was clear and still a very deep purple in colour and had a nose of red cherries and a slight hint of caramel. The taste on this one was slightly off today. It wasn't bad but it wasn't what I expected in that it had a strong taste of prunes. I suspect that it's just in a bit of a weird place right now with aging and that it will come along nicely in a couple of years. Time will tell.
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Beautiful wine. Guys golf trip and each one of us brought a red wine for dinner. This was obviously a real treat. Such an elegant and graceful wine. Picked up notes of chocolate and crushed fruits. Thank you Eddie!
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Drank at Goodman's Nose of cherries, spice, vanilla, plumbs and figs. Rich smooth complex palate with a lovely length. I can see why people love this wine but it is really expensive for what it is and the are better value CNDPs out there.
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Drank at a local restaurant with minimal decanting time. I haven't been thrilled with my last two bottles of this wine but tonight's bottle was the best of the three. The wine seemed to be very slightly cloudy and mostly garnet red in colour. On the nose was quite a lot of berries and in the glass was a fun wine that tasted of red cherries, some figs and a very nice level of vanilla. The tannins and acidity were both on a good level and the wine had a medium finish to it. I'm sure decanting this wine would have helped even more.
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Big lifted nose of raspberry, blackberry, strawberry, herbs and spice. Full bodied yet lifted, precise and with terrific length. Everything you come to expect from SQN -- full of flavor, complexity and balance.
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Displaying a serious depth of color, the wine pops with the perfect mix of ripe, very, and over ripe dark and red fruits, spice, pepper, blueberry, licorice, coffee, earth, jam, peach and black cherry notes. Rich, deep, round and lush, the finish holds your attention and focus. While mostly Grenache, the blend consists of 75% Grenache, 16% Syrah, 2.5 % Mourvedre, 4.5% Roussanne and 2% Viognier.
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Eggplant with a crimson rim. Thick and unctuous, then agile and lithe during the long ending. There's noumenonic qualities, in that one know's this is Grenache, yet, it seems impossible to prove in a blind tasting, and there's no existence of it here, even though you known it's Grenache - this almost seems like a very ripe Mourvèdre. Turkish coffee, lilac, pebbles and gushing red fruit, ending with turmeric. Finely grained tannins round this out. Drink 2015 - 2024.
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Second time with this wine. I wouldn't peg it as Grenache, but I don't care. At times light and delicate, at other times big, thick and rich. Amazing how different this wine can be from one minute to the next. Bur, wonderful in each instance. Wish I had a case.
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Another great bottle. But you have to know what you're in for. It's like candy compared to everything else we had tonight. But you have to love the balance and the purity.
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Sine Qua Non Night @ Domaine (Domaine Wine Storage - Chicago, IL): Blackberry liqueur, some pepper, and brambly dark fruits. Palate was candy, candy, candy. I mean, c'mon. This is so incredibly young I can't imagine how anyone can enjoy it. So. Brutally. Young.
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Pop and pour at local BYOB, dark liquid, close your eye's, nose is classic SQN Grenache, first sip, like dew drops off a bunch of grapes on a cool fall morning. Take a bite, not a big wine by SQN measure, but the subtle flavors roll by, not intense, but clean and worse than intense, your missing this wine before you swallow. Like a teenage dance with that special girl, hints of this, hints of that, than its over and your staring at the glass wondering what happened.
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Wonderful florals, silky and pure liqueured berry fruit...white pepper....outstanding!
75% Grenache, 16% Syrah, 2.5 % Mourvedre, 4.5% Roussanne and 2% Viognier, spent 20 months in 75% used barrels, with the balance in concrete and new French oak.
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Well, more bright red fruit then I would've thought... Lots of raspberry and cranberry with crisp acidity and mouthwatering tannins... Still primary, but with some savory, licorice and pepper notes...super long finish; all of this said, this is certainly on the feminine side of all the SQN I've tried... really... I'm not saying anything other than this is super complex and quite delicious.
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Decanted and drank over 2 hours. Somehow I liked this even more than the Syrah we had a couple weeks back. Thrilling nose of violet, dark and red fruit, hint of fresh herbs. Wonderful purity and balance on the palate. Seamless layers of rich fruit and this did not come across as heavy or alcoholic. I like these wines younger and while this will benefit from a little more time in the bottle I hope to open another one soon. Long, pure, silky finish.
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Followed over four hours. Did not decant. Needs a bit of time to open up, but otherwise drinking really well right now. Velvety texture. Complex and seamless.
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I was sure that I would like this less than the Shyrah but I enjoyed this more. Rich but with the classic grenache minerals this is still dominated by that sweet fruit. Raspberries and cherries mostly. Great wine!
Another Saturday at Knightsbridge - mostly blind (Northbrook, IL): Tasted double blind. Very clearly New World with lots of sweet, lush black fruit aromas and flavors with very alluring spice. Clearly very young, probably too young for right now, coming across as slightly off balance today with fantastic raw material. Once unveiled as SQN, it reinforced my view that I find almost every cuvee of grenache or Syrah needs a year+ post-delivery to really start showing its full potential.
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Marquis Philips Integrity vertical (Sarah & Randy's): Opened & decanted off its sediment 5 hours before tasting. Notes of white pepper, garrigue, herbs, red berry fruit and boysenberry jam. Medium- to full-bodied with lovely spice, red fruit, white pepper and blueberry tones. Long finish. I hadn't been much of a fan of Manfred's Grenache, but the last couple of bottles have been very enjoyable. A nice match with lamb sliders. 93-94 pts.
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This was popped and poured at a local restaurant with friends and was tasted alongside a 30 year old French wine for comparison. It had a clear appearance with a deep purple colour which had a bit of a ruby tinge to it. Very clean with a hugely pronounced aroma of red cherries. The wine was dry but almost off dry with medium to high levels of acidy and tannins. This full bodied wine was very strong tonight with a red cherry taste. This was quite overwhelming at first but they settled down after 30 minutes and then then spices such as vanilla and white pepper came in and made the wine more enjoyable.
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An explosive nose of spices, jam currants and grilled meat. The wine is full-bodied with a long, slightly acidic finish. It should benefit from a few more years in the bottle.
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We drank this at a friend's house for his birthday. It was decanted for approximately 30 minutes and really needed more time before drinking. Mid deep purple in colour with red tinges to it. Quite thin to taste with lots of cherries in the mouth. I think that it would be best to give this wine at least 2 to 3 hours of decanting to get the most out of it.
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Dark red to rim. Intense nose of oak and cherry on opening, some tar shows up with time. Full bodied ripe fruit, all bright sweet cherry, oak and tar that haven't really integrated yet. A bit cough-syrupy, this needs time to integrate. Plenty of potential but opened too soon. Unlike the Syrah, which is drinking well already. Judgment reserved.
So a revisit on day 2 and 3 show things coming together nicely, with a smoother attack and less overt alcoholic heat. Looks like great potential here, maybe a mistake to open it so soon.
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5/12/2024 - MonacoMik wrote:
10h decant - fresh fierce dark chocolate dried leather tar just yummy..... need more of this juice
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1/27/2024 - Jtrivasi wrote: 96 Points
With ribeye & air fried potato wedges. Excellent. In excellent condition with many more years ahead of it. Unfortunately my last Grenache from this vintage, but it made the evening.
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11/22/2023 - Mrbuzz Likes this wine: 96 Points
75% Grenache, 16% Syrah, 2.5 % Mourvedre, 4.5% Roussanne and 2% Viognier...splash decanted...still showing glorious florals of crushed cherries, kirsch liqueur, autumn leaves, brownies with raspberry...soft and luscious red berry fruits...liqueured, yet has a wonderful graphite and red licorice dryness...spicy white pepper tannins and crushed granite give it a nice grip, but does a finessed George Gervin finger roll to a super balanced elegance...little smoky tar, leather, and viognier nuances bring out the exotics...little alc bite and tart cherry skin in the finish. Drinking fantastic at 13yrs, but I see this one going strong 20+. My benchmark SQN Grenache is the 2000 Incognito I had at age 15, and this is close...but the slight alc heat knocks it down a little. That 2000 was "Rayas"esk!
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8/22/2023 - Jzboxtas wrote: 95 Points
Really nice, needed some air still. Prefer Syrah from same vintage. Shared with Nikki after birth of Theo.
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7/3/2023 - DrZett wrote: 96 Points
Attractive pale to medium ruby color. On the palate ripe red cherries and some sweet and smoky spice notes. On the palate juicy red cherries, ripe blackberries, some sweet tobacco and soft greenish herbal notes. Medium (+) bodied with a nice medium intense acidity. Great, completely integrated, velvety tannins. The high alcohol (15.4%) is integrated absolutely fabulous. It doesn’t feel hot or too extracted at any time. Beautiful complex fruit structure and depth. The overall balance is amazing - it’s quite fruit forward but without being crude, it’s rather elegant. Great long and savory finish.
Wow, this was super interesting. Not French style, not Spanish style - it has its own style. If tasted blind I would never have guessed this correctly.
It doesn’t need any decanting in my opinion. Just let it breathe for some minutes after uncorking. It’s drinking absolutely fantastic now and just shows very soft tertiary notes. Drink from now until 2033. (IG)
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6/15/2023 - DuncanSalmon wrote: 96 Points
Pop and pour. Needed 5 minutes to open. Just delicious. Herbal, raspberry, integrated wood and umami. Light on its feet despite the alcohol. We fought over the last glass. Just fantastic, and in a great place now!
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12/30/2022 - rbrock05 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very fruit forward, with chocolate covered cherry notes dominating initially. Anise and raspberry notes followed.
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12/26/2022 - rustyRudy Likes this wine: 100 Points
Christmas dinner, filets, absolutely marvelous
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12/25/2022 - randyjc wrote: 85 Points
This is an over-alcoholed, over-oaked, over-extracted mess. It does, however, appeal to 18-year-old boys looking for high alcohol. I am so glad I have no more of these. I honestly don’t know what to make of this - crazy high price. I am not an inexperienced taster - but I think this is drek. Overpriced drek. Cool label though.
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12/25/2022 - andrewdodd86 Likes this wine: 99 Points
Black raspberry, plum, cherry central. Nice and fleshy, Great concentration without being cloyingly sweet. Tobacco and some mild earth but very modern and fruit forward. Chocolate. Pomegranate, white pepper, just flat out gorgeous and the best domestic producer of Grenache bar none.
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11/27/2022 - Backdoctor wrote: 96 Points
Decanted 3.5 hours and had over two days. Silky smooth, balanced. Awesome grenache
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10/1/2022 - hoservin Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted for one hour. Nose of black raspberry, cherry, milk chocolate, anise and bramble. Raspberry liquor, chocolate covered cherries, vanilla, spice and bramble on the palate. Very long, layered finish with excellent depth. Full bodied. Paired with filet Béarnaise.
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8/5/2022 - WildeMeeuw Likes this wine: 95 Points
Kleur: Diep donkerrood. Aroma / bouquet: Een - voor SQN gebruikelijke - explosie van rood en vooral donker fruit, verleidelijk, gepolijst, Smaak / Afdronk: Hoewel ik het soms serieus lastig vind om onderscheid te maken tussen de verschillende creaties, heeft ook deze wijn weer precies datgene waarom ik zo verslaafd ben aan SQN… gepolijste kracht, een vuistslag met een fluwelen handschoen, extreme concentratie met behoud van compleiteit en gelaagdheid. Zachte zuurgraad, boterzachte fluwelige tannines, retronasale indrukken van donker fruit en verfijnd hout. En een afdronk die maar BLIJFT! doorgaan.... Algemeen / potentieel: Indrukwekkend! En extreem lekker ;-) 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 13 + Smaak / Afdronk: 18 + Algemeen / potentieel: 9 = 95/100
Colour: Deep dark red. Aroma / bouquet: A - usual for SQN - explosion of red and especially dark fruit, seductive, polished, Taste / Aftertaste: Although I sometimes find it seriously difficult to distinguish between the different creations, this wine again has exactly what makes me so addicted to SQN… polished power, a punch with a velvet glove, extreme concentration while maintaining complexity and layering. Soft acidity, buttery velvety tannins, retronasal impressions of dark fruit and refined wood. And an aftertaste that LIVES! continue.... Overall / potential: Impressive! And extremely tasty ;-) 50 + Color: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 13 + Taste / Aftertaste: 18 + General / potential: 9 = 95/100
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4/7/2022 - I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine Likes this wine: 95 Points
Open THAT Bottle - at Dan's!: Decanted for 2 hours. Love SQN wines, but this fell slightly short of my lofty expectations. Fruit was there in spades (mostly red and black fruit) with some spice and a perfumed nose. Tertiary flavors includes mostly earth and bramble. What was really missing was the silkiness I associate with SQN. Even with 12 years of age, this drank quite young! Good now, but I suspect will get even better. Easy 95+
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4/7/2022 - galewskj wrote: 95 Points
Open that bottle - Jason chooses 2010 SQN Five Shooter Grenache: 2 hour decant, drank about 1/3rd of the bottle over at least 2 hours. Fruity (a lot of fruit here), earthy. The fruit is flashy in a modern style. With a filet mignon, the wine paired well and seemed in check. Without food it started to get too big for me. Still, a very impressive wine.
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1/24/2022 - Geoff Likes this wine: 98 Points
In my cellar since release. One hour slo-ox, 3 hour decant. Distinct strong nose of peanuts rushed from the bottle on opening. So much that I asked my wife if she was eating or using peanuts. She was not. This was striking but had dissapated by the time I decanted the wine an hour later. Dark color, but not as dark as most SQNs, with a reddish twinge. The wine had a nose of red and dark fruit, cherries and blackberries, with layers of secondary and floral notes. Smooth in the mouth with resolved fine sweet tannins. Over the top nuances which progressed in waves. The wine continued to evolve in the glass and became more complex through the evening. Full bodied, but pleasantly so, and less so than many SQNs. Dare I say civilized, balanced and elegant. Very long and pleasing finish, adding even more nuances. This is a great wine. I was interested in the peanut nose, and read other tasting notes after finishing the bottle. I was surprised to find a note by Rosingoo from 09/05/2019 which described the same phenomenon. Niether of us had ever smelled that before from a bottle of wine. He assumed he had a flawed bottle. I continued with a moderate decant and was pleased to find a remarkable wine.
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12/27/2021 - Tpety wrote: 96 Points
Christmas wine at a Brazilian Steak house- Very open and soft- great wine! Decanted for an hour and drank slowly.
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12/24/2021 - Volleyball Likes this wine: 93 Points
Plush and juicy with plenty of complexity, but not incredible length and not a powerful aroma. Definitely not too old (still fresh), but I had hoped for more.
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12/19/2021 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Red fruited and spicy, if seemingly starting to lose some energy. I bet I would have enjoyed this more younger. Nice complexity.
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12/10/2021 - hprphf wrote: 94 Points
Sweet, cassis, black fruit, beautiful orange acidity. 94
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10/27/2021 - Jonathan T Likes this wine: 96 Points
The 2010 Five Shooter Grenache is in an excellent place right now. Delicious, very juicy with tons of pepper, grilled figs, olives, charred herbs. This begs for some game meat. One slight criticism is that this was a little bit less unique than other SQN Grenaches I've had. In fact, I found the profile to be very similar to an equally outstanding Alban Grenache I had not long ago.
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6/4/2021 - Gregmonroe Likes this wine:
Friday Wine Group - JL (Blind Lunch): Tasted blind - Bright red in the glass, and bright red fruit aromas. Fresh cherries on the nose and palate. Very well integrated tannins and fruit, and tasted fantastic. I called a 7-10 year old grenache based CDP.
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4/4/2021 - birdeaux Likes this wine: 93 Points
This wine was very good, though for me there was less “wow” factor than usual for an aged SQN Grenache. A prefect cork with slight cloudiness to the last inch. In order, this wine was best on: Day 2, Day 1, Day 3, so decanting a bit is likely better than PNP.
There is a chance my disappointment - if that’s the correct word - could relate to bottle variability, but I’m wondering if perhaps vintage may be a factor. Can anyone recommend a detailed vintage chart for the Central Coast, considering the diversity of grapes and many sub-regions of the AVA? For example, there is a WS guide showing 2010 Paso Robles at 97 and 2010 Santa Barbara at 87.
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10/4/2020 - Backdoctor wrote: 94 Points
second time for this wine. So elegant, balanced, even more fruit on the second day.
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8/6/2020 - brianngibson wrote: 95 Points
Black raspberry, smoke, olive tapenade. Beautiful wine.
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6/30/2020 - mike l. Likes this wine: 93 Points
decanted overnight.
well this was very good. it had integrated nicely and while still hot the fruit had structure and soft tannin and the alcohol was not a bother. there is lovely little herbal/weedy things going and some sort of elegance that feels like it comes more from the roussanne/viognier addition than an excess of french oak.
this is california rhone done right. glad my friend has a couple more in the cellar.
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6/24/2020 - G_H wrote: 95 Points
Wow, this is amazing grape juice. Very fragrant and mineralic nose, intense minerals and richness on the palate, no sign of maturity at all, ages much slower than comparable Chateauneuf. Stunning
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6/7/2020 - rcg62 wrote: 92 Points
Nice color, lots of good tart red berry fruits on the nose and palate. Not the voluptuousity (?) of some of the other SQNs. Also was a bit hot on the palate. Good, not great. Cool label FWIW.
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2/20/2020 - Amerique wrote: 94 Points
Rich, delicious round dark strawberry, black raspberry fruit with smokey flavors, excellent balance, ample finish, despite being 10 years old wine tasted relatively fresh and young, tannins completely mellowed, terrific wine but not worth its price tag, equal grenaches can cost 1/3 the price
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1/17/2020 - markcic Likes this wine: 96 Points
Just an amazing bottle of wine as we continue the celebration of my 45th wedding anniversary with good friends. Slow ox'd for 8 hours. The nose was dark cherry and hints of chocolate. The palate was dark cherry, dark plums, tobacco, olive, smoke and hints of chocolate. The finsh went on forever. Just wonderful
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1/4/2020 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
Another Saturday at Chevalier...Mostly Blind 2010 (Chicago IL): Tasted double blind. Easily identifiable as a great New World Rhone varietal, this wine just keeps getting better each time I have it. Black plum and cherry with both sweet and savory spice. This is putting on more weight with time in bottle, while also finding greater harmony.
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12/28/2019 - wineismylife wrote: 95 Points
WIML95
Tasted non blind.
Dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of smoke, tar, plum, dark berries, cherries and potpourri. Flavors of boysenberries, plums and black cherries. Medium to bright acidity, medium to firm tannin, full bodied. Big wine but incredibly balanced nonetheless. Calming down a bit with age.
Farewell Farpointer
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12/28/2019 - hackey37 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Dense ruby color, and garnet pink at the edge, slight haze. Smells are cherry jolly rancher, blackberry, smoke, and wet stone. Tastes like ripe blackberry, orange zest, minerals, and very subtle peppery spice. Texture is crisp and bright, tannins are satin like and the finish is fruity and dry. This wine is finesse and hedonism rolled pleasurably together.
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12/15/2019 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 96 Points
Very nice! I think this will go for many years, but no reason to wait, it's drinking very well now... better with a little bit of air.
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11/23/2019 - patwjr Likes this wine: 96 Points
5 min. decant, rebottled/recorked for ride to restaurant, reopened & decanted 1 hour later, then poured & drank 1.5 hours later from decanter (last flight). Wine after this 2.5 hours was smooth & delicious.
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9/29/2019 - hoservin Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted for one hour. Nose of raspberry, cherry, chocolate, spice and underbrush. Raspberry liquor, chocolate covered cherries, underbrush, spice and fine tannins on the palate. Very long finish. Layered with good depth. Full bodied. Served with blackened tuna.
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9/5/2019 - Rosengoo wrote: flawed
This wine was slightly cloudy and garnet red (with a touch of orange and brown) in colour. The nose on this was dark cherries and something that I've never smelled in a wine before, peanuts.
In the glass were flavours of dark cherries, caramel and a surprising amount of pepper. The wine was tangy and too hot for my liking. There was a semi long unpleasant finish on this although the tannins and acidity were pleasant. I'm quite sure that this bottle was flawed as this is a wine that I have enjoyed in the past.
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8/17/2019 - Burgundy Al wrote: 93 Points
SQN & BBQ (The Krengels - Bannockburn IL): Magnum. Small glass, brief note from memory. Ripe black fruit with sweet baking spice. Starts out lush, then perfectly balancing structure brings this together in impressive harmony. Very good length. I preferred this over the Syrah.
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7/11/2019 - KoalaHK wrote:
Drunk at Amuse Bouche Hong Kong - Great structure, fruit and power I just can't get my head around the level of alcohol. Nevertheless, its an extremely well made wine.
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6/9/2019 - GFischmann wrote: 96 Points
Well balanced
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3/2/2019 - SMagowan Likes this wine: 94 Points
Poured through an Ullo filter with no air setting. Rich purple in color. Smooth and balanced on the palate with licorice, earth and chocolate flavors. Drank out of large Pinot glasses. It went pretty quickly. Not as mind-boggling as other SQN’s I have had. But still very good.
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2/2/2019 - Rosengoo wrote: 96 Points
This dark purple and clear wine was decanted for 30 minutes prior to pouring. With a strong nose of chocolate and some butterscotch, this bottle had a ton of dark cherry flavours along with some caramel hints. The tannins and acidity were both quite strong but were nicely balanced. There was a long finish on this bottle which tonight showed wonderfully.
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1/13/2019 - G_H wrote: 95 Points
Great, but needs at least a 1 hour decant!
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11/9/2018 - Opusone99 wrote: 95 Points
Sans prise de notes. Grand vin! 95-96.
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10/31/2018 - csimm wrote: 95 Points
Dark, fairly round and rich, and displaying a ripe and ready attack of brooding black and crimson core fruit. Less of the funk than its Syrah counterpart, but equally as opaque. No high-toned red cherry fruit here, though super dark cassis and kirsch notes make fleeting attempts at acknowledgement, peeking through the prominent black raspberry profile. Subtle earth rounds it all out in the end.
I’m convinced this is a drink-now wine. If you wanna wait another decade, then you best be a plastic cork Beaujolais fan because the acid/grip-to-fruit ratio certainly leans light on the structure/frame side at this stage. It’s not a problem right now by any means; it’s just ready...now. Though a bit soft and plush on the scaffolding side of the house (mostly in comparison just because the fruit is so ripe and rich), it maintains a push of flavor that isn’t devoid of energy.
PnP service is advisable (I wouldn’t bother with a decant). Drink now..as in, right now...like, get the corckscrew as you’re reading this kind of right now...
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9/2/2018 - B Paul wrote:
Popped and poured and this seemed ready to go from the start. Lovely over the course of 2 hours. Certainly in the SQN style, but everything is balanced and this is not over the top. Seems to be in a good spot now.
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8/11/2018 - canan wrote: 96 Points
Great structure and lightness to it. Plenty of dark fruit with a flowery note. Has some nice acidity and minerality but perhaps lacks a little bit of aftertaste/lenght.
Still, it seems very young and could perhaps need some more time in the bottle as it would benefit from a bit more complexity.
The wine does have a lovely energy to it which I just adore.
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7/18/2018 - Babik Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted and tasted periodically over three hours. Wonderful lifted nose of red and dark fruit and sweet pastille, with dark brooding notes haunting the background. The mouthfeel was large but didn’t meet the nose, tannins were present but fine and the finish long, but not a blow me away wine. After unblinding: QPR not right. Will have to try some more SQN grenaches to get a better feel and try rest of bottle tomorrow. Wife knew right away my impression did not match the price tag by the look on her face after several tastes!
Next day there was some significant added complexity, particularly on the nose which added so many elements including an incredible fresh asphalt note. Had to raise it a bit. Fine tannins are nice; no hurry to drink this I don’t think.
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7/8/2018 - ews3 wrote: 95 Points
My first time with the Five Shooter Grenache, it delivered. Layered black fruit, with a surprising minerality that gave this a nice freshness. Dark flowers on top of blackberry, black plum, and slate. Paired with sous vide Flannery NY Strip. Finish is long but the fruit fades a touch more than I would expect from SQN. Excellent.
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6/23/2018 - mflesh wrote: 95 Points
This was a bottle of the stink, not of the pink! :-) wow, what a full-bodied Grenache! Really did not believe this one was a Grenache variety. Almost appeared to drink with blueberry and vanilla. Very viscous and very ample. I was getting herbs, baking spices, blackberry. Was enjoyed with a 2008 Lillian Syrah and it's really amazing how you can see the similarities in winemaking style yet the obvious differences that the grape gives. This wine is showing its capability to sit in anyone's cellar for 10 years or longer and not bat an eye.
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5/18/2018 - NTR wrote: 96 Points
Deep flavorful nose. Lovely flowers. Mouthfeel is a punch. Deep powerful, tart fruit. Powerful tannins, heavy dark fruit flavors woth meat and barnyard / forest floor flavors. Incredibly solid. Wine of the year so far. Could use 3-4 years more time to take to tannins.
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5/11/2018 - Millennial Drinkers wrote: 95 Points
NFN - Quick sip from Russell Bevan. Stunning. (95+)
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4/28/2018 - G_H wrote: 94 Points
Great as usual - a little more forward than the Syrah next to it. Good fun right now!
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3/26/2018 - mjf@ulkner wrote: 96 Points
Inky colored. Intense boysenberry and blackberry jam notes intermingle with saline and baking spice flavors. Full bodied, and highly structured, dense tannins are still present on the seemingly never ending finish. A terrific wine- one of my favorite reds of the year thus far.
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1/26/2018 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
Sine Qua Non dinner (Eddie V's - Tysons Corner, VA): Expressive nose displaying blackberry liqueur, blackberry jam, baking spices, ash and tobacco. Excellent concentration, very packed black fruit, bright acidity, nicely integrated tannins and a long intense black fruit driven finish. This seems less opulent than the Stockholm Grenache. Once again, a classic none barrel aged SQN Grenache. Add 3 to 4 more points if you like them like Bob or Jeb.
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1/6/2018 - EG Vinos wrote: 98 Points
An outstanding wine.
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12/9/2017 - bablues wrote: 97 Points
7th Annual Christmas dinner and cellar raid (Naperville, IL): Part of Christmas wine dinner and cellar raid and didn't take detailed notes. Opened with the Five Shooter Syrah. While this was amazing, the Syrah just had a bit more finesse to it
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10/29/2017 - G_H Likes this wine: 94 Points
Probably the most Chateauneuf lookalike of all the SQN Grenaches I ever had. Reminds me of a hypothetical blend of the 2007 Janasse Chaupin and the 2007 Janasse VV. Incredibly deep and rich. Lucky us!
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8/12/2017 - tcosgriff Likes this wine: 95 Points
Purple color with a rich plum flavor and some less definable spiciness. Wonderful balance and nuance with a long finish. Another great wine from SQN. Drunk after the excellent Aubert 2011 UV-SL at Canlis, a very special restaurant in Seattle at the beginning of our visit to Washington, accompanied by my sister and brother-in-law, also wine lovers.
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8/7/2017 - ChristyLeighNY wrote:
Decanted and over the course of dinner, we grew to love this wine. A new world expression of the greatest CDPs. Big grenache - all dark fruit, some vanilla and warm spices we couldn't put our finger on, plus perfect balance of acid and tannin - both clearly present, but well integrated and smooth. Tannin feels like it's coming from the small percent of syrah. Very hot !! - thought that was black pepper from the syrah but think it was just high alcohol. Great, expertly balanced wine
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8/4/2017 - Mrp2008 wrote: 95 Points
Big, deep and rich. Dark color, hiding its alcohol well. Drinking quite nicely with a pop and pour. Slightly tight on the nose but just beautiful and expressive now on the palate and finish. An American Chateauneuf du Pape. Drink now or hold. Long life ahead. 95-96
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7/30/2017 - Burgundy Al wrote: 93 Points
Birthday Celebration (Chicago, IL): Black berries throughout with dark chocolate and baking spice hints. Very good concentration, nice balance and a finessed finish. Very good now, with upside.
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7/6/2017 - Rosengoo wrote: 88 Points
This bottle was drank at home without decanting. I'm usually a huge fan of SQN wines and have loved this in the past but tonight this bottle wasn't that great. With a nose and flavours of dark berries mixed with some overripe and sour cherries, the wine seemed a bit "all over there" and unbalanced. Even the tannins were too strong for my liking. All that being said, it was not a horrible bottle, I just expected more. I'll have to see what the next one brings...
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6/5/2017 - eschaefer Likes this wine: 92 Points
Grenache blend. Deep garnet hue. Full bodied with a glycerin richness that was great with a steak. Slightly Smoky with plum and black cherry fruit. Enjoyable but took a back seat to the maya tonight. Well recommended.
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5/26/2017 - felixp Likes this wine: 90 Points
really full throttle wine.
not particularly complex, but very flavoursome!!
very much reminds me of a Greenock Creek Cornerstone grenache.
not sure this will improve, but drinking beautifully and no hurry to drink.
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5/8/2017 - Screameagle Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wow this wine is at the top of it's game and drinking so well now. Joan and I loved it. Not sure I would have guessed that the wine was a grenache but who cares it's so good. No rush to drink my remaining bottles.
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5/7/2017 - Mike V wrote: 93 Points
Terrific, it was a show stopper tonight with ribs and Swiss chard. Everyone could not stop sticking their nose in the glass.
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3/16/2017 - ageverett Likes this wine: 95 Points
At CraftSteak in Vegas. Splash decant. Drank over an hour.
Little tight at first, but blossomed by the second glass. A beautiful nose on this wine - I found myself sticking my nose in the glass all night just to take it in.
Expect it will be even better in years to come.
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1/22/2017 - rocknroller wrote: 91 Points
Monthly Tasting Group: Spain (The Kenwood, Mpls, MN): Small pour. 15.4% ABV. Ultra ripe and herbal. Long finish, very green and herbal. A bit OTT for me, but it is more the herbal aspect i don't care for. I'm sure others will revel in this.
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1/11/2017 - voldar Likes this wine: 97 Points
Drank at beaver creek. Best Grenache based wine ever. Absolutely spectacular juice. Fireworks across your tongue, berries, licorice, light spice. This winemaker is a genius. We had smiles plastered to our faces the entire time. The blackbird vineyards paramour 2012 (no slouch of a wine) tasted like plonk after this spectacular bottle.
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1/6/2017 - bengti wrote: 97 Points
[SQN Dinner, Table, HK] Despite its relative youth, just incredibly well made Grenache. An intoxicating nose of dozens of frangrances - coal, leather chocolate, lavender, stone, sandal wood, dark fruits. On the palette JUST the right weight to carry through intense fruit flavours on a very lengthy persistent ending with succulent finely dusted tannins. Will do better in the years to come now doubt but very memorable now.
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12/28/2016 - mhewitt wrote: 97 Points
Brought to the family wine exchange. This is as spectacular as the 2007 I loved several years ago. Huge but very refined with beautiful aromatics. Amazingly the 2008 Mondavi Reserve was hotter tasting (although it was good).
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12/18/2016 - pakabear Likes this wine: 95 Points
Very Grenache based flavor but in the SQN style, velvety texture, massive concentration, oak treatment throughout and very well balanced. I'm usually not a fan of the SQN Grenache given their very sweet profile, but I felt this wasn't as over the top. Great wine.
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12/18/2016 - S R U D I N Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very nice wine but lacks the complexity and depth of other SQNs. Give it a few more years in the cellar, still building up it's backbone to be a very nice and deep wine.
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12/15/2016 - dcwino wrote: 95 Points
Domestic Wine Dinner - a bunch of Napa cabs and a SQN (Eddie V's - Tysons Corner): We are at a cougar centric restaurant and Assaf mentions the need to have at least one wine with butt showing. Decadent sweet nose displaying blueberry liqueur, Chambord, cinnamon, black pepper and dark spices. Excellent concentration, nicely layered, silky and polished, good acidity, nice balance and a long sweet black fruit driven finish. It is a big scale yet elegant wine that is still very primary, Very SQN and enjoyable.
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12/10/2016 - Burgundy Al wrote: 92 Points
Pre-Tasting Lunch, Rhone Varietal Edition (Happ Inn - Northfield IL): Tasted double blind. Cross-section of red and black fruit comes across brightly with very good balance. Elegantly styled, moderate weight and intensity. Surprised to see this SQN, but this has also previously come across in this lighter, elegant style.
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12/10/2016 - KenK Likes this wine: 93 Points
Succulent style with tremendous balance. Bright cherry fruit that is seamless in quality. Wonderful structure and tension with pure cherry fruit quality. Not overly complex, yet vey nice.
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10/20/2016 - J_Smallwood Likes this wine: 96 Points
I have not tried many SQN's in my day, but perhaps I need to seek out more because the two times I have tried this wine, both have wow'd me. The pairing with pizza worked quite well - just layer after layer of flavor. Starts out right out of the gates with jammy blackberry fruit up front, then sour cherry, leather, spice, bacon fat, and chocolate. Bold and in your face - no modesty, just like the label!
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8/14/2016 - B Paul wrote: 95 Points
Similar to the last bottle I had, though this one makes me think a little additional age will benefit this wine.
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8/13/2016 - ageverett Likes this wine: 96 Points
This was a "bonus" wine that our host pulled after we had consumed 2012 Schrader and Realm cabs. Popped and poured.
Trademark SQN style. Big wine. Still very young, and think it will round out with time. But boy, it is powerful stuff right now. And who doesn't love the label on this one?
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7/13/2016 - Simply Wine Likes this wine: 97 Points
Great showing, with beautiful depth of rich fruit but yet in balance.
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5/7/2016 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Heritage Blind Wine Challenge (The Milling Room): Wine #8: I thought the hardest of all of the wines to place this one was all over the place. In fact, the Burgundy earlier in the flight was the closest of the wines to an '01 SQN Grenache we'd had about a week before and so I didn't even think of it for this. Again some cough syrup flavors, there's a candied aspect to it that I do often get on SQN wines, but there wasn't the exploding plethora of flavors that I expect and some of the elegance was missing (perhaps because it was on the heels of an older Bordeaux).
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5/7/2016 - coremill wrote: 89 Points
Heritage Blind Tasting Challenge (Milling Room): Served double-blind. Sweet, jammy, powerful, ripe, dripping black fruit, noticeable oak, hint of VA. Lots of extract, lots of ripe, rich tannins, surprisingly decent acid and the tannins are from fruit, not oak. No real complexity, but it's pretty darn tasty even if it's kind of boring. No real varietal character to me, but obviously a CA wine. I guessed a 2009 Maybach cab. First time I've ever tasted an SQN and given my usual AFWE preferences I was pleasantly surprised, although I'd never pay the $250 or whatever it is this costs. I may have to surrender my AFWE card now though.
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5/3/2016 - Sandy T wrote: 89 Points
Hues of red.
Conspicuous nose of dark ripe cherries, licorice, vanilla and tinge of herb.
Unbashfully flamboyant on the palette, black berries, sweet spice, jam, no hints of modesty.
Finish is less than enduring.
Opened by a friend who adores Sine Qua Non. For the novelty or what's in there?
Not my sort of tipple. Especially this sort of price tag
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4/9/2016 - jctra Likes this wine: 98 Points
Just great
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12/29/2015 - Uglypinga Likes this wine:
A little vanilla and a little sweat on the nose enveloping intense raspberry. The palate is intense and bright with ripe berries and a little lemon peel. Long and delicious with just a little bite. I love this.
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12/19/2015 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 96 Points
Lots of great wines with friends; 12/19/2015-12/20/2015 (E, 4th St.): Another great showing for this wine. The nose has dark cherries, raspberries, spice and chocolate. This is a big wine but handles it reasonably deftly. Lots of black cherries on the palate with some dark chocolate.Also some black licorice. Nice acidity. Finishes very smooth. Still just a baby, I would give it some air.
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11/20/2015 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote: 95 Points
Drank from magnum that was decanted 3 hours prior. Lighter bodied than anticipated but still with nice concentration. Plenty of cherry syrup, raspberry, milk chocolate and anise. Ready now but will pick up additional heft over the next few years.
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9/26/2015 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 97 Points
Sine Qua Non's on a Saturday afternoon (Loretta Paganini School fo Cooking): Wow, what a nose. easily the best nose of the afternoon. Probably the best wine, eventually. This was pop and pour and I never felt like it really opened. There is a glass or two left which we will drink tomorrow. Purple in color. Black raspberries, black licorice, spice and floral notes on the nose. Rich full bodied texture. Great acidity. The palate is quite tight as it unwinds in the glass. Black raspberries, charcoal and licorice. Nice balance. Long finish but some heat on the finish. I think air/age will cure this.
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5/15/2015 - acyso wrote: 85 Points
HDH auction tasting at Tru; 5/15/2015-5/16/2015 (Chicago, IL): For such a high-octane wine, this actually isn't that bad. Tons of black fruit and black pepper, very ripe and sweet, surprisingly good acidity, and definitely some high-toned oak on the finish. Interestingly this doesn't finish hot -- very silky and smooth. Nonetheless, it's still just too big of a wine for my taste.
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5/11/2015 - Minnesota wrote: 93 Points
I agree this wine needs at least 4-5 more years of cellaring before drinking our next bottle.
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1/11/2015 - Uglypinga Likes this wine:
Nice nose of raspberries and some cocoa. I stretched this out over three days and while it was best on the third day, it never filled out the way these usually do. My remaining two will rest. Good but not wow.
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1/10/2015 - robertek Likes this wine: 95 Points
Massive Grenache that is still young but certainly enjoyable I will keep what I have left for Another 5 years though.
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12/24/2014 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 93 Points
Big and rich. Dark fruits very good
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12/20/2014 - phenricsson wrote: 97 Points
Delicious and very classy. A bit more dark and blue fruit than normal (because of the higher Syrah content?) Not quite the high, bright intensity I normally get with SQN Grenache. Velvety in the mouth and long, smooth aftertaste.
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12/7/2014 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 98 Points
A day of lots of SQN and a few more!; 12/7/2014-12/9/2014 (Loretta Paganini School of Cooking and the Woods of Newbury): Very nice. The nose has dark cherries, some dark chocolate, raspberries, and spice. Lush and full bodied. Juicy. On the palate, this is ripe and delicious. Mostly red fruits, raspberries and cherries, but some purple fruits as well. Long finish. Smooth with no noticeable alcohol.
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10/12/2014 - Burgundy Al wrote: 93 Points
Sunday Night Sine Qua Non Dinner (RPM Steak - Chicago IL): Dense, firm black fruit aromas and flavors that are still a bit monolithic today but showing signs of emerging elegance with great raw materials. Preferred vs Five Shooter Syrah in next glass. I typically find these wines start hitting their stride at 5+ years, so expect this really shine a year from now.
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9/5/2014 - SD-Wineaux wrote: 91 Points
Not my usual choice for a Friday night at home. Still quite a primary Grenache at this point. Although a big wine, a bit sweet for my taste. It picked up some interesting flavors over a couple of hours, hinting at better things to come, so I won't be touching the next bottle for a couple of years at least.
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6/15/2014 - bonedocnine Likes this wine: 94 Points
Classic SQN. The wine is huge but structured. Some how this wine again and again balances the line between over the top and finesse. Lovely wine
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6/7/2014 - Rosengoo wrote: 91 Points
I drank this bottle without decanting outside after a wonderful neighbourhood fair. It was clear and still a very deep purple in colour and had a nose of red cherries and a slight hint of caramel. The taste on this one was slightly off today. It wasn't bad but it wasn't what I expected in that it had a strong taste of prunes. I suspect that it's just in a bit of a weird place right now with aging and that it will come along nicely in a couple of years. Time will tell.
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4/28/2014 - UofM Likes this wine: 94 Points
Beautiful wine. Guys golf trip and each one of us brought a red wine for dinner. This was obviously a real treat. Such an elegant and graceful wine. Picked up notes of chocolate and crushed fruits. Thank you Eddie!
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3/17/2014 - RayOB wrote: 96 Points
Drank at Goodman's
Nose of cherries, spice, vanilla, plumbs and figs. Rich smooth complex palate with a lovely length. I can see why people love this wine but it is really expensive for what it is and the are better value CNDPs out there.
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3/9/2014 - bonedocnine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Classic SQN. Ripe fruit. nicely structured. opulent month feel. Kind of a beast in the best way.
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3/7/2014 - Rosengoo wrote: 94 Points
Drank at a local restaurant with minimal decanting time. I haven't been thrilled with my last two bottles of this wine but tonight's bottle was the best of the three. The wine seemed to be very slightly cloudy and mostly garnet red in colour. On the nose was quite a lot of berries and in the glass was a fun wine that tasted of red cherries, some figs and a very nice level of vanilla. The tannins and acidity were both on a good level and the wine had a medium finish to it. I'm sure decanting this wine would have helped even more.
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3/2/2014 - Nanda wrote: 95 Points
Big lifted nose of raspberry, blackberry, strawberry, herbs and spice. Full bodied yet lifted, precise and with terrific length. Everything you come to expect from SQN -- full of flavor, complexity and balance.
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2/3/2014 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
Displaying a serious depth of color, the wine pops with the perfect mix of ripe, very, and over ripe dark and red fruits, spice, pepper, blueberry, licorice, coffee, earth, jam, peach and black cherry notes. Rich, deep, round and lush, the finish holds your attention and focus. While mostly Grenache, the blend consists of 75% Grenache, 16% Syrah, 2.5 % Mourvedre, 4.5% Roussanne and 2% Viognier.
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1/19/2014 - Matt Scott Likes this wine: 95 Points
Eggplant with a crimson rim. Thick and unctuous, then agile and lithe during the long ending. There's noumenonic qualities, in that one know's this is Grenache, yet, it seems impossible to prove in a blind tasting, and there's no existence of it here, even though you known it's Grenache - this almost seems like a very ripe Mourvèdre. Turkish coffee, lilac, pebbles and gushing red fruit, ending with turmeric. Finely grained tannins round this out. Drink 2015 - 2024.
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1/12/2014 - johnh1001 wrote: 94 Points
Just like the last bottle. Serious black pepper. This really is like candy and love the texture.
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1/1/2014 - K28226 wrote: 95 Points
Concentrated, and sweet. Long finish. Very unique. Wine of the night, with respect to very strong NYE line up.
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12/5/2013 - Cow Town Likes this wine: 95 Points
Second time with this wine. I wouldn't peg it as Grenache, but I don't care. At times light and delicate, at other times big, thick and rich. Amazing how different this wine can be from one minute to the next.
Bur, wonderful in each instance. Wish I had a case.
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11/27/2013 - johnh1001 wrote:
Serous black pepper notes on day 3. Very very sweet. Love the texture and purity.
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11/24/2013 - johnh1001 wrote: 95 Points
Another great bottle. But you have to know what you're in for. It's like candy compared to everything else we had tonight. But you have to love the balance and the purity.
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11/6/2013 - jwolniak wrote: 92 Points
Sine Qua Non Tasting - Domaine Wine Storage Chicago - Nov 2013 (Domaine Wine Storage - Chicago): Favorite nose of the flight. An angry approach, thinning out mid, with some rounded darkness late. Favorite of the flight, but not saying much. Why all the love and hype?
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11/6/2013 - tooch wrote:
Sine Qua Non Night @ Domaine (Domaine Wine Storage - Chicago, IL): Blackberry liqueur, some pepper, and brambly dark fruits. Palate was candy, candy, candy. I mean, c'mon. This is so incredibly young I can't imagine how anyone can enjoy it. So. Brutally. Young.
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10/15/2013 - shadow wrote: 98 Points
Pop and pour at local BYOB, dark liquid, close your eye's, nose is classic SQN Grenache, first sip, like dew drops off a bunch of grapes on a cool fall morning. Take a bite, not a big wine by SQN measure, but the subtle flavors roll by, not intense, but clean and worse than intense, your missing this wine before you swallow.
Like a teenage dance with that special girl, hints of this, hints of that, than its over and your staring at the glass wondering what happened.
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10/8/2013 - Backdoctor wrote: 98 Points
I had it open 7 hours before drinking. It was elegant, balanced with red fruit. Great wine, my first SQN ever!
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9/26/2013 - Mrbuzz Likes this wine: 96 Points
Wonderful florals, silky and pure liqueured berry fruit...white pepper....outstanding!
75% Grenache, 16% Syrah, 2.5 % Mourvedre, 4.5% Roussanne and 2% Viognier, spent 20 months in 75% used barrels, with the balance in concrete and new French oak.
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9/20/2013 - jonnyoro wrote: 96 Points
Well, more bright red fruit then I would've thought... Lots of raspberry and cranberry with crisp acidity and mouthwatering tannins... Still primary, but with some savory, licorice and pepper notes...super long finish; all of this said, this is certainly on the feminine side of all the SQN I've tried... really... I'm not saying anything other than this is super complex and quite delicious.
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9/3/2013 - johnh1001 wrote: 95 Points
Decanted and drank over 2 hours. Somehow I liked this even more than the Syrah we had a couple weeks back. Thrilling nose of violet, dark and red fruit, hint of fresh herbs. Wonderful purity and balance on the palate. Seamless layers of rich fruit and this did not come across as heavy or alcoholic. I like these wines younger and while this will benefit from a little more time in the bottle I hope to open another one soon. Long, pure, silky finish.
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9/2/2013 - B Paul wrote: 95 Points
Followed over four hours. Did not decant. Needs a bit of time to open up, but otherwise drinking really well right now. Velvety texture. Complex and seamless.
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8/10/2013 - G_H Likes this wine: 93 Points
I was sure that I would like this less than the Shyrah but I enjoyed this more. Rich but with the classic grenache minerals this is still dominated by that sweet fruit. Raspberries and cherries mostly. Great wine!
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7/30/2013 - Knicksfan wrote: 97 Points
Loved this P&P. Delicious fruit, nice balance and considering its a baby - my biggest issue is keeping my hands off for a few years
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7/13/2013 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Another Saturday at Knightsbridge - mostly blind (Northbrook, IL): Tasted double blind. Very clearly New World with lots of sweet, lush black fruit aromas and flavors with very alluring spice. Clearly very young, probably too young for right now, coming across as slightly off balance today with fantastic raw material. Once unveiled as SQN, it reinforced my view that I find almost every cuvee of grenache or Syrah needs a year+ post-delivery to really start showing its full potential.
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7/13/2013 - AllRed wrote: 93 Points
Marquis Philips Integrity vertical (Sarah & Randy's): Opened & decanted off its sediment 5 hours before tasting. Notes of white pepper, garrigue, herbs, red berry fruit and boysenberry jam. Medium- to full-bodied with lovely spice, red fruit, white pepper and blueberry tones. Long finish. I hadn't been much of a fan of Manfred's Grenache, but the last couple of bottles have been very enjoyable. A nice match with lamb sliders. 93-94 pts.
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6/29/2013 - Rosengoo wrote: 91 Points
This was popped and poured at a local restaurant with friends and was tasted alongside a 30 year old French wine for comparison. It had a clear appearance with a deep purple colour which had a bit of a ruby tinge to it. Very clean with a hugely pronounced aroma of red cherries.
The wine was dry but almost off dry with medium to high levels of acidy and tannins. This full bodied wine was very strong tonight with a red cherry taste. This was quite overwhelming at first but they settled down after 30 minutes and then then spices such as vanilla and white pepper came in and made the wine more enjoyable.
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6/22/2013 - bonedocnine wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful fruit. The wine is lovely and supple within a great drinking window. Rich and concentrated. Silky and smooth.
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6/18/2013 - TonyTiger Likes this wine: 90 Points
An explosive nose of spices, jam currants and grilled meat. The wine is full-bodied with a long, slightly acidic finish. It should benefit from a few more years in the bottle.
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5/11/2013 - Rosengoo wrote: 92 Points
We drank this at a friend's house for his birthday. It was decanted for approximately 30 minutes and really needed more time before drinking. Mid deep purple in colour with red tinges to it. Quite thin to taste with lots of cherries in the mouth. I think that it would be best to give this wine at least 2 to 3 hours of decanting to get the most out of it.
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4/5/2013 - dbg wrote:
Dark red to rim. Intense nose of oak and cherry on opening, some tar shows up with time. Full bodied ripe fruit, all bright sweet cherry, oak and tar that haven't really integrated yet. A bit cough-syrupy, this needs time to integrate. Plenty of potential but opened too soon. Unlike the Syrah, which is drinking well already. Judgment reserved.
So a revisit on day 2 and 3 show things coming together nicely, with a smoother attack and less overt alcoholic heat. Looks like great potential here, maybe a mistake to open it so soon.
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