Mystery wine evening (@Private location): *** only for my memory, no detailed note or rating *** Glass: Spiegelau Definition Bordeaux Tasted double blind. Not much to add to my previous note. Very well made, but too much of everything. Not joyful at all.
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High-end Rhone Dinner at a friend's house. (Hollywood): Very opaque ruby. Nose of plums, red cranberries, black pepper, leather and licorice. Plate is dense and mouth filling, resolved tannins, medium- acidity. This is quite big and opulent, yet still has balance. Ends with a long finish
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California Wine Weekend; 12/1/2023-12/3/2023 (Mos Eisley Cantina & Waterhouse Restaurant): Blackberry of the darkest ilk with cassis, bacon, lavender, violet, graphite and crushed rock. A wine of paradox. Hard and Soft, Fat and Lean, Hot and Seamless all at once. The push and pull keeps this interesting and the tannin suggests this has a long way to go in the cellar.
This really was right behind Just for the Love of It
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A friend brought this to a Syrah dinner for my wine group. While I think Dunnuck's 2007 review, where he said it showed "decadent fruit with black currant" is no longer accurate, this is an amazing wine. Beautiful nose, full bodied and a long finish. It probably has years of life ahead of it. Right now, I think it is in a great place, some spice notes balanced against the big fruit. A real treat. Definitely less fruity than the 2 younger new world Syrahs we had (2016 from WA and 2015 from Austrailia), but it more than held its own.
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2022 Athens Wine Event (CTC , Athens): Tasted blind . Straight to SQN Syrah guessed 2011 vintage non EBA. A magnificent wine full stop. Came at the end of a full online up and followed Masseto and Araujo 2005s and shown and blew them out of the water. Big and massive but also harmonious and balanced in its elevated state as we usually say for the top SQNs . We can go on and on here but really this could well be a perfect wine.98
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Tasting the Americans (Chez Nous): We decanted for an hour before drinking. This is deep deep purple slanted ruby. Deeply opaque and showing very little signs of aging on the edges. The nose is a melange of dark berries and dark red fruits augmented by a smoky meatiness and spice cabinet. On the palate this is thick and full bodied, with a port-like creaminess, expressing - without doubt - powerful fruits. Finishes with very good length. This is pretty boozy and the fruit power are almost like drinking concentrated juice. Great but 1 glass is enough.
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Wow. More than 5 years after I last tried it, this is singing. Rich, together, great length and utterly enjoyable. Still a hint of oak there that I would like to see fade, but that’s a minor blemish. And maybe it’s time for bottles that weigh less than a kilo?
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Kleur: Diep en ondoordringbaar donkerrood met een paarse vleug. Aroma / bouquet: Explosief stuivend en verleidelijk bouqet, kenmerkend voor Sine Qua Non-Syrah. Donker fruit, Mon Cherie / kersenlikeur, menthol, laurier. Zacht zoete drop en gemberkoek, chocola en mokka. Smaak / Afdronk: Ook in de mond maakt deze wijn een verpletterende indruk.Meer concentratie is bijna nietdenkbaar maar bij SQN is dat vrijwel altijd in een prachtige balans. Dik en supergeconcentreerd sap, met zachte zuren en boterzachte, droppige tannines. Algemeen / potentieel: Zoals Galloni beschrijft: "A big, bombastic wine, the 2004 Syrah Poker Face blasts across the palate with tons of pure density and pure volume". En beter is deze wijn niet te beschrijven. Extreem veel, in volledige harmonie. Punt! 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Smaak / Afdronk: 19 + Algemeen / potentieel: 10 = 98/100
Color: Deep and impenetrable dark red with a hint of purple Aroma / bouquet: Explosively dusty and seductive bouqet, characteristic of Sine Qua Non-Syrah. Dark fruit, Mon Cherie / cherry liqueur, menthol, bay leaf. Soft sweet liquorice and gingerbread, chocolate and mocha. Taste / Aftertaste: This wine also makes a stunning impression in the mouth. More concentration is almost unthinkable, but at SQN it is almost always in a beautiful balance. Thick and super concentrated juice, with soft acidity and buttery, droppy tannins. Overall / Potential: As Galloni describes: "A big, bombastic wine, the 2004 Syrah Poker Face blasts across the palate with tons of pure density and pure volume". And this wine cannot be described better. Extremely much, in complete harmony. Point! 50 + Color: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Taste / Finish: 19 + Overall / potential: 10 = 98/100
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Occasional dinner group: Great whites and Cult Napa (@ Merlet): So sorry, again not so many notes after a fantastic evening with great company and enormously beautiful wines. Just; complex, concentrated, beautiful sweetness and acidity. Soft tannin. A feast!
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Dense black-purple; band aid note, cassis, blackberry, minty, eucalyptus, forest fruits, lots of oak spice; full bodied, ripe and sweet attack, hot on the palate, creamy texture. There was some cool meaty notes on this and lovely fruit which saved this for me. Guessed 2010 Saxum, Saxum vy GSM. Even if not my style, drinking very well for this old. Heritage Wine Blind Wine #8 at the Tasting Finals at Jean-George Las Vegas
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Best bottle (@Private location): Glass: Josephinenhütte White/Universal Popped and poured. Deep purple color. Clean, intense nose with Syrah on steroids! Spices, white pepper and Cassis. Monster, but not yet balanced. How can I describe a wine that rare and expensive? I was not impressed or pleased. Can I write that? With over 100 CT notes averaging 96pts? But we had a great comparison this night with the 2003 La Turque. Wonderful acidity, very deep and dense, lots of red fruit, still very primary, mighty silky tannin, very spicy. But also a bit short on the finish. Yes, this is a great wine with great potential and it might get 96+ pts in 20 years. But, at the moment it is rather chubby and compared to the other wines we had around 92-93+
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90 minute decant. Decent fruit and nose. A little plum, current and eucalyptus but too tannic and hot. Not concentrated enough to hold up while waiting the tannin to mellow Time in the decanter didn’t improve it...maybe it’s a pnp at this point.
Acker Auction - May 2019 (Zuma in NYC): I do like these with age and would even say this one is still pretty young. It's a bit more refined though than its peers. Lots of blackberry jam and chocolate and spice and maybe even a touch of fir or evergreen notes. It's tasty. If we had a bottle though I'd be waiting another 10+ years.
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Acker SQN Dinner (NoMad Rooftop): Surprisingly youthful for a 15-year old wine. Still massive. Tannins just starting to integrate. The fruit is just beautiful.
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Very good, yet next to 17th Nail and Not an Exit clearly shows some age and a touch faded. Acids now beginnig to peak through more than the fruit. Drink up, lovely stuff, but not what it once was. See long very slow decline from here. Remains a real treat.
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Still strong fruit of blackberries, currants, and bing cherries. Very rich and concentrated with a great mouthfeel. A finish that lasts at least 1.5 minutes. Tasted after being decanted for 5 hours and again after 24 hours and the concentration was still there after being exposed for 24 hours. The acid was more noticeable after 24 hours which made it more well rounded. Served it with roasted short ribs that were almost like an osso buco and it was a great pairing. This is still evolving and has at least 10 years of life left.
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Fortunate to have this tonight. Opened one hour before tasting. Gigantic Syrah nose! The fruit is perfectly balanced with the acid and alcohol. The tannins have softened some and it was a joy to consume. Cassis, liqueur and berry (dark) were incredibly evident. The wine was chewy in a great way.
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Jailbreak Brewery restaurant opening SQN wine dinner with Justin Bonner (Jailbreak Brewery, Laurel, MD): As always, unbelievably big and concentrated wine. Explosive nose displaying intense black fruit, crushed blackberry, crème de cassis, dry cranberry, fruitcake, ink, licorice, liquid smoke, incense, lavender, dark spices and earth. Incredible concentration, layers upon layers of intense sweet black fruit, unctuous and dense yet quite silky, bright acidity, strong mineral presence and unending finish. The scale is mindboggling. It remains very youthful and will drink well for a few more decades. Quintessential SQN.
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The plushiest, most velvet and open Syrah of the 4 we had this evening. This started with a nose of chocolate, roasted nuts, gravel, leather, blackberries, young cherries. On the palette it was freshest of the flight, cherry notes leading in a very forward fruit driven opening that was delicious, tangy and satisfying. Additional notes of charcoal, dusted cinnamon, roast meats ensued but the signature plush, velvet fruit just shone through the whole evening.
Great drinking now, it may mature further in 5-7 years to provide complex secondary characteristics. It would be unfair to call it underdeveloped and one dimensional - it just is the most open and approachable Syrah the Krankls have made so far.
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Deep purple color with a bouquet and flavor of blackberries and coffee. Very big wine with fairly high alcohol, which peeked out just a bit in the long finish. After airing, the wine began to evolve toward meat and barnyard notes. Wonderful complexity, depth, and nuance, like a wine kaleidoscope! SQN does it again.
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Post Justin B's 40th birthday celebration dinner - Mostly SQNs. (The Grill Room at the Rosewood DC): The color still remains impenetrably dark. Explosive nose displaying intense blue and black fruit, blackberry pie, blueberry pie, blackberry liqueur, liquid smoke, ink, incense, licorice, black pepper, sweet spices and strong limestone. One of the most concentrated wines that I have encountered, like the Plume du Peintre or the 17th nail. Unbelievable fruit concentration, inky and chewy, intense black fruit driven palate impression, bright acidity and the finish that never ends. Although this is not about the subtlety and nuance, there is a fruit driven complexity. I am certain that Bob and other SQN lovers will find this perfect in every way. This remains incredibly youthful.
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A really impressive SQN. Thick dark fruit, with licorice, smoke, black pepper, and coffee on the nose. Powerful but not overbearing. This is drinking extremely well now, but I can see this improving with more time in the cellar.
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Very closed in and tight initially. Double decanted and still took 2 1/2 hours to really open and display wonderful depth and fruit. A phenomenal wine displaying great depth and intensity.
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2010 Brunello Riserva Bacchanalia (Stewart's house): I didn't want to like this wine, but it surprised me. Like an extremely ripe and unsubtle, but still very endearing, young Cote Rotie. Intense syrah fruit with a touch of the floral. Very ripe on the palate, but amazingly drinkable.
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Surprising showing. Dark and thick looking. Looks younger than 12 years. BUT, the wine is not at all the huge thick wine I expected. It is almost elegant and restrained. Much more like a Hermitage than a California Syrah. Still a lovely wine, impressive, but not in the way I had expected.
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@PittCue - Dark Purple, looked like a brand new wine, dark fruits, coats the mouth, it still tastes very young but balanced, long finish.the bottle was fun to drink and gave a lot of pleasure. felt the alcohol an hour or so later
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Nearly consistent with notes of 2015 (another Valentines Day occasion). Decanted 2-1/2 hours. Concerned as cork came out in pieces with minute amount of seepage. Started rather tight through perfectly balanced. Over two hours softened to reveal nuanced cherry notes, coating the palate with an extended finish. Unctuous mouthfeel. Quite lovely. Last glass the best. That said, we question if worth its current auction value.
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Had this at The Inn at Little Washington for T's 40th bday. The nose on this is intoxicating. You just don't want to take your nose out of the glass. The level of concentration and purity is hard to believe. A truly singular wine. At maturity, but shows no sign of fading anytime soon. Amazing.
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This went up against some tough competition in a line up of 20 wines including Mouton 82, Vega Sicilia 81, PJA La Chapelle 85, Biondi Santi 71 and more. It was the youngest wine too (the next nearest ws a 2002 Clos De La Mouchere from Boillot). So up against that competition, it put in a solid performance after at least 3 hours in the decanter, but it didn't shine which is perhaps unsurprising. We drank it last which may explain some of that, jaded taste buds 'n' all.
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Reva 06 vs Poker Face Dinner (Bistro Boheme): I can't believe that I ran into this wine again for the third time in a year. It is consistent with my previous notes. Classic syrah with a lovely aged profile of bacon and smoked meat. There is still plenty of fruit and a huge balance. It remains a very impressive wine that I continue to adore!
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SQN - Legends: Impressive with plenty of fresh fruit but also plenty of aged syrah flavors. Very expressive at the moment and a wonderful pleasure to taste again. A beautiful wine!
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Decanted 4 hours prior. Concerned as cork came out in thirds with minute amount of seepage. Despite decanting started rather tight through perfectly balanced. Over 90 minutes softened to reveal nuanced cherry notes, coating the palate with an extended finish. Unctuous mouthfeel. Quite lovely.
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BYO - US wines (NO.2): Classic syrah with plenty of smoke and bacon but also plenty of fruit but everything is still being balanced nicely with a wonderful acidity and well integrated tannins. Simply stated, this is a HUGE wine but still with a balance, freshness and lightness that is adoring. Truly impressive stuff!
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A speechless beauty. So rich and voluptuous. Great laser focused fruit. Syrah fruit profile without being overly funky. My first 100 point wine of the year.
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Thankfully not corked, as some friends have reported. Powerful complex and finely integrated tannins. Nose is fragrant airy and light, deceptively so for the power of the wine. Flavored of smoke, leather, tobacco, dried apples and a hint of lavender. Long sharp and satisfying finish. Stupendous.
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Rich, delicious blackberry fruit with tar and spice flavors, round and expansive, very ready to drink, core of fruit seemed a bit faded compared with past SQN wines, don't expect this wine to have more than 5 more years of age at most, mid-palate drinking, medium finish
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Incredibly expressive nose of ripe berries and exotic coffees. Deeply concentrated and ultra-smooth on the palate with flavors of blackberries, black pepper and mocha/coffee. A huge wine but there is a nice floral lift that keeps it fresh and elegant. The finish is deeply satisfying and complex with more notes of black fruits, minerals and spices. I've had very few Krankel wines and I now understand his genius clearly as this is one incredible wine albeit made in a very ripe, warm-climate style. It actually got worse with food and was best drunk alone. I must admit that being an "old world" drinker, I was looking to criticize this wine but the reality is it's simply fantastic.
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Cracked open a magnum of this to celebrate a colleagues birthday. Drunk in the office with friends. First time I have tried from magnum, garnet colour, amazing nose and opened up over an hour. Incredibly long finish. Simply stunning. Drinking well now, don't know whether it can get much better from here but lets hope so as we have more to drink!!
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Rotating between garnet and purple in color, this wine revealed blueberries, white pepper, blackberry and smokiness on the nose, more blackberry and well integrated tannins on the mouth feel and an assertive, 60+ second finish. The complexity and enjoyability of this wine are off the charts. It's simply an outstanding wine that is drinking so beautifully right now.
Wow is an understatement.
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Berserker Fest Friday Dinner - SQN Table (Blue Star Bistro - Chicago, IL): Holy crap this stuff is phenomenal. Darker touches of molasses and roast nuts and meat - vanilla cocoa. Absolutely massive and penetrates the palate with finesse and precision - out of bounds tasty. So dense and thick. Black fruit, rock and pepper. Lots of rich meaty game and smoke on the back end. Just black all day.
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97-98: still quite young, the color is dark and impenetrable. Unbelievably powerful, tannins are still quite firm, the wine grabs you by the throat and won't let go. Needs time -- strong notes of tamarind in the nose and palate. Enormously long finish. Extraordinary, but will improve over the next 5 years at least.
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Dena's birthday at Delmonicos with Eddie G. I wanted something truly special to open tonight and this met and exceeded expectations. Dark, deep impenetrable purple in the glass. A huge wine ( what an understatement ) but with all elements in a wonderful balance. High alcohol but not the least bit hot. Blackberry and boysenberry flavors dominate. Very long and smooth finish. A beautiful wine with a long life ahead of it. I wish I could afford more of this but I'm thankful for Col. Bob's generosity in sharing his allocation with me. 50+14+15+9.5+9.5=98
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Dinner at Remy on the Disney Fantasy. Great dinner btw. The wine has a powerful nose of coffee, chocolate covered cherries, game, and a hint of iron. The palate is medium to full with bright berries, oak, chocolate, dust, and some savory spices. Ridiculously long, tannic finish. It's still got a ways to go. Amazing.
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Sine Qua Non vertical (Carlton Restaurant, Zurich): Initially holding back a little, quite different from other SQN syrahs as it has strong notes of vanilla and vanilla bean, incredible wine and very elegant, as it balances the herbs/curry notes with elegantly integrated sweetness.
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Had this next to the 2002. Difference not very large. The 2002 perhaps a bit more open nose - the 2004 held up well in comparison - rate the two wines in sync.
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Before Lady Gaga, you could google Poker Face and this is what you would get, a totality unique and decadent mouth full Everyone's WOTN, I unbuttoned my shirt to show my Poker Face tee shirt, this wine rates its own tee shirt The nose, warm inviting, slow dancing with your favorite girl. First sip, flavor burst, rolls down your tongue, bells are ringing, the table echo's this is really good, the real deal The flavors are different with every sip, the finish is long, a wine you enjoy and remember.
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Big, dense, and potent... A cocktail wine for sure, but one that hits the spot when needed. Dense dark fruit liqueur and floral notes. Thick. Rich. Some alcohol shows through on the finish... But I think it's supposed to. Enjoyable today, and certainly plays its role well.
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Holiday Wines at Knightsbridge (Northbrook, IL): Popped and poured shortly after taken from a car, so also served rather cold. Not nearly at the same level as other times I've had this wine. Ripe black and blue fruit on nose and palate with some rather prominent liqueur notes. Powerful fruit all the way through with just hints of spice.
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An evening with Sine Qua Non (Restaurant Bottles, Sas van Gent): This was a worthy competitor to the most intense wine of the evening. Extremely impressive and demanding attention. Assorted nuts and eucalypt on the nose, which is almost overpowering with blackberries, espresso and oak. Big, anabolic and fierce. Turbulent mouthfeel, out of control pace and richness. Lots of bacon and smoky, dried hams. Tons of potential and promise, but at the moment larger than life. Could easily gain an extra point in 5 years time. 18,5/20 Generously donated by a participant who couldn't make it to the tasting.... Thanks a lot!
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SQN vs Rhone Dinner (BLT Steak, DC): Not sure I can give this a perfect score, but it's pretty freakin close! The nose smells like a BBQ pit, very warm meat smoke. Pure fruits dominate all over. It's big and full bodied, but remains light and balanced. You simply cant put this down. Layers of chocolate and cocoa keep coming out of nowhere on the palate, with rocks and stones that give it a healthy dose of minerality. Excellent experience.
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decanted for approx 2 hours,deep dark purple color..nose of caramel, toast, chocolate. gives all those flavors in the mouth, thick viscous, very long finish, very young wine
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By the time I had this wine in my glass I wasn't making extensive notes any longer. Maybe a pity, but I enjoyed the evening so much! What I wrote down; some eucalyptus and beautiful oak aromas beside the black fruits. On the palate a mouth full of wine with a lot of sweetness and also beautiful acidity and a very long finish. With more ageing it might gain some elegance, but I scored it 97 this evening.
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Tasted non blind. Opened and briefly decanted before serving.
Dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of flowers, melted black licorice, hint of roasted meat, currants and a dash of blueberry. Flavors of currants, plums, raspberries, black berries and black cherries. Medium acidity, medium tannins, full bodied. Drink or hold.
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This is still a huge wine. Even decanted for a couple of hours and in the glass for an hour more, it is still massive. That denseness hides what I think will evolve into something far more interesting - which is why it scores 93; on tonight's showing it wouldn't score that high. The poker face was up against a 99 Brunello from salvioni which, whilst still big, showed better.
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Tasted at a charity event (GGFAGC/11). Not as outstanding as I remember it but still superb. Very dark in colour with perfect alcohol levels and tannins to it. I got a strong nose of vanilla which continued into the taste. This might have been a 96+ tonight.
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Maybe the 3rd or the 4th time I have had this wine. It is better for each time. A clean lovely wine with great creamy structure. A bit of apricot on the nose. Not as long as many other vintages but this is a class act. Beautiful!
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Boom! That's what happens with the perfume the moment the wine leaps from the bottle. Espresso, blackberry, caramel, jam, chocolate, spice and blueberries fill the air. This thick, luxurious, full bodied, opulent wine coats your mouth and palate with velvety textured fruit. This wine is huge, but everything is in balance. The wine finishes with a pallet full of palate staining black and blue fruit. This is a true benchmark wine for Syrah in California!
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not much to add to my previous notes.. really nice to get back to this wine again. big and lush and comforting in a big ass way. hit the sweet spot on a cold january night.
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one of the most expressive, expansive, and interesting noses I have come across. A wine that I kept in the glass and was afraid to drink it too fast, as it was intoxicating to just swirl. Mushroom, chocolate, intense toffee, dark fruits and a very distinct "old man suit", almost musk like. This for me was the most interesting wine of the night, and the one that I would most like to try again out of the group. (or at least more of this style).
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Dark purple color and most effusive nose of the evening with sweet honeysuckle, berries and spice; palate was deep and pure with dark fruits, a hint of buttered toffee, and a long, polished finish with plenty of acidic lift. Not enough complexity to merit a classic score, and having had this wine a few times now, I believe that Parker over-rated it – recognizable as SQN from the aromatic verve and polished tannins, but not on the same level as my favorite SQNs.
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Dinner at The Kitchen (Rivers Marie, SQN, Corra & others) (The Kitchen - Sacramento): This was my first experience with a Sine Qua Non wine, and I tried to go into it with few expectations. What I found was the most elegant Syrah I have ever had, although the least stylistically "correct". Poker Face is a wine of silky elegance, deep concentration, complexity and balance.
Nose: Revealed Black Currants, Opulent Blackberry and vanilla initially. Evolved to show bacon, black tea, juniper, spicey berries and and pepper but remained very polished. Black as pitch in the glass with redness at the edges. Palate: Not one bit overbearing, just silky smooth (almost creamy) and loaded with flavor. Layerd and complex the fruit unwound to reveal pancetta, charcoal, cracked black pepper and other nuanced flavors. Great and long palate. Finish: Very long loaded with sweet tanins, licorice, meaty smokey oak and espresso. The nuances of this wine are suprising.
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Sine Qua Non Dinner: the Younger Wines (Custom House Tavern - Chicago IL): Incredibly intense fruit aromas - blackberry, blueberry, with great spice and some floral background hints. Palate not quite as black fruit oriented, with red cherry, black cherry, then some elements of cherry liqueur. Amazing tannins, very strong acidity help provide great balance, texture, length on finish. This is a wow wine, I'm not sure where it goes from here, but is simply alluring and sensational now.
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It's back! The bottle we had 2 months ago must have been an aberration. This is what we would have expected. One of the best wines of the year. Rich and powerful but still exquisitely balanced. Fresh, exotic, this is a wine that makes me really happy every time I try it.
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Decanted for two hours, using a funnel and a double decant. Dark, dark, dark. black core with a garnet rim. A very layered nose of candied plum, blueberry, sandalwood, charcoal, spice, white pepper and wet earth. The finish echoes vanilla bean. Talk about a finish! It lasts over a minute and flows in a tiered fashion. Ostentatious and quaint at the same time. There is a regal quality that gives this a true wondrous identity. The acidity is in perfect balance with every other nuance. I prefer this over the '07 Carlisle Papa's Block by just a hair and like that wine, this has a core that will leave you in a lucid dream for a while. Almost perfect and so complex, it's scary. A passionate vino. Very enjoyable now and will last. The best Syrah that I've ever had and lives up to the legendary hype. Drink now - 2025.
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96% Syrah, 2.5% Mouvedre, 1.5% Viognier....first thing you notice is how powerful, yet smooth and balanced this wine is! Like mouth coating cream over the palate! Huge rich dark fruit, raspberry puree, smoked plum, mocha vanilla oak, dusty graphite. Amazing florals, more so in the mouth than the nose though......nice white pepper spice, Alban smoky asphalt. The balance was just amazing....and in never wavered all night, nor did the flavors let up. Super wine!
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First bottle of this for almost a year and it was not showing as well as expected, very, very good but last few times it's been a 100 pointer and this time not there. Very young looking but not that dark 90;92. Very clear, almost luminescent. Big and fat in the mouth but not heavy. Not that interesting. Left it for next day in half-bottle, much more impressive, fills every crevice of the mouth with flavors, explosive, exciting, this is what I expected. Even the balance was much better the second day. Very long aftertaste. I would give it 92 points the first day and 98 on the second - go figure.
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Wow, everything you would want in an over the top Syrah with huge meat, smoke, bacon and spice. The finish was so full you almost couldn't tell you were done... Still a baby though and will get better over time!
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My first SQN red and it was excellent. Full bodied, complex and will age very well. Not sure it is worth the price of entry though. Alot of money for a Syrah. Thanks Brad for sharing! I enjoyed it very much and unlike Serge, I love big fat red wines and this one did not disappoint.
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I was overwhelmed by notoriety and the massive concentration. I felt like the wine was opened way too early and another 5+ years can only benefit it even more. My first red SQN and probably the last - I still do not get big huge wines and too old to learn the new tricks.
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TN: SQN, Terry Hoage, Aalto, Turley: I had this wine a few years ago and its interesting to see how its changed. I think I would leave these alone for a while as it seems to be in a tweaner phase. Still, its delicious now and that is more that I think it shows glimpses of being even better. This bottle was decanted for a couple of hours prior to drinking. The nose is elegant. Not a monster in any way. Black raspberries, some cocoa, bacon fat, and even a white floral note. On the palate, this seemed subdued to an extent although air seemed to bring it back. Its complex and very smooth. I had to really stop and pay attention to this to really appreciate it. I generally don't think of SQN as contemplative wines, but this one has become one. Great finish. More and more I am coming to the conclusion that for my tastes, the better Cal Syrahs, the monsters, need a lot more time and WILL age just fine.
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15.5% alcohol. This is much more representative of how good Sine Qua Non reds can be. Purple-red color. Gorgeous bouquet of slightly jammy blue and black fruit, with a hint of meat and distinct note of bacon fat. In the mouth, powerful and you might almost describe it as brutish if it didn't have such marvelously done concentration and sense of balance, if on a large scale. Still showing quite primary on the palate, with gobs of fruit and the complexity just beginning to show its stuff. Enough acidity and a long finish that shows some tannins. A
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Dinner at Steve & Barb's house with Bob. This wine really packs a wallop of flavor and fruit while staying just on the right side of the line. Intense coffee, cappucino and dark chocolate on the nose followed by a blast of black cherry on the palate. Very long sweet fruit. I think this will be better with a few more years under its belt to calm down a bit, but it is a wild ( and delicious ) ride today. 50+13+13+8.5+8.5 = 93+
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This huge Syrah was very sweet with typical notes of iron (I always think they smell like blood), caramel, plastic and lavender. Very alcoholic, but I like it. Not exactly a food wine. Wait another 10 years to drink this.
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All blueberry and charcoal. Very pleasing and not too hot. Is this a 100 point wine with a 60+ second finish? I'm not sure, but it's excellent and a great choice with highly seasoned steaks. I don't think this will be over the hill any time soon.
At J w/ D& KL.
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My first experience with SQN, and it fell a bit short of my expectations. Opened about 3 hours prior to consumption; a very dark and opaque purple color. A powerful but relatively one-dimensional bouquet, with ripe dark fruits in spades, a good dose of spicy oak, and a hint of roasted meat. A big wine, with great concentration and flavor, but without the velvety texture, delineation, or complexity that I had expected. Still, this was the WOTN for just about everyone (except me!) at my birthday dinner; I preferred the '95 l'Evangile, which we had with the previous course.
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decanted 4 hours. i think i've got a pretty good handle on this wine based on multiple tastings over a decent spread of time, and it's falls far short ofthe parker hype machine. granted, i'm an SQN fan, mailing list customer, personal friend of manfred, yet let's be honest...this wine is never going to shed it's tremendous tannin, oak, and alcohol. period. you can hold it in your cellar for as long as you can mistakenly justify, you can decant it 72 hours, you can drink it under a the frame of a pyramid. probably my least favorite syrah from the portfolio. have a nice day.
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TNs: Latour, La Turque SQN, LLC, Shafer HSS, Alban, Bryant, etc. (Rancho Sante Fe): I love this wine. Manfred's syrahs have been amazingly consistent in the last several years. The Papa (tasted twice recently) is more ready to go than this. Still very wound up and tight, just hinting at a great future. Blackberries, road tar, a touch of menthol, this wine is stacked and packed, but never over the top or out of balance. Give it 2-3 more years or a good decant.
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This is almost black in color. Very rich, ripe aromas of oak, pepper, blackberry liquor continue gaining strength in the glass. This very dense, concentrated wine has enough lift to keep it exciting and fresh in the mouth. The massive wine finishes with a tidal wave of ripe, black cherry, vanilla, blue fruit and blackberries. This wine truly coats your palate.
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IS SINE QUA NON THE GREATEST WINE IN THE WORLD? We go to school to find out!; 5/22/2009-5/25/2009: pop and pour. Loaves upon loaves of fresh out of the oven white bread with inky dark brooding berries and ripe alcohol mixed in with the customary SQN spice greet you on the nose. A super clean and soft wine with crisp handfuls of bright cherries and raspberries. Vanilla, spiced black pepper, and 5 spice round out the palate. May have to do with the fact that it was a pop and pour, but the wine didn't show strongly. I'm used to being blown away by SQN with bold fruits and spice that is balanced and clean, but everything was subdued. 100pts it is not.
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MOPA 100 Point Wine Tasting (Rancho Santa Fe, CA): Is this wine or blueberry pancake syrup? I've never tasted a dry wine that had such a sticky, cloying finish. I loathed this wine, and would have given it sub-70 points, but have to give it a little nod, as most people at the tasting considered it WOTN. Guess that's what makes horse racing.
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Tasted at a charity event (GGFAGC/09). This wine had a very deep colour to it and a bouquet that just rocked of vanilla and cherries. Those same two smells were very evident in the taste as well. I had this right after a SQN "Papa" and enjoyed it more which I never would have envisioned.
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Great Grapes for a Great Cause SQN Tasting -- 2nd Annual (Le Paradou, Washington DC): corked last year at "great grapes for a great cause" -- but not this time! very, very primary. cherry, just-on-the-verge-of-ripe plum, blackberry, black cherry -- you name a fruit, and it was there. wow. a little bit of heat, but a long, long finish. this is a great wine and i can't wait to (hopefully) see it develop over the years.
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Blockbuster SQN bomb, really dark with huge nose, tons of extraction, sexy WD-40 all the way...of the JFTLOI style but better. complete wine porn. paired excellently with lamb course at The French Laundry.
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magnificent wine....hand's downm one of the best syrah's i've ever drank. great texture, thick, but not too thick like a great syrah should be.loads of fruit, smokey meats, berries. i loved it.
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Simply extraordinary. Opened and the aromas filled the room. Decanted 5 hours before consumption. I dont know what 100 points is but wowie zowie. I don't know how it gets better than this.
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Although still quite young this wine is one of the finest examples of Cali syrah I've ever consumed. Starts with an incredibly expressive nose. A huge wine that is only going to get better with more time. Just wish I had more than one bottle left. The finish goes on forever.
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Great American Syrah Shootout II (Chicago, IL): Inky purple color. Dense, rich aromas of black fruit, smoke, spices and toast. Palate is huge and richly fruited. Sweet black fruits going on and on.
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Wineflock - Best of American Syrah (Home): Another strong showing for this wine as well, with similar notes. Nice black and red fruit with plenty of stuffing and richness.
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Casual Dinner at Le Titi -for an out of towner (Le titi de Paris): Fantastically well made wine. Almost pitch black. Normally not my style but it was just so well made and it didn’t hurt that it was also delicious. My notes are unreadable today but I obviously liked it. Tremendously complex, smooth, balanced (even for a big wine) and I can see the hype.
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John Chapman meets the three Headed Monster (Le Titi Paris(Arlington Heights, IL)): nose: jam packed nose that gets you set for a thrill ride with layers of anise, black cherries, black berries, belgian chocolate, smoke, and loads of purple fruits. Very dense nose that just takes hold and emits from the glass letting you know to get ready. With as bold and big as it is, it doesn't go over the top, and instead its walking the line and getting you to expect it to be too much, but then laugh at you while holding back a bit
taste: Big and chewy tannins with a largeness to it that stands tall on the palate with very rich tones of anise, coffee, black cherries, blackberries, 100% cacao chocolate, loads of smoke and packed purple fruits. Well layered that unfolds in the mouth and shouts at the top of its lungs as it announces its presence
overall: this was my first Sine Qua Non red, and it lived up to my expectations. A massive wine that goes for the jugular but doesn't do over the top. Thisis insanely well made and offers up its own style of syrah that puts the grape on show. An awesome wine with richness abounding and while being full bodied there is a smooth feel as it crosses the palate. This wine was certainly an experience
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Sine Qua Non Tasting (Lush): Opaque pitch black/purple color. Bigforward dense purple fruit nose with asphalt and floral notes. Mmmn, big bold asphalt blackberry with black cherry and lavendar hints. Long coffee finish. One of the more albanesque SQNs I've had which is interesting. Lovely wine but I don't see 100 pts here...
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dinner at zelo in minneapolis, my bottle. decanted, but only for about an hour. i thought we would have consumed this the previous night at our syrah slugfest, but it remained unopened. good depth of fruit without a ton of oak, but it's certainly a big wine. this still strikes me as being somewhat backward, and not ready for prime time. the jury is still out for me on whether this will ever match the hype.
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Amazing complexity, but needs time to integrate. Perhaps not showing presently as well as Papa, for example, at present. Time should soften any hard edges.
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Probably my favorite SQN “regular”. This started to lose some of the exuberance 6 months ago and it has not quite opened up again – give it another 6 – 12 months. This bottle was definitely better the next day left in a decanter in the cellar. 99 points second day, “only” 97 the first day.
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15.5% alcohol. 96 % syrah + mourvedre and viognier. splash decanted, and followed in the glass over the last 3 1/2 hours, while keeping the decanter in the cellar. let's just say i haven't been too enamored with the wines i have been recently tasting, so i decided to go to the SQN well to validate my wine existence. this retains it's massive structure and tannic reticence, although it did budge a bit more for me tonight than previously. i've downed a pretty hefty amount of SQN over the years, so i don't feel timid about saying this wine is never going to be a 100 point parker darling for me. it's simply too one dimensional for it to ever reveal the complexity i think that kind of a number should imply. black, black fruit and color, a touch heavy in the oak department, and i think keeping the drinking temp near 60 degrees helped placate the alcohol, as well as eliminate any heat in the finish. however, what really saves this wine, and makes the krankl ethos so outstanding, is the underlying beauty of the fruit. it's bold, thick, and juicy enough to temper most of it's shortcomings. the other thing is that you can't help but have fun drinking this, knowing the producer, their story, and the individual dedication to crafting wines that are unique.
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Hard to give this a score, but it's way up there. Popped and poured following the Atlantis. Much more typical of SQN. Warm, red and black fruit, hints of bacon fat/meat on the nose. The palate, while quite tannic, shows loads of fruit, graphite, coffee bean, and that unique "fist in a velvet glove" that Manfred is so good at. Admittedly we should not have opened this tonight. Four adults, and we drank an Aubert and the Atlantis first; this was mainly to show a more "typical" SQN to our friends. While it did do that, it was probably a bit excessive :-) After 4 hours, this is even better. I adjusted my score up a couple notches. There is something about this wine--the richness without the weight, the intensity without the smack upside the head, the depth without being drowned--that makes it spectacular. Phenomenal.
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15.5% alcohol on this kind of spoils this effort as of now. a bit disjointed with a finish that's way too hot. fruit is big but a little plain. not anywhere worth the price, find a different sqn to try.
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I’ve had this wine before and liked it a lot, but this bottle was a hot, disjointed mess. The wine got a bit warmer than I’d like (though still just below room temperature) and the stems were poor, but I don’t think that can account for the truly poor showing. It was like somebody dropped a shot of vodka in mediocre Australian shiraz. I’m going to chalk this one up to a flawed bottle.
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Explosive blueberry fruit, crushed blueberry, blueberry pie, sea salt, licorice and extremely sweet nose. It gained a lot more weight with time, got even sweeter, blue fruits, silky mouthfeel, beautifully balanced. IMO, technically perfect wine but perhaps too much of good thing for some. It also could serve as a desert wine. BTW, this wine is alot more open than a year ago.
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hints of black cherries, liquorice, black currants, sweet maple syrup, vanilla, and an almost overpowering amount of alcohol throwing it slightly off balance. A long finish and powerful rich structure.
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incredible bottle. double splash decanted. wonderful fragrant nose. no sense of hotness. deep rich dark fruits and exotic nose. palate is full and lush. total coverage like a beautiful cashmere blanket. dark fruits, lovely flowers. tannins wonderfully integrated. again, minimal sense of alcohol on the palate. just a big, big wine. finish lasts forever.
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Roy's Restaurant in Kauai has this on its wine list at a very reasonable price. I'm not sure if they appreciate its value. On trying it for the first time, it is still young, but drinkable now. It opened up dramatically after 90 minutes. Big nose and full, balanced mouth feel. The wine is a pristine expression of the Syrah grape. It has the longest finish I've ever experienced, well over 60 seconds. Although Parker's 100-point rating might be a little generous, this is an exceptional offering.
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Decanted 6 hours. I just loved the deep, opaque purple color of this wine. Huge nose of dark fruit and raspberry, flowers, grilled meat, and a touch of vanilla, tar, and smoke. Hits the palate with an initial attack of big, ripe almost candied fruit flavors from which I expected a thick, syrupy texture but instead the flavors glide seamlessly across the palate; the mouthfeel is silky and elegant. Beautifully balanced wine. A whole lot of fun to drink!
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15.5% alcohol. taken to an offline; double decanted (put back into uncorked bottle) 5 hours. i should have left it in the decanter, and poured back into the bottle for transport to venue. this showed amazingly tight. i am used to these drinking well young, even if "hudaked", but not tonight. while the fruit was dense, there was moderate alcohol on the palate. you know, 2 ounce pour, etc., there isn't that great of an opportunity to evaluate. i think it will develop, and perpetuate the legacy, in time. it's not a monster, just a strong willed adolescent.
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Backstreet Offline - Full extraction of concentrated dark fruits with a huge amount of oak that keep the wine fresh. Finishes like an oak barrel but I could actually drink this one.
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eRobert Parker Offline - Best of Cellar (Backstreet Wine Salon, Phoenix): Blackberries, leather and tobacco. Lots of toasted oak that needs time to better integrate. Excellent depth of fruit. Quite powerful but very much closed at this point. A sleeping monster of a wine. Nice backbone of acidity will help this wine age gracefully. The 15.5% alcohol is quite noticeable on the finish unfortunately.
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INCREDIBLE RICH WINE WITH LOTS OF BLACK FRUITS IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR, BLACKBERRIES, BLACK CHERRIES AND BLUEBERRIES. VERY COMPLEX AND A VERY LONG FINISH.
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great. tough to find flaws in this bottle. color was dark and pure. nose hits you as the cork leaves the bottle. dark, rich fruits; wood, spices. this is a big brooding wine that really struts its stuff after being in the glass for about 30 minutes. palate is killer. covers like a big lush silky sweater. pure decadence. the finish just goes and goes.
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Red Carpet Wine Tasting: Beautiful nose (fruit, floral, pepper) that I could just sit and sniff all night; A continually developing very complex balanced palate; Incredible finish with a pepperiness that continues to evolve; I keep thinking of Hayao Miyazaki films as I drink this
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decanted 12 hours and it was still tight, definitely not as flamboyant as Papa, but definitely more structured and built for a long hall. Thankfully I have another and will drink it in 7 or 8 years
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Decanted 12 hrs, out of the decanter all I got was musty wet cardboard. I recently had this wine which was an absolute blockbuster. This bottle was unfortunately corked.
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Stellar bottle - showing even bigger than a couple months ago if that's possible. And the nose followed the cork right out of the bottle - I haven't experienced as explosive a nose as this since my original JFTLOI a couple years ago. Overall I think I would enjoy this more if I could wait a year before opening another bottle, but they're tasty now.
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Almost opaque in color. The aromatics are intense. Black and blue fruit as well as plums, vanilla and spice explode from the glass. Incredible levels of concentration. This has a bit more structure than JFTLOI, but, it lacks the same plush texture. The finish must last close to a minute. Give it a few years to add more complexity. This is a monumental California Syrah.
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Dinner w/ Friends --- Arrivederci Joe! (Vinci - Lincoln Park, Chicago): Inky dark purple with a richly concentrated and layered nose of sweet black fruit, caramel, chocolate, smoke and scorched earth. Massive bodied on the palate with an abundance of rich, pure and focused dark fruit manages to stay fresh and balanced. Barbecue spices, smoke and brown sugar compliment the lavish fruit. Generously oaked but so well proportioned and fresh. Deliciously long. Superb.
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Large-scaled violet and dark fruits - very SQN. A bit sloppy on the palate, simple and candied. Consistent with other SQN Syrah, but for whatever reason not really doing it for me tonight.
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94-96 Points. Dark purple when poured into glass. Nose of tobacco, leather. Fruit, rasberries, did not begin to express until 30 minutes after decanting and 10 minutes in glass. Wine continued to evolve over the next hour. Began to show it's true potential. Interestingly, was amazingly balanced when initially poured into glass. Then, individual components began to express themselves individually such as the alcohol which was not in evidence at first. All of the elements then melded again later. In my opinion it is rare for a wine to so transparently show its character while evolving. Paired very well with roasted Muscovy Duck. Remainder was put back into bottle and will be consumed tomorrow.
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Opened to pair with rack of lamb for Easter dinner. Incredibly dark purple/black as I poured from the bottle to the decanter - bordering on Alban-esque opacity. Initially this showed very closed, but started to open up and become more complex after 45 minutes and lots of swirling. The nose showed perfumey red and black fruits along with meat and maybe some leather. It also took on some dry/dusty coffee bean elements as time wore on. I think these are some of the most fun wines to smell because they usually keep getting better and more interesting and this bottle was no different. The palate shows no alcohol despite the label indicating 15.5% - again, this is typical with my (somewhat limited) experience of Manfred's wines. Intense black raspberry, toasty blueberry, and tarry/saddle dominate for me. With the lamb, a bit of black licorice showed through as well. The tannins are big and a little bit bite-y - bigger than I remember the Papa or the JFTLOI being at this stage. This seems to be a bit more of a bruiser, overall, something I've not noticed in any previous SQN Syrahs. Where the JFTLOI seemed to be a bit more light on its feet impressionistically, this packs more punch and gets your attention. Ultimately I think they end up at the same place (or at least will as they evolve) but they take different roads to get there. This is easily a 95-point wine, right out of the bottle. The question is, as it aerates, how many more points does it warrant? I can definitely see RMP's 98-100 range. I did put a score with this as previous experiences with SQN Syrahs at this early stage indicate that they need a LOT of air to really show their best. I may come back either later tonight or tomorrow after breakfast and throw in some points. Or I may not - the points have no impact on how freakin' delicious this stuff is!
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Sine Qua Non, Poker Face, Syrah 2004. Dark, thick and massive looking. Nose of black fruit, flowers and chocolate and an interesting hint of stems (not in a bad way). A campfire note plus some pleasant sweet/acrid notes. In the mouth it was virtually perfect; thick, very sweet core, good acidity and lots of very fine-grained, sweet tannins. It was like a Muhammad Ali of wine: Big, strong and powerful but light as a butterfly on its feet. In the mouth it was spicy, sweet, with roasted red and black fruit, licorice, dark milk chocolate (50%), and cookie batter. The aftertaste was very long, ripe and sweet but with great salt/bitterness to make it a serious wine in spite of its deliciousness. Espresso-grind and Tahitian vanilla and lots of aromatics. That is a very sexy wine with excellent structure and balance. Someone said it is like a Cote Roti with California flair. 98-99p.
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4/27/2024 - NoTrollingerPlease Does not like this wine:
Mystery wine evening (@Private location): *** only for my memory, no detailed note or rating ***
Glass: Spiegelau Definition Bordeaux
Tasted double blind. Not much to add to my previous note. Very well made, but too much of everything. Not joyful at all.
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3/26/2024 - jfpwine Likes this wine: 93 Points
High-end Rhone Dinner at a friend's house. (Hollywood): Very opaque ruby. Nose of plums, red cranberries, black pepper, leather and licorice. Plate is dense and mouth filling, resolved tannins, medium- acidity. This is quite big and opulent, yet still has balance. Ends with a long finish
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12/3/2023 - englishman's claret wrote:
Candied black cherry, really big, not a lot of zip. Meh.
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12/2/2023 - RockinCabs wrote: 96 Points
California Wine Weekend; 12/1/2023-12/3/2023 (Mos Eisley Cantina & Waterhouse Restaurant): Blackberry of the darkest ilk with cassis, bacon, lavender, violet, graphite and crushed rock. A wine of paradox. Hard and Soft, Fat and Lean, Hot and Seamless all at once. The push and pull keeps this interesting and the tannin suggests this has a long way to go in the cellar.
This really was right behind Just for the Love of It
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10/27/2023 - tcarter Likes this wine: 96 Points
Ojai Food + Wine Festival; 10/26/2023-10/29/2023 (Ojai Valley Inn): Yes please. This is killer juice. Loved it, wish I had some more.
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6/7/2023 - SMHalps Likes this wine: 95 Points
A friend brought this to a Syrah dinner for my wine group. While I think Dunnuck's 2007 review, where he said it showed "decadent fruit with black currant" is no longer accurate, this is an amazing wine. Beautiful nose, full bodied and a long finish. It probably has years of life ahead of it. Right now, I think it is in a great place, some spice notes balanced against the big fruit. A real treat. Definitely less fruity than the 2 younger new world Syrahs we had (2016 from WA and 2015 from Austrailia), but it more than held its own.
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5/1/2023 - Minnesota wrote: 95 Points
Whoa, too inky rich to sip half bottle over 90 minutes. Certainly well-made but lacking in nuances. Decanted two hours prior.
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5/20/2022 - Papies wrote: 98 Points
2022 Athens Wine Event (CTC , Athens): Tasted blind . Straight to SQN Syrah guessed 2011 vintage non EBA.
A magnificent wine full stop. Came at the end of a full online up and followed Masseto and Araujo 2005s and shown and blew them out of the water. Big and massive but also harmonious and balanced in its elevated state as we usually say for the top SQNs . We can go on and on here but really this could well be a perfect wine.98
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1/27/2022 - Tudz Drkl Likes this wine:
Tasting the Americans (Chez Nous): We decanted for an hour before drinking. This is deep deep purple slanted ruby. Deeply opaque and showing very little signs of aging on the edges. The nose is a melange of dark berries and dark red fruits augmented by a smoky meatiness and spice cabinet. On the palate this is thick and full bodied, with a port-like creaminess, expressing - without doubt - powerful fruits. Finishes with very good length. This is pretty boozy and the fruit power are almost like drinking concentrated juice. Great but 1 glass is enough.
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9/18/2021 - AlanM68 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wow. More than 5 years after I last tried it, this is singing. Rich, together, great length and utterly enjoyable. Still a hint of oak there that I would like to see fade, but that’s a minor blemish. And maybe it’s time for bottles that weigh less than a kilo?
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8/17/2021 - jlgnml wrote: 97 Points
Wow. Decanted for 30 min and this was a pure joy to put in my mouth. Served with BBQ baby back ribs and this was dynamite. Drink.
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1/29/2021 - WildeMeeuw Likes this wine: 98 Points
Kleur: Diep en ondoordringbaar donkerrood met een paarse vleug. Aroma / bouquet: Explosief stuivend en verleidelijk bouqet, kenmerkend voor Sine Qua Non-Syrah. Donker fruit, Mon Cherie / kersenlikeur, menthol, laurier. Zacht zoete drop en gemberkoek, chocola en mokka. Smaak / Afdronk: Ook in de mond maakt deze wijn een verpletterende indruk.Meer concentratie is bijna nietdenkbaar maar bij SQN is dat vrijwel altijd in een prachtige balans. Dik en supergeconcentreerd sap, met zachte zuren en boterzachte, droppige tannines. Algemeen / potentieel: Zoals Galloni beschrijft: "A big, bombastic wine, the 2004 Syrah Poker Face blasts across the palate with tons of pure density and pure volume". En beter is deze wijn niet te beschrijven. Extreem veel, in volledige harmonie. Punt! 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Smaak / Afdronk: 19 + Algemeen / potentieel: 10 = 98/100
Color: Deep and impenetrable dark red with a hint of purple Aroma / bouquet: Explosively dusty and seductive bouqet, characteristic of Sine Qua Non-Syrah. Dark fruit, Mon Cherie / cherry liqueur, menthol, bay leaf. Soft sweet liquorice and gingerbread, chocolate and mocha. Taste / Aftertaste: This wine also makes a stunning impression in the mouth. More concentration is almost unthinkable, but at SQN it is almost always in a beautiful balance. Thick and super concentrated juice, with soft acidity and buttery, droppy tannins. Overall / Potential: As Galloni describes: "A big, bombastic wine, the 2004 Syrah Poker Face blasts across the palate with tons of pure density and pure volume". And this wine cannot be described better. Extremely much, in complete harmony. Point! 50 + Color: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Taste / Finish: 19 + Overall / potential: 10 = 98/100
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3/10/2020 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 97 Points
not blind
Still too Young but well drinkable in this stage. Powerful, balanced. A bit too high in alcohol. 97+
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3/7/2020 - Zweder wrote: 96 Points
Occasional dinner group: Great whites and Cult Napa (@ Merlet): So sorry, again not so many notes after a fantastic evening with great company and enormously beautiful wines. Just; complex, concentrated, beautiful sweetness and acidity. Soft tannin. A feast!
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1/31/2020 - peternelson wrote: 92 Points
Dense black-purple; band aid note, cassis, blackberry, minty, eucalyptus, forest fruits, lots of oak spice; full bodied, ripe and sweet attack, hot on the palate, creamy texture. There was some cool meaty notes on this and lovely fruit which saved this for me. Guessed 2010 Saxum, Saxum vy GSM. Even if not my style, drinking very well for this old. Heritage Wine Blind Wine #8 at the Tasting Finals at Jean-George Las Vegas
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11/23/2019 - NoTrollingerPlease wrote: 93 Points
Best bottle (@Private location): Glass: Josephinenhütte White/Universal
Popped and poured. Deep purple color. Clean, intense nose with Syrah on steroids! Spices, white pepper and Cassis. Monster, but not yet balanced.
How can I describe a wine that rare and expensive? I was not impressed or pleased. Can I write that? With over 100 CT notes averaging 96pts? But we had a great comparison this night with the 2003 La Turque. Wonderful acidity, very deep and dense, lots of red fruit, still very primary, mighty silky tannin, very spicy. But also a bit short on the finish.
Yes, this is a great wine with great potential and it might get 96+ pts in 20 years. But, at the moment it is rather chubby and compared to the other wines we had around 92-93+
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10/17/2019 - Kevnzworld wrote: 93 Points
90 minute decant.
Decent fruit and nose. A little plum, current and eucalyptus but too tannic and hot.
Not concentrated enough to hold up while waiting the tannin to mellow
Time in the decanter didn’t improve it...maybe it’s a pnp at this point.
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5/15/2019 - MC2 Wines wrote:
Acker Auction - May 2019 (Zuma in NYC): I do like these with age and would even say this one is still pretty young. It's a bit more refined though than its peers. Lots of blackberry jam and chocolate and spice and maybe even a touch of fir or evergreen notes. It's tasty. If we had a bottle though I'd be waiting another 10+ years.
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5/14/2019 - mattiasjansson wrote: 97 Points
Acker SQN Dinner (NoMad Rooftop): Surprisingly youthful for a 15-year old wine. Still massive. Tannins just starting to integrate. The fruit is just beautiful.
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5/14/2019 - KenK Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very good, yet next to 17th Nail and Not an Exit clearly shows some age and a touch faded. Acids now beginnig to peak through more than the fruit. Drink up, lovely stuff, but not what it once was. See long very slow decline from here. Remains a real treat.
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4/16/2019 - Buddy318 Likes this wine: 95 Points
It’s still all there. I would guess at least 5-6 years left.
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2/11/2019 - agbanker Likes this wine: 98 Points
Still strong fruit of blackberries, currants, and bing cherries. Very rich and concentrated with a great mouthfeel. A finish that lasts at least 1.5 minutes. Tasted after being decanted for 5 hours and again after 24 hours and the concentration was still there after being exposed for 24 hours. The acid was more noticeable after 24 hours which made it more well rounded. Served it with roasted short ribs that were almost like an osso buco and it was a great pairing. This is still evolving and has at least 10 years of life left.
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11/20/2018 - dbhatiamd Likes this wine: 98 Points
Fortunate to have this tonight. Opened one hour before tasting. Gigantic Syrah nose! The fruit is perfectly balanced with the acid and alcohol. The tannins have softened some and it was a joy to consume. Cassis, liqueur and berry (dark) were incredibly evident. The wine was chewy in a great way.
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5/30/2018 - dcwino wrote: 96 Points
Jailbreak Brewery restaurant opening SQN wine dinner with Justin Bonner (Jailbreak Brewery, Laurel, MD): As always, unbelievably big and concentrated wine. Explosive nose displaying intense black fruit, crushed blackberry, crème de cassis, dry cranberry, fruitcake, ink, licorice, liquid smoke, incense, lavender, dark spices and earth. Incredible concentration, layers upon layers of intense sweet black fruit, unctuous and dense yet quite silky, bright acidity, strong mineral presence and unending finish. The scale is mindboggling. It remains very youthful and will drink well for a few more decades. Quintessential SQN.
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4/7/2018 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
I think that may be corked.
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3/30/2018 - Naplesgolfer wrote: 95 Points
wonderful
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11/29/2017 - bengti Likes this wine: 98 Points
SQN Big Guns Night, Beefbar HK. SQN In Extremis.
The plushiest, most velvet and open Syrah of the 4 we had this evening. This started with a nose of chocolate, roasted nuts, gravel, leather, blackberries, young cherries. On the palette it was freshest of the flight, cherry notes leading in a very forward fruit driven opening that was delicious, tangy and satisfying. Additional notes of charcoal, dusted cinnamon, roast meats ensued but the signature plush, velvet fruit just shone through the whole evening.
Great drinking now, it may mature further in 5-7 years to provide complex secondary characteristics. It would be unfair to call it underdeveloped and one dimensional - it just is the most open and approachable Syrah the Krankls have made so far.
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10/7/2017 - tcosgriff Likes this wine: 96 Points
Deep purple color with a bouquet and flavor of blackberries and coffee. Very big wine with fairly high alcohol, which peeked out just a bit in the long finish. After airing, the wine began to evolve toward meat and barnyard notes. Wonderful complexity, depth, and nuance, like a wine kaleidoscope! SQN does it again.
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9/3/2017 - dcwino wrote: 97 Points
Post Justin B's 40th birthday celebration dinner - Mostly SQNs. (The Grill Room at the Rosewood DC): The color still remains impenetrably dark. Explosive nose displaying intense blue and black fruit, blackberry pie, blueberry pie, blackberry liqueur, liquid smoke, ink, incense, licorice, black pepper, sweet spices and strong limestone. One of the most concentrated wines that I have encountered, like the Plume du Peintre or the 17th nail. Unbelievable fruit concentration, inky and chewy, intense black fruit driven palate impression, bright acidity and the finish that never ends. Although this is not about the subtlety and nuance, there is a fruit driven complexity. I am certain that Bob and other SQN lovers will find this perfect in every way. This remains incredibly youthful.
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5/21/2017 - the godfather wrote:
This has evolved into something special, oak has dissipated, lots of pepper and meat funk. Delicious
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3/26/2017 - burgcamel wrote: flawed
Corked! This is the 3rd bottle of corked wine I have had from SQN over the years. Disappointing!
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2/17/2017 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 95 Points
A really impressive SQN. Thick dark fruit, with licorice, smoke, black pepper, and coffee on the nose. Powerful but not overbearing. This is drinking extremely well now, but I can see this improving with more time in the cellar.
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11/7/2016 - jmcelroy Likes this wine: 95 Points
Very closed in and tight initially. Double decanted and still took 2 1/2 hours to really open and display wonderful depth and fruit. A phenomenal wine displaying great depth and intensity.
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9/2/2016 - Aravind Asok wrote:
2010 Brunello Riserva Bacchanalia (Stewart's house): I didn't want to like this wine, but it surprised me. Like an extremely ripe and unsubtle, but still very endearing, young Cote Rotie. Intense syrah fruit with a touch of the floral. Very ripe on the palate, but amazingly drinkable.
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7/9/2016 - tcosgriff wrote: flawed
I didn't rate this wine because it suffered from quite pronounced cork taint. Underneath, the graceful charm and power of an SQN wine was still there.
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4/3/2016 - Knicksfan wrote: 98 Points
Wonderful! Slightly "mellower" than previous bottles as the intense fruit integrates and secondary characteristics increase.
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3/19/2016 - phenricsson wrote: 97 Points
Surprising showing. Dark and thick looking. Looks younger than 12 years. BUT, the wine is not at all the huge thick wine I expected. It is almost elegant and restrained. Much more like a Hermitage than a California Syrah. Still a lovely wine, impressive, but not in the way I had expected.
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3/15/2016 - reichken wrote: 93 Points
@PittCue - Dark Purple, looked like a brand new wine, dark fruits, coats the mouth, it still tastes very young but balanced, long finish.the bottle was fun to drink and gave a lot of pleasure. felt the alcohol an hour or so later
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2/15/2016 - Minnesota wrote: 96 Points
Nearly consistent with notes of 2015 (another Valentines Day occasion).
Decanted 2-1/2 hours. Concerned as cork came out in pieces with minute amount of seepage. Started rather tight through perfectly balanced. Over two hours softened to reveal nuanced cherry notes, coating the palate with an extended finish. Unctuous mouthfeel. Quite lovely. Last glass the best. That said, we question if worth its current auction value.
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2/4/2016 - assaf wrote: 98 Points
Had this at The Inn at Little Washington for T's 40th bday. The nose on this is intoxicating. You just don't want to take your nose out of the glass. The level of concentration and purity is hard to believe. A truly singular wine. At maturity, but shows no sign of fading anytime soon. Amazing.
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8/22/2015 - AlanM68 Likes this wine: 92 Points
This went up against some tough competition in a line up of 20 wines including Mouton 82, Vega Sicilia 81, PJA La Chapelle 85, Biondi Santi 71 and more. It was the youngest wine too (the next nearest ws a 2002 Clos De La Mouchere from Boillot). So up against that competition, it put in a solid performance after at least 3 hours in the decanter, but it didn't shine which is perhaps unsurprising. We drank it last which may explain some of that, jaded taste buds 'n' all.
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6/19/2015 - canan wrote: 98 Points
Reva 06 vs Poker Face Dinner (Bistro Boheme): I can't believe that I ran into this wine again for the third time in a year.
It is consistent with my previous notes. Classic syrah with a lovely aged profile of bacon and smoked meat. There is still plenty of fruit and a huge balance.
It remains a very impressive wine that I continue to adore!
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5/9/2015 - canan wrote: 98 Points
SQN - Legends: Impressive with plenty of fresh fruit but also plenty of aged syrah flavors.
Very expressive at the moment and a wonderful pleasure to taste again. A beautiful wine!
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2/16/2015 - Minnesota wrote: 98 Points
Decanted 4 hours prior. Concerned as cork came out in thirds with minute amount of seepage. Despite decanting started rather tight through perfectly balanced. Over 90 minutes softened to reveal nuanced cherry notes, coating the palate with an extended finish. Unctuous mouthfeel. Quite lovely.
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11/28/2014 - canan wrote: 98 Points
BYO - US wines (NO.2): Classic syrah with plenty of smoke and bacon but also plenty of fruit but everything is still being balanced nicely with a wonderful acidity and well integrated tannins.
Simply stated, this is a HUGE wine but still with a balance, freshness and lightness that is adoring.
Truly impressive stuff!
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11/20/2014 - rdsboca Likes this wine: 100 Points
A speechless beauty. So rich and voluptuous. Great laser focused fruit. Syrah fruit profile without being overly funky. My first 100 point wine of the year.
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10/29/2014 - bengti Likes this wine: 100 Points
Thankfully not corked, as some friends have reported. Powerful complex and finely integrated tannins. Nose is fragrant airy and light, deceptively so for the power of the wine. Flavored of smoke, leather, tobacco, dried apples and a hint of lavender. Long sharp and satisfying finish. Stupendous.
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8/16/2014 - Amerique wrote: 94 Points
Rich, delicious blackberry fruit with tar and spice flavors, round and expansive, very ready to drink, core of fruit seemed a bit faded compared with past SQN wines, don't expect this wine to have more than 5 more years of age at most, mid-palate drinking, medium finish
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1/22/2014 - dream Likes this wine: 95 Points
Incredibly expressive nose of ripe berries and exotic coffees. Deeply concentrated and ultra-smooth on the palate with flavors of blackberries, black pepper and mocha/coffee. A huge wine but there is a nice floral lift that keeps it fresh and elegant. The finish is deeply satisfying and complex with more notes of black fruits, minerals and spices. I've had very few Krankel wines and I now understand his genius clearly as this is one incredible wine albeit made in a very ripe, warm-climate style. It actually got worse with food and was best drunk alone. I must admit that being an "old world" drinker, I was looking to criticize this wine but the reality is it's simply fantastic.
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1/16/2014 - hongkongtom Likes this wine: 98 Points
Cracked open a magnum of this to celebrate a colleagues birthday. Drunk in the office with friends. First time I have tried from magnum, garnet colour, amazing nose and opened up over an hour. Incredibly long finish. Simply stunning. Drinking well now, don't know whether it can get much better from here but lets hope so as we have more to drink!!
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11/14/2013 - cuffthis Likes this wine: 99 Points
Decanted for 4+ hours before serving.
Rotating between garnet and purple in color, this wine revealed blueberries, white pepper, blackberry and smokiness on the nose, more blackberry and well integrated tannins on the mouth feel and an assertive, 60+ second finish. The complexity and enjoyability of this wine are off the charts. It's simply an outstanding wine that is drinking so beautifully right now.
Wow is an understatement.
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10/26/2013 - Uglypinga wrote:
Nose full of petroleum and spices. The palate is thick and full of cold blueberries cinnamon and beef. Amazing as always. A hit at the table.
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5/17/2013 - beezer6 wrote: 96 Points
Berserker Fest Friday Dinner - SQN Table (Blue Star Bistro - Chicago, IL): Holy crap this stuff is phenomenal.
Darker touches of molasses and roast nuts and meat - vanilla cocoa.
Absolutely massive and penetrates the palate with finesse and precision - out of bounds tasty.
So dense and thick. Black fruit, rock and pepper. Lots of rich meaty game and smoke on the back end. Just black all day.
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5/17/2013 - Burgundy Al wrote: 95 Points
Chicago Berserkerfest Dinner (Blue Star Bistro - Chicago IL): One slight notch below Papa for me tonight, this has great black fruit, charming spice and textures, everything in good balance.
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5/4/2013 - Knicksfan wrote: 98 Points
The only reason its not 100 again - its a phenomenal wine - is that we also drank 2000 Pegau Da Capo alongside.
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5/3/2013 - ews3 wrote: flawed
Sine Qua Non Dinner, volume II (Maloney & Porcelli, NYC): corked... would you believe 3 of 6 Poker Faces I've seen opened have been corked?
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5/2/2013 - hongkongtom Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very powerful, dark nearly inky wine with long finish Was superb with some BBQ steak. Will probably continue to improve.
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4/17/2013 - BBinSC wrote: 97 Points
97-98: still quite young, the color is dark and impenetrable. Unbelievably powerful, tannins are still quite firm, the wine grabs you by the throat and won't let go. Needs time -- strong notes of tamarind in the nose and palate. Enormously long finish. Extraordinary, but will improve over the next 5 years at least.
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12/20/2012 - JeffGMorris wrote: 98 Points
Dena's birthday at Delmonicos with Eddie G. I wanted something truly special to open tonight and this met and exceeded expectations. Dark, deep impenetrable purple in the glass. A huge wine ( what an understatement ) but with all elements in a wonderful balance. High alcohol but not the least bit hot. Blackberry and boysenberry flavors dominate. Very long and smooth finish. A beautiful wine with a long life ahead of it. I wish I could afford more of this but I'm thankful for Col. Bob's generosity in sharing his allocation with me. 50+14+15+9.5+9.5=98
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9/25/2012 - Uglypinga wrote:
Dinner at Remy on the Disney Fantasy. Great dinner btw. The wine has a powerful nose of coffee, chocolate covered cherries, game, and a hint of iron. The palate is medium to full with bright berries, oak, chocolate, dust, and some savory spices. Ridiculously long, tannic finish. It's still got a ways to go. Amazing.
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6/8/2012 - G_H Likes this wine: 95 Points
Sine Qua Non vertical (Carlton Restaurant, Zurich): Initially holding back a little, quite different from other SQN syrahs as it has strong notes of vanilla and vanilla bean, incredible wine and very elegant, as it balances the herbs/curry notes with elegantly integrated sweetness.
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5/1/2012 - steinersing wrote: 97 Points
Had this next to the 2002. Difference not very large. The 2002 perhaps a bit more open nose - the 2004 held up well in comparison - rate the two wines in sync.
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1/15/2012 - shadow wrote: 100 Points
Before Lady Gaga, you could google Poker Face and this is what you would get, a totality unique and decadent mouth full
Everyone's WOTN, I unbuttoned my shirt to show my Poker Face tee shirt, this wine rates its own tee shirt
The nose, warm inviting, slow dancing with your favorite girl.
First sip, flavor burst, rolls down your tongue, bells are ringing, the table echo's this is really good, the real deal
The flavors are different with every sip, the finish is long, a wine you enjoy and remember.
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12/25/2011 - Lessthanzero wrote: 96 Points
In your face, voluptuous, but with laser-like precision. This just has more, and with an amp that goes way past 11.
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12/23/2011 - psmith wrote: 92 Points
Big, dense, and potent... A cocktail wine for sure, but one that hits the spot when needed. Dense dark fruit liqueur and floral notes. Thick. Rich. Some alcohol shows through on the finish... But I think it's supposed to. Enjoyable today, and certainly plays its role well.
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12/23/2011 - Burgundy Al wrote: 93 Points
Holiday Wines at Knightsbridge (Northbrook, IL): Popped and poured shortly after taken from a car, so also served rather cold. Not nearly at the same level as other times I've had this wine. Ripe black and blue fruit on nose and palate with some rather prominent liqueur notes. Powerful fruit all the way through with just hints of spice.
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12/10/2011 - jkoenen wrote: 94 Points
An evening with Sine Qua Non (Restaurant Bottles, Sas van Gent): This was a worthy competitor to the most intense wine of the evening. Extremely impressive and demanding attention. Assorted nuts and eucalypt on the nose, which is almost overpowering with blackberries, espresso and oak. Big, anabolic and fierce. Turbulent mouthfeel, out of control pace and richness. Lots of bacon and smoky, dried hams. Tons of potential and promise, but at the moment larger than life. Could easily gain an extra point in 5 years time. 18,5/20
Generously donated by a participant who couldn't make it to the tasting.... Thanks a lot!
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12/10/2011 - MWes wrote: 94 Points
Many years of life still ahead of it. Big, but balanced. I have never had any other wines like his; truly one-of-a-kind wines.
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12/10/2011 - WildeMeeuw wrote: 98 Points
SQN Pokerface 2004 () Kleur: Diep donkerrood, vleugje paars Aroma / bouquet: Veel van alles, complex maar met een bizar fraaie balans. Mint, menthol. Laurier, kersen, Smaak / Afdronk: Explosief krachtig, boordevol rijpe tannines, enorme power en lengte, Algemeen / potentieel: Baffff, wijn die je met vork en mes moet consumeren. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 15 + Smaak / Afdronk: 18 + Algemeen / potentieel: 10 = 98/100
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12/7/2011 - winestem wrote: 100 Points
Flannery steaks + Poker Face = 100 points!
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11/10/2011 - jdabrowski1027 wrote: 99 Points
SQN vs Rhone Dinner (BLT Steak, DC): Not sure I can give this a perfect score, but it's pretty freakin close! The nose smells like a BBQ pit, very warm meat smoke. Pure fruits dominate all over. It's big and full bodied, but remains light and balanced. You simply cant put this down. Layers of chocolate and cocoa keep coming out of nowhere on the palate, with rocks and stones that give it a healthy dose of minerality. Excellent experience.
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11/4/2011 - Knicksfan wrote: 100 Points
What the heck - lets just call it perfect.
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10/15/2011 - reichken wrote: 95 Points
decanted for approx 2 hours,deep dark purple color..nose of caramel, toast, chocolate. gives all those flavors in the mouth, thick viscous, very long finish, very young wine
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10/8/2011 - Zweder wrote: 97 Points
By the time I had this wine in my glass I wasn't making extensive notes any longer. Maybe a pity, but I enjoyed the evening so much! What I wrote down; some eucalyptus and beautiful oak aromas beside the black fruits. On the palate a mouth full of wine with a lot of sweetness and also beautiful acidity and a very long finish. With more ageing it might gain some elegance, but I scored it 97 this evening.
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10/7/2011 - wineismylife wrote: 95 Points
WIML95
Tasted non blind. Opened and briefly decanted before serving.
Dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of flowers, melted black licorice, hint of roasted meat, currants and a dash of blueberry. Flavors of currants, plums, raspberries, black berries and black cherries. Medium acidity, medium tannins, full bodied. Drink or hold.
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8/27/2011 - AlanM68 wrote: 93 Points
This is still a huge wine. Even decanted for a couple of hours and in the glass for an hour more, it is still massive. That denseness hides what I think will evolve into something far more interesting - which is why it scores 93; on tonight's showing it wouldn't score that high. The poker face was up against a 99 Brunello from salvioni which, whilst still big, showed better.
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6/18/2011 - ews3 wrote: 96 Points
Great Grapes for a Great Cause SQN Tasting -- 4th Annual; 6/17/2011-6/18/2011 (Mandarin Oriental, Washington DC): blood, mint, and oak. lots of black berry fruit, along with raspberry. finish shows a pleasant chocolate note. delicious.
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6/18/2011 - Rosengoo wrote: 96 Points
Tasted at a charity event (GGFAGC/11). Not as outstanding as I remember it but still superb. Very dark in colour with perfect alcohol levels and tannins to it. I got a strong nose of vanilla which continued into the taste. This might have been a 96+ tonight.
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4/23/2011 - A&C wrote: 95 Points
Rich, layered, with coffee and toffee notes. A wonderfully rich treat.
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4/14/2011 - St Paul wrote: 97 Points
Maybe the 3rd or the 4th time I have had this wine. It is better for each time. A clean lovely wine with great creamy structure. A bit of apricot on the nose. Not as long as many other vintages but this is a class act. Beautiful!
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2/1/2011 - Jeff Leve wrote: 100 Points
Boom! That's what happens with the perfume the moment the wine leaps from the bottle. Espresso, blackberry, caramel, jam, chocolate, spice and blueberries fill the air. This thick, luxurious, full bodied, opulent wine coats your mouth and palate with velvety textured fruit. This wine is huge, but everything is in balance. The wine finishes with a pallet full of palate staining black and blue fruit. This is a true benchmark wine for Syrah in California!
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1/26/2011 - jc-mmb wrote: 99 Points
not much to add to my previous notes.. really nice to get back to this wine again. big and lush and comforting in a big ass way. hit the sweet spot on a cold january night.
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1/18/2011 - pilot360 wrote:
one of the most expressive, expansive, and interesting noses I have come across. A wine that I kept in the glass and was afraid to drink it too fast, as it was intoxicating to just swirl. Mushroom, chocolate, intense toffee, dark fruits and a very distinct "old man suit", almost musk like. This for me was the most interesting wine of the night, and the one that I would most like to try again out of the group. (or at least more of this style).
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1/16/2011 - O>-< wrote: 94 Points
Dark purple color and most effusive nose of the evening with sweet honeysuckle, berries and spice; palate was deep and pure with dark fruits, a hint of buttered toffee, and a long, polished finish with plenty of acidic lift. Not enough complexity to merit a classic score, and having had this wine a few times now, I believe that Parker over-rated it – recognizable as SQN from the aromatic verve and polished tannins, but not on the same level as my favorite SQNs.
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11/13/2010 - RockinCabs wrote: 95 Points
Dinner at The Kitchen (Rivers Marie, SQN, Corra & others) (The Kitchen - Sacramento): This was my first experience with a Sine Qua Non wine, and I tried to go into it with few expectations. What I found was the most elegant Syrah I have ever had, although the least stylistically "correct". Poker Face is a wine of silky elegance, deep concentration, complexity and balance.
Nose: Revealed Black Currants, Opulent Blackberry and vanilla initially. Evolved to show bacon, black tea, juniper, spicey berries and and pepper but remained very polished. Black as pitch in the glass with redness at the edges. Palate: Not one bit overbearing, just silky smooth (almost creamy) and loaded with flavor. Layerd and complex the fruit unwound to reveal pancetta, charcoal, cracked black pepper and other nuanced flavors. Great and long palate. Finish: Very long loaded with sweet tanins, licorice, meaty smokey oak and espresso. The nuances of this wine are suprising.
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10/23/2010 - Burgundy Al wrote: 97 Points
Sine Qua Non Dinner: the Younger Wines (Custom House Tavern - Chicago IL): Incredibly intense fruit aromas - blackberry, blueberry, with great spice and some floral background hints. Palate not quite as black fruit oriented, with red cherry, black cherry, then some elements of cherry liqueur. Amazing tannins, very strong acidity help provide great balance, texture, length on finish. This is a wow wine, I'm not sure where it goes from here, but is simply alluring and sensational now.
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9/21/2010 - phenricsson wrote: 99 Points
It's back! The bottle we had 2 months ago must have been an aberration. This is what we would have expected. One of the best wines of the year. Rich and powerful but still exquisitely balanced. Fresh, exotic, this is a wine that makes me really happy every time I try it.
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9/12/2010 - the godfather wrote:
pretty insane fruit, great balance, a wonderful wine
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8/21/2010 - Matt Scott wrote: 99 Points
Decanted for two hours, using a funnel and a double decant. Dark, dark, dark. black core with a garnet rim. A very layered nose of candied plum, blueberry, sandalwood, charcoal, spice, white pepper and wet earth. The finish echoes vanilla bean. Talk about a finish! It lasts over a minute and flows in a tiered fashion. Ostentatious and quaint at the same time. There is a regal quality that gives this a true wondrous identity. The acidity is in perfect balance with every other nuance. I prefer this over the '07 Carlisle Papa's Block by just a hair and like that wine, this has a core that will leave you in a lucid dream for a while. Almost perfect and so complex, it's scary. A passionate vino. Very enjoyable now and will last. The best Syrah that I've ever had and lives up to the legendary hype. Drink now - 2025.
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7/29/2010 - Mrbuzz Likes this wine: 98 Points
96% Syrah, 2.5% Mouvedre, 1.5% Viognier....first thing you notice is how powerful, yet smooth and balanced this wine is! Like mouth coating cream over the palate! Huge rich dark fruit, raspberry puree, smoked plum, mocha vanilla oak, dusty graphite. Amazing florals, more so in the mouth than the nose though......nice white pepper spice, Alban smoky asphalt. The balance was just amazing....and in never wavered all night, nor did the flavors let up. Super wine!
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7/6/2010 - phenricsson wrote: 96 Points
First bottle of this for almost a year and it was not showing as well as expected, very, very good but last few times it's been a 100 pointer and this time not there. Very young looking but not that dark 90;92. Very clear, almost luminescent. Big and fat in the mouth but not heavy. Not that interesting. Left it for next day in half-bottle, much more impressive, fills every crevice of the mouth with flavors, explosive, exciting, this is what I expected. Even the balance was much better the second day. Very long aftertaste. I would give it 92 points the first day and 98 on the second - go figure.
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6/20/2010 - Acohen wrote: 96 Points
Wow, everything you would want in an over the top Syrah with huge meat, smoke, bacon and spice. The finish was so full you almost couldn't tell you were done... Still a baby though and will get better over time!
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6/20/2010 - wallstreet wrote:
My first SQN red and it was excellent. Full bodied, complex and will age very well. Not sure it is worth the price of entry though. Alot of money for a Syrah. Thanks Brad for sharing! I enjoyed it very much and unlike Serge, I love big fat red wines and this one did not disappoint.
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6/20/2010 - Serge Birbrair wrote:
I was overwhelmed by notoriety and the massive concentration. I felt like the wine was opened way too early and another 5+ years can only benefit it even more. My first red SQN and probably the last - I still do not get big huge wines and too old to learn the new tricks.
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6/20/2010 - drycab wrote:
Still a little young but what a great wine. Smoke, Bacon, Blood, Meat Everything you could want in an old world syrah.
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4/27/2010 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 96 Points
TN: SQN, Terry Hoage, Aalto, Turley: I had this wine a few years ago and its interesting to see how its changed. I think I would leave these alone for a while as it seems to be in a tweaner phase. Still, its delicious now and that is more that I think it shows glimpses of being even better. This bottle was decanted for a couple of hours prior to drinking. The nose is elegant. Not a monster in any way. Black raspberries, some cocoa, bacon fat, and even a white floral note. On the palate, this seemed subdued to an extent although air seemed to bring it back. Its complex and very smooth. I had to really stop and pay attention to this to really appreciate it. I generally don't think of SQN as contemplative wines, but this one has become one. Great finish. More and more I am coming to the conclusion that for my tastes, the better Cal Syrahs, the monsters, need a lot more time and WILL age just fine.
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4/24/2010 - Knicksfan wrote: 99 Points
Another home run. Near perfect although still not sure what if anything could make this wine better. 3-hr decant.
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4/11/2010 - gutt22 wrote:
15.5% alcohol. This is much more representative of how good Sine Qua Non reds can be. Purple-red color. Gorgeous bouquet of slightly jammy blue and black fruit, with a hint of meat and distinct note of bacon fat. In the mouth, powerful and you might almost describe it as brutish if it didn't have such marvelously done concentration and sense of balance, if on a large scale. Still showing quite primary on the palate, with gobs of fruit and the complexity just beginning to show its stuff. Enough acidity and a long finish that shows some tannins. A
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2/12/2010 - JeffGMorris wrote: 93 Points
Dinner at Steve & Barb's house with Bob. This wine really packs a wallop of flavor and fruit while staying just on the right side of the line. Intense coffee, cappucino and dark chocolate on the nose followed by a blast of black cherry on the palate. Very long sweet fruit. I think this will be better with a few more years under its belt to calm down a bit, but it is a wild ( and delicious ) ride today. 50+13+13+8.5+8.5 = 93+
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1/29/2010 - Peech wrote: 91 Points
This huge Syrah was very sweet with typical notes of iron (I always think they smell like blood), caramel, plastic and lavender. Very alcoholic, but I like it. Not exactly a food wine. Wait another 10 years to drink this.
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9/24/2009 - AtoZ wrote: 95 Points
All blueberry and charcoal. Very pleasing and not too hot. Is this a 100 point wine with a 60+ second finish? I'm not sure, but it's excellent and a great choice with highly seasoned steaks. I don't think this will be over the hill any time soon.
At J w/ D& KL.
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8/11/2009 - tbabes wrote: 92 Points
My first experience with SQN, and it fell a bit short of my expectations. Opened about 3 hours prior to consumption; a very dark and opaque purple color. A powerful but relatively one-dimensional bouquet, with ripe dark fruits in spades, a good dose of spicy oak, and a hint of roasted meat. A big wine, with great concentration and flavor, but without the velvety texture, delineation, or complexity that I had expected. Still, this was the WOTN for just about everyone (except me!) at my birthday dinner; I preferred the '95 l'Evangile, which we had with the previous course.
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7/9/2009 - jeff nowak wrote: 90 Points
decanted 4 hours. i think i've got a pretty good handle on this wine based on multiple tastings over a decent spread of time, and it's falls far short ofthe parker hype machine. granted, i'm an SQN fan, mailing list customer, personal friend of manfred, yet let's be honest...this wine is never going to shed it's tremendous tannin, oak, and alcohol. period. you can hold it in your cellar for as long as you can mistakenly justify, you can decant it 72 hours, you can drink it under a the frame of a pyramid. probably my least favorite syrah from the portfolio. have a nice day.
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6/17/2009 - snordhoff wrote: 96 Points
TNs: Latour, La Turque SQN, LLC, Shafer HSS, Alban, Bryant, etc. (Rancho Sante Fe): I love this wine. Manfred's syrahs have been amazingly consistent in the last several years. The Papa (tasted twice recently) is more ready to go than this. Still very wound up and tight, just hinting at a great future. Blackberries, road tar, a touch of menthol, this wine is stacked and packed, but never over the top or out of balance. Give it 2-3 more years or a good decant.
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6/14/2009 - B Paul wrote: 98 Points
Decanted for 2 hours. So smooth. Long finish. Awesome wine. Drinking well but also has the structure to age for a few more. 97-98 pts.
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6/13/2009 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
This is almost black in color. Very rich, ripe aromas of oak, pepper, blackberry liquor continue gaining strength in the glass. This very dense, concentrated wine has enough lift to keep it exciting and fresh in the mouth. The massive wine finishes with a tidal wave of ripe, black cherry, vanilla, blue fruit and blackberries. This wine truly coats your palate.
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6/4/2009 - Robertito wrote: 98 Points
Since I have the palate of a chimp, please see prior "jc-mmb on 9/25/2007 & rated 98 points" for the note that matches my experience most closely.
Consumed over two nights... just keeps getting better.
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5/25/2009 - clayfu wrote: 92 Points
IS SINE QUA NON THE GREATEST WINE IN THE WORLD? We go to school to find out!; 5/22/2009-5/25/2009: pop and pour.
Loaves upon loaves of fresh out of the oven white bread with inky dark brooding berries and ripe alcohol mixed in with the customary SQN spice greet you on the nose. A super clean and soft wine with crisp handfuls of bright cherries and raspberries. Vanilla, spiced black pepper, and 5 spice round out the palate. May have to do with the fact that it was a pop and pour, but the wine didn't show strongly. I'm used to being blown away by SQN with bold fruits and spice that is balanced and clean, but everything was subdued. 100pts it is not.
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5/9/2009 - rstark wrote: 90 Points
MOPA 100 Point Wine Tasting (Rancho Santa Fe, CA): Is this wine or blueberry pancake syrup? I've never tasted a dry wine that had such a sticky, cloying finish. I loathed this wine, and would have given it sub-70 points, but have to give it a little nod, as most people at the tasting considered it WOTN. Guess that's what makes horse racing.
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4/22/2009 - Goldstone wrote: 90 Points
Cult Californians Wine Tasting (Crown Wine Cellars, Hong Kong): Fruit juice......not for me. Hadn't been decanted much in advance so perhaps it wasn't done full justice.
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3/28/2009 - Rosengoo wrote: 97 Points
Tasted at a charity event (GGFAGC/09). This wine had a very deep colour to it and a bouquet that just rocked of vanilla and cherries. Those same two smells were very evident in the taste as well. I had this right after a SQN "Papa" and enjoyed it more which I never would have envisioned.
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3/28/2009 - ews3 wrote: 96 Points
Great Grapes for a Great Cause SQN Tasting -- 2nd Annual (Le Paradou, Washington DC): corked last year at "great grapes for a great cause" -- but not this time! very, very primary. cherry, just-on-the-verge-of-ripe plum, blackberry, black cherry -- you name a fruit, and it was there. wow. a little bit of heat, but a long, long finish. this is a great wine and i can't wait to (hopefully) see it develop over the years.
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3/7/2009 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 96 Points
Great Wine Dinner (Rheingau Gourmet & Wine Festival Hattenheim, Germany): Intense, sweet and rich Shiraz (95%), very piquant, absolutely over the top but still very good.
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3/7/2009 - sosgoodjhu wrote: 99 Points
Blockbuster SQN bomb, really dark with huge nose, tons of extraction, sexy WD-40 all the way...of the JFTLOI style but better. complete wine porn. paired excellently with lamb course at The French Laundry.
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2/19/2009 - DarkStar1974 wrote: 99 Points
magnificent wine....hand's downm one of the best syrah's i've ever drank. great texture, thick, but not too thick like a great syrah should be.loads of fruit, smokey meats, berries. i loved it.
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1/24/2009 - Knicksfan wrote: 99 Points
Simply extraordinary. Opened and the aromas filled the room. Decanted 5 hours before consumption. I dont know what 100 points is but wowie zowie. I don't know how it gets better than this.
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1/23/2009 - Cheryl wrote:
100 Pt Syrah - SQN and Northern Rhone (Dan and Amanda's Home): Really nice. I think I liked this more than other people did. It was big, but bright and fresh. Loads of fruit, I don't recall a lot of alcohol. Tasty.
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12/27/2008 - Screameagle wrote: 95 Points
Although still quite young this wine is one of the finest examples of Cali syrah I've ever consumed. Starts with an incredibly expressive nose. A huge wine that is only going to get better with more time. Just wish I had more than one bottle left. The finish goes on forever.
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10/24/2008 - Nanda wrote:
Great American Syrah Shootout II (Chicago, IL): Inky purple color. Dense, rich aromas of black fruit, smoke, spices and toast. Palate is huge and richly fruited. Sweet black fruits going on and on.
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10/24/2008 - winefool wrote: 95 Points
Wineflock - Best of American Syrah (Home): Another strong showing for this wine as well, with similar notes. Nice black and red fruit with plenty of stuffing and richness.
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10/24/2008 - jordanj wrote: 96 Points
Casual Dinner at Le Titi -for an out of towner (Le titi de Paris): Fantastically well made wine. Almost pitch black. Normally not my style but it was just so well made and it didn’t hurt that it was also delicious. My notes are unreadable today but I obviously liked it. Tremendously complex, smooth, balanced (even for a big wine) and I can see the hype.
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10/24/2008 - KeithAkers wrote: 95 Points
John Chapman meets the three Headed Monster (Le Titi Paris(Arlington Heights, IL)): nose: jam packed nose that gets you set for a thrill ride with layers of anise, black cherries, black berries, belgian chocolate, smoke, and loads of purple fruits. Very dense nose that just takes hold and emits from the glass letting you know to get ready. With as bold and big as it is, it doesn't go over the top, and instead its walking the line and getting you to expect it to be too much, but then laugh at you while holding back a bit
taste: Big and chewy tannins with a largeness to it that stands tall on the palate with very rich tones of anise, coffee, black cherries, blackberries, 100% cacao chocolate, loads of smoke and packed purple fruits. Well layered that unfolds in the mouth and shouts at the top of its lungs as it announces its presence
overall: this was my first Sine Qua Non red, and it lived up to my expectations. A massive wine that goes for the jugular but doesn't do over the top. Thisis insanely well made and offers up its own style of syrah that puts the grape on show. An awesome wine with richness abounding and while being full bodied there is a smooth feel as it crosses the palate. This wine was certainly an experience
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10/3/2008 - winefool wrote: 95 Points
Sine Qua Non Tasting (Lush): Opaque pitch black/purple color. Bigforward dense purple fruit nose with asphalt and floral notes. Mmmn, big bold asphalt blackberry with black cherry and lavendar hints. Long coffee finish. One of the more albanesque SQNs I've had which is interesting. Lovely wine but I don't see 100 pts here...
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10/3/2008 - jeff nowak wrote: 92 Points
dinner at zelo in minneapolis, my bottle. decanted, but only for about an hour. i thought we would have consumed this the previous night at our syrah slugfest, but it remained unopened. good depth of fruit without a ton of oak, but it's certainly a big wine. this still strikes me as being somewhat backward, and not ready for prime time. the jury is still out for me on whether this will ever match the hype.
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9/18/2008 - MNP wrote: 98 Points
Amazing complexity, but needs time to integrate. Perhaps not showing presently as well as Papa, for example, at present. Time should soften any hard edges.
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9/6/2008 - phenricsson wrote: 99 Points
Probably my favorite SQN “regular”. This started to lose some of the exuberance 6 months ago and it has not quite opened up again – give it another 6 – 12 months. This bottle was definitely better the next day left in a decanter in the cellar. 99 points second day, “only” 97 the first day.
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8/9/2008 - jeff nowak wrote: 94 Points
15.5% alcohol. 96 % syrah + mourvedre and viognier. splash decanted, and followed in the glass over the last 3 1/2 hours, while keeping the decanter in the cellar. let's just say i haven't been too enamored with the wines i have been recently tasting, so i decided to go to the SQN well to validate my wine existence. this retains it's massive structure and tannic reticence, although it did budge a bit more for me tonight than previously. i've downed a pretty hefty amount of SQN over the years, so i don't feel timid about saying this wine is never going to be a 100 point parker darling for me. it's simply too one dimensional for it to ever reveal the complexity i think that kind of a number should imply. black, black fruit and color, a touch heavy in the oak department, and i think keeping the drinking temp near 60 degrees helped placate the alcohol, as well as eliminate any heat in the finish. however, what really saves this wine, and makes the krankl ethos so outstanding, is the underlying beauty of the fruit. it's bold, thick, and juicy enough to temper most of it's shortcomings. the other thing is that you can't help but have fun drinking this, knowing the producer, their story, and the individual dedication to crafting wines that are unique.
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8/3/2008 - MarkC wrote: 99 Points
Hard to give this a score, but it's way up there. Popped and poured following the Atlantis. Much more typical of SQN. Warm, red and black fruit, hints of bacon fat/meat on the nose. The palate, while quite tannic, shows loads of fruit, graphite, coffee bean, and that unique "fist in a velvet glove" that Manfred is so good at. Admittedly we should not have opened this tonight. Four adults, and we drank an Aubert and the Atlantis first; this was mainly to show a more "typical" SQN to our friends. While it did do that, it was probably a bit excessive :-) After 4 hours, this is even better. I adjusted my score up a couple notches. There is something about this wine--the richness without the weight, the intensity without the smack upside the head, the depth without being drowned--that makes it spectacular. Phenomenal.
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7/26/2008 - jc-mmb wrote: 99 Points
notes as before. maybe 100 points, but who's to know?
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7/1/2008 - mike l. wrote: 91 Points
15.5% alcohol on this kind of spoils this effort as of now. a bit disjointed with a finish that's way too hot. fruit is big but a little plain. not anywhere worth the price, find a different sqn to try.
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6/28/2008 - Totatalitarian wrote: flawed
I’ve had this wine before and liked it a lot, but this bottle was a hot, disjointed mess. The wine got a bit warmer than I’d like (though still just below room temperature) and the stems were poor, but I don’t think that can account for the truly poor showing. It was like somebody dropped a shot of vodka in mediocre Australian shiraz. I’m going to chalk this one up to a flawed bottle.
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6/16/2008 - dcwino wrote: 97 Points
Explosive blueberry fruit, crushed blueberry, blueberry pie, sea salt, licorice and extremely sweet nose. It gained a lot more weight with time, got even sweeter, blue fruits, silky mouthfeel, beautifully balanced. IMO, technically perfect wine but perhaps too much of good thing for some. It also could serve as a desert wine. BTW, this wine is alot more open than a year ago.
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5/6/2008 - Samantha wrote: 92 Points
hints of black cherries, liquorice, black currants, sweet maple syrup, vanilla, and an almost overpowering amount of alcohol throwing it slightly off balance. A long finish and powerful rich structure.
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4/20/2008 - jc-mmb wrote: 99 Points
incredible bottle. double splash decanted. wonderful fragrant nose. no sense of hotness. deep rich dark fruits and exotic nose. palate is full and lush. total coverage like a beautiful cashmere blanket. dark fruits, lovely flowers. tannins wonderfully integrated. again, minimal sense of alcohol on the palate. just a big, big wine. finish lasts forever.
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1/26/2008 - James B wrote: 95 Points
Roy's Restaurant in Kauai has this on its wine list at a very reasonable price. I'm not sure if they appreciate its value. On trying it for the first time, it is still young, but drinkable now. It opened up dramatically after 90 minutes. Big nose and full, balanced mouth feel. The wine is a pristine expression of the Syrah grape. It has the longest finish I've ever experienced, well over 60 seconds. Although Parker's 100-point rating might be a little generous, this is an exceptional offering.
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1/18/2008 - rsepulve wrote: 96 Points
Decanted 6 hours. I just loved the deep, opaque purple color of this wine. Huge nose of dark fruit and raspberry, flowers, grilled meat, and a touch of vanilla, tar, and smoke. Hits the palate with an initial attack of big, ripe almost candied fruit flavors from which I expected a thick, syrupy texture but instead the flavors glide seamlessly across the palate; the mouthfeel is silky and elegant. Beautifully balanced wine. A whole lot of fun to drink!
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12/25/2007 - imbibe wrote:
loved it
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12/5/2007 - goofy Yno wrote: 91 Points
Deep dark fruits, tar, licorice, coffee. mouth is a fruit stand on steroids, a big powerful wine that is almost too much. still tight and alittle hot.
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12/5/2007 - jeff nowak wrote: 93 Points
15.5% alcohol. taken to an offline; double decanted (put back into uncorked bottle) 5 hours. i should have left it in the decanter, and poured back into the bottle for transport to venue. this showed amazingly tight. i am used to these drinking well young, even if "hudaked", but not tonight. while the fruit was dense, there was moderate alcohol on the palate. you know, 2 ounce pour, etc., there isn't that great of an opportunity to evaluate. i think it will develop, and perpetuate the legacy, in time. it's not a monster, just a strong willed adolescent.
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12/5/2007 - jivey wrote: 90 Points
Backstreet Offline - Full extraction of concentrated dark fruits with a huge amount of oak that keep the wine fresh. Finishes like an oak barrel but I could actually drink this one.
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12/5/2007 - kstoddard wrote: 93 Points
eRobert Parker Offline - Best of Cellar (Backstreet Wine Salon, Phoenix): Blackberries, leather and tobacco. Lots of toasted oak that needs time to better integrate. Excellent depth of fruit. Quite powerful but very much closed at this point. A sleeping monster of a wine. Nice backbone of acidity will help this wine age gracefully. The 15.5% alcohol is quite noticeable on the finish unfortunately.
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10/22/2007 - buckeye76 wrote: 99 Points
INCREDIBLE RICH WINE WITH LOTS OF BLACK FRUITS IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR, BLACKBERRIES, BLACK CHERRIES AND BLUEBERRIES. VERY COMPLEX AND A VERY LONG FINISH.
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9/25/2007 - jc-mmb wrote: 98 Points
great. tough to find flaws in this bottle. color was dark and pure. nose hits you as the cork leaves the bottle. dark, rich fruits; wood, spices. this is a big brooding wine that really struts its stuff after being in the glass for about 30 minutes. palate is killer. covers like a big lush silky sweater. pure decadence. the finish just goes and goes.
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9/24/2007 - randomly wrote:
This has been open for 3 days, and it's only now starting to soften and open up... too bad there's none left... hold hold hold
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8/31/2007 - EMichels wrote: 96 Points
Red Carpet Wine Tasting: Beautiful nose (fruit, floral, pepper) that I could just sit and sniff all night; A continually developing very complex balanced palate; Incredible finish with a pepperiness that continues to evolve; I keep thinking of Hayao Miyazaki films as I drink this
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7/25/2007 - the godfather wrote: 95 Points
decanted 12 hours and it was still tight, definitely not as flamboyant as Papa, but definitely more structured and built for a long hall. Thankfully I have another and will drink it in 7 or 8 years
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7/22/2007 - sosgoodjhu wrote: flawed
Decanted 12 hrs, out of the decanter all I got was musty wet cardboard. I recently had this wine which was an absolute blockbuster. This bottle was unfortunately corked.
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7/9/2007 - MarkC wrote:
Stellar bottle - showing even bigger than a couple months ago if that's possible. And the nose followed the cork right out of the bottle - I haven't experienced as explosive a nose as this since my original JFTLOI a couple years ago. Overall I think I would enjoy this more if I could wait a year before opening another bottle, but they're tasty now.
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6/21/2007 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
Almost opaque in color. The aromatics are intense. Black and blue fruit as well as plums, vanilla and spice explode from the glass. Incredible levels of concentration. This has a bit more structure than JFTLOI, but, it lacks the same plush texture. The finish must last close to a minute. Give it a few years to add more complexity. This is a monumental California Syrah.
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6/16/2007 - Nanda wrote:
Dinner w/ Friends --- Arrivederci Joe! (Vinci - Lincoln Park, Chicago): Inky dark purple with a richly concentrated and layered nose of sweet black fruit, caramel, chocolate, smoke and scorched earth. Massive bodied on the palate with an abundance of rich, pure and focused dark fruit manages to stay fresh and balanced. Barbecue spices, smoke and brown sugar compliment the lavish fruit. Generously oaked but so well proportioned and fresh. Deliciously long. Superb.
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5/17/2007 - psmith wrote:
Large-scaled violet and dark fruits - very SQN. A bit sloppy on the palate, simple and candied. Consistent with other SQN Syrah, but for whatever reason not really doing it for me tonight.
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4/21/2007 - rcl1 wrote: 94 Points
94-96 Points. Dark purple when poured into glass. Nose of tobacco, leather. Fruit, rasberries, did not begin to express until 30 minutes after decanting and 10 minutes in glass. Wine continued to evolve over the next hour. Began to show it's true potential. Interestingly, was amazingly balanced when initially poured into glass. Then, individual components began to express themselves individually such as the alcohol which was not in evidence at first. All of the elements then melded again later. In my opinion it is rare for a wine to so transparently show its character while evolving. Paired very well with roasted Muscovy Duck. Remainder was put back into bottle and will be consumed tomorrow.
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4/8/2007 - MarkC wrote: 98 Points
Opened to pair with rack of lamb for Easter dinner. Incredibly dark purple/black as I poured from the bottle to the decanter - bordering on Alban-esque opacity. Initially this showed very closed, but started to open up and become more complex after 45 minutes and lots of swirling. The nose showed perfumey red and black fruits along with meat and maybe some leather. It also took on some dry/dusty coffee bean elements as time wore on. I think these are some of the most fun wines to smell because they usually keep getting better and more interesting and this bottle was no different. The palate shows no alcohol despite the label indicating 15.5% - again, this is typical with my (somewhat limited) experience of Manfred's wines. Intense black raspberry, toasty blueberry, and tarry/saddle dominate for me. With the lamb, a bit of black licorice showed through as well. The tannins are big and a little bit bite-y - bigger than I remember the Papa or the JFTLOI being at this stage. This seems to be a bit more of a bruiser, overall, something I've not noticed in any previous SQN Syrahs. Where the JFTLOI seemed to be a bit more light on its feet impressionistically, this packs more punch and gets your attention. Ultimately I think they end up at the same place (or at least will as they evolve) but they take different roads to get there. This is easily a 95-point wine, right out of the bottle. The question is, as it aerates, how many more points does it warrant? I can definitely see RMP's 98-100 range. I did put a score with this as previous experiences with SQN Syrahs at this early stage indicate that they need a LOT of air to really show their best. I may come back either later tonight or tomorrow after breakfast and throw in some points. Or I may not - the points have no impact on how freakin' delicious this stuff is!
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4/6/2007 - phenricsson wrote: 98 Points
Sine Qua Non, Poker Face, Syrah 2004. Dark, thick and massive looking. Nose of black fruit, flowers and chocolate and an interesting hint of stems (not in a bad way). A campfire note plus some pleasant sweet/acrid notes. In the mouth it was virtually perfect; thick, very sweet core, good acidity and lots of very fine-grained, sweet tannins. It was like a Muhammad Ali of wine: Big, strong and powerful but light as a butterfly on its feet. In the mouth it was spicy, sweet, with roasted red and black fruit, licorice, dark milk chocolate (50%), and cookie batter. The aftertaste was very long, ripe and sweet but with great salt/bitterness to make it a serious wine in spite of its deliciousness. Espresso-grind and Tahitian vanilla and lots of aromatics. That is a very sexy wine with excellent structure and balance. Someone said it is like a Cote Roti with California flair. 98-99p.
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