Christmas BYO (Michaels House): Such a lovely and intense wine, packed with young cherry and blackberry fruit. Amazing balance and aftertaste. Simply stunning! 97-98p
Dinner at Pelagos, Astir Palace, Athens (Pelagos, Astir Palace, Athens): Tasted blind. We said SQN 10yrs old Syrah. This made by the son of the Krankls is in a way the apple that has not fallen away from the tree. The style is very similar, very much a big wine but also a harmonious wine with everything elevated and albeit with a lot of alc the alcohol is not out of place or rules the wine. To us this harmony of the big alcohol with the rest of the big and elevated elements of the wine is a key sign of SQN ( and this baby SQN) vs others who try to make the style. This was a touch sweeter too and softer than the SQN style and even at times made us think it was a younger Grenache. Impressive 94
Decanted a half hour before dinner. Interesting nose of horse sweat or more game meat and leather. Palate was a beast, not unbalanced, but waves of fruit and fennel and alcohol. After 2 hours it shut down. I can definitely see the resemblance to the few bottles of Next of Kyn and SQN I’ve drank but this seemed a little rougher around the edges. Maybe I caught it in an awkward phase.
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Nose: at the start was wild, forest, herb, wood and red fruit. 3hr, honey, black fruit, blueberry jam, candy. 6hr, similar to 3hr. Palate: at the start was tight, silky and deep. 6hr was rich, open but a bit over rich. I like the palate at the start, fineness was amazing.
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As I’ve stated before, the Nuestra Senora is a fantastic wine that takes some babying to get fully into its captivating beauty. At first pull, it’s a phat gushing of tempestuous and overwhelming fruit. Left alone in the glass for a while, it starts to become more finessed. Considering many of the 2016 CdPs were more than flirting with various aspects of modernity, the SQN/Third Twin wines were not out of place here. Hold the Nuestra for a number of years to best integrate and tame its wild child. It’s a thrilling wine to be sure.
Comes out swinging and doesn't stop! Flavors roll over each other with some polte jostling for attention. Then they line up and present. Dark plum, ripe strawberry, tobaco notes. Long finish means your friend finishes his story before the flavor has left your tougue on a single sip. Must have been minutes on the finish.
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So, this was a wild ride of a wine, with a screaming baby and thundery boozy-blast start that luckily touches down at the right landing field after a succession of layovers and misconnections. I kept this thing on-Coravin for over two weeks; needle-in, gas-pour, needle-out – over and over again nearly every day, crossing my fingers that each small insertion of O2 would help to massage-out the slappy whack on this head-first-window-banging harpy. For the better part of forever, this was all up in my face and shoulder-checking me in the chin every time I'd give it a try. Every glass was like drinking a shaken jar full of wasps, with the stinging alcohol playing free-for-all cicada killer on my tongue. Pins and plums, needles and nutmeg, this Nuestra Senora del Tercer Gemelo de la Mujer Furiosa Quien Quiere Matarme Porque es una Chica Mala was all about ‘venganza’ up until the very final pours at the end of its two-week Bachelorette ‘journey.’
Once the dust had settled and the final, final, final rose was handed out, I received this wandering peaky blinder gypsy into my heart. Still wild and spicy, but within the spectrum of superior flavor continuity and more seamless succulence, Nuestra Senora gives up remarkable boysenberry jam, plum, muddled raspberry, cardamom, soil, salami, herbs de Provence, and faint warm leather chair and garrigue flavors. The depth really fills in once the manic intensity settles down some, with complexity allowed to unfold with more direct purpose. Finishes exceptionally long, with nippy red fruit and red/purple Twizzlers notes darting in and out of the bass purple plum and darker berry fruit. The savory elements eventually come out to dance with the otherwise penetrating and concentrated big boy flavors making for an alluring combination of sultry and commanding.
Basically, once this stops being such a fist-pounding agitator, its personality is allowed to truly blossom. A lot going on here that absolutely requires time in-bottle. This seems to be a recurring relational ping-pong that I have with young SQN I open early just to test drive them. Do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result, right?! Oftentimes long decants will remedy the awkwardness all in one shot, but waiting is highly advised. So, here’s the deal: Don’t open this for 7+ years. Better yet, make it 10+ years from now. This is powerful and potent stuff. 97-98+ point potential.
Annual Friendsgiving Gathering (TLV's): Decanted about an hour. Dark inky color with aromas of currants and grapey black fruit. Hints of game and pepper underneath, as well as a subtle violet/floral quality. Full-bodied and youthfully firm tannins have a fine edge. Flavors of blue and black fruit, chocolate and spice. Lengthy finish. 93-94 pts.
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Opened by Allred. Splash decanted 1 hour before drinking. 15.8% alcohol. Big and full bodied. 53% Mourvèdre, 16% Syrah, 14% Grenache, 6% Graciano, 9% Petite Sirah and 2% Viognier. Inky black. Notes of carmel, dark chocolate and cassis. Charcoal finish. Needs plenty of time. 93 points
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Way too young, but with five in the box and the next round of ordering likely in the next few months, took the opportunity to crack one open. Beautiful packaging (and we know that's what it's all about).... glass.... artwork.... owc... all stunning.
Getting into the wine, there is an initial blackberry attack that makes this quite approachable today -- but structure follows closely behind, with medium levels of soft tannins and a body that seemed to expand as the wine sits. long finish is where this shines, with some chocolate notes, a savory element, and continued dark fruit. got better as the night went on, so expect this will age nicely. I'll be a buyer for the next release
Night 2 (saved a glass) -- a phenomenal herbal/hay character coming through, especially on the nose -- it adds a lot to the fruit (still present) and gives a glimpse of what is to come. Increasing score 95 --> 97. Suggest that people decant the bulk of the bottle for a while (5+ hrs), while enjoying a glass pop-n-pour.
Exactly as expected given the pedigree & earlier reviews: huge, brawny, moving many directions at once in the opening hours. Gains direction (too big for “focus” at least at this point) with air, and becomes like Niagara Falls... headed the same direction / working toward the same goal, but so much power. The anti-burgundy. That’s neither praise nor indictment on its own - simply a statement of style. Charming, fun and boisterous. Love it, but will love it more when it’s settled in a few years from now.
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Execlllent after 5 hour decant. Needs some time but picked up those mole notes. Still a bit more partial to the Syrah and Grenache but happy to have a few more.
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WOW! My first time with this wine. Superb structure and yet still very pleasurable to drink now. This wine is likely perfect and can't wait to try it again in 8-10 years.
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The rating is a 95+ but it could go up a lot with time. Fully second the mole notes, herbal, some blueberries, great length and density, amazing richness but still quite balanced.
Stunning!
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Nose is mole sauce with a hint of cilantro. First taste, wet and palate coating, warm finish. Leather and anise, at the close, SQN drifts by. Tannins leave a faint chalky feel behind, The big picture, tall dark skinned girl dressed to kill, Nina Simone - Backlash blues.
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Certainly a beauty, and just . . . Different from SQN. It’s not Syrah, it’s not Grenache - it’s in the same family but more of a cousin than a twin.
Dark purple fruit. White pepper. Well balanced. Nothing heavy handed about this wine. Glad to have tried one early, but will lay down nicely for a couple of decades.
Great paired with Santa Maria style Tri tip.
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Almost as instructed I sat this upright for a few days and decanted 3 hours. Very explosive right out of the bottle and did mellow quite a bit with time. Dark fruit centric with a nice interplay between ripe, roasted and savory elements. Stylistically it’s dense, extracted and borderline sweet but also done so much cleaner than others in California. Check back with the others in 5 then 10 years.
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I know you're thinking I'm just giving it 100 because it's a wine from Manfred and those of us who spend crazy amounts of money on his wines think every wine he makes should be rated 100 points to justify their price.
Nuestra Senora del Tercer Gemelo is his newest wine and I felt I needed to try a bottle now and let the others rest for a few years. I expected this young wine to need a few hours in the decanter before being approachable. I almost left it in the decanter over night to try the next day. However, I tried a glass and it was fresh, delicious and very approachable; I couldn't stop drinking it. Such a great surprise. I had to force myself to leave 1/2 bottle for the next day. It wasn't as good the next day because I think I decanted it for too long the first day.
I expect this wine to shut down soon; I'll lay the rest down and revisit again in 5 years.
1/8/2023 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 98 Points
Just a stunning wine. So seamless and yet layer upon layer of flavors.
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11/26/2022 - canan wrote: 97 Points
Christmas BYO (Michaels House): Such a lovely and intense wine, packed with young cherry and blackberry fruit. Amazing balance and aftertaste. Simply stunning! 97-98p
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11/26/2022 - Hppr Cellar wrote: 99 Points
Wonderful wine. It maybe it still needs a few more years?
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9/7/2022 - Papies wrote: 94 Points
Dinner at Pelagos, Astir Palace, Athens (Pelagos, Astir Palace, Athens): Tasted blind. We said SQN 10yrs old Syrah.
This made by the son of the Krankls is in a way the apple that has not fallen away from the tree. The style is very similar, very much a big wine but also a harmonious wine with everything elevated and albeit with a lot of alc the alcohol is not out of place or rules the wine. To us this harmony of the big alcohol with the rest of the big and elevated elements of the wine is a key sign of SQN ( and this baby SQN) vs others who try to make the style. This was a touch sweeter too and softer than the SQN style and even at times made us think it was a younger Grenache. Impressive 94
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12/16/2021 - Lord of the Bottles Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted a half hour before dinner. Interesting nose of horse sweat or more game meat and leather. Palate was a beast, not unbalanced, but waves of fruit and fennel and alcohol. After 2 hours it shut down. I can definitely see the resemblance to the few bottles of Next of Kyn and SQN I’ve drank but this seemed a little rougher around the edges. Maybe I caught it in an awkward phase.
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12/12/2021 - Fake Drinker Likes this wine: 97 Points
Nose: at the start was wild, forest, herb, wood and red fruit. 3hr, honey, black fruit, blueberry jam, candy. 6hr, similar to 3hr.
Palate: at the start was tight, silky and deep. 6hr was rich, open but a bit over rich.
I like the palate at the start, fineness was amazing.
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7/16/2021 - jvphoto Likes this wine: 96 Points
Fantastic - plums, charcoal, sois bois, raspberry popover, rhubarb, cigar humidor, blood
Keeping my next bottle for a special birthday in 2033
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7/7/2021 - csimm wrote: 98 Points
2016 Chateauneuf du Pape 99/100 point wine taste-off (and a couple of pirate Rhone wines): A couple of domestic pirates made their ways into the mix, specifically two Krankl creations (outside of the Chimere) – the Third Twin Nuestra Senora and the SQN Dirt Vernacular Grenache.
As I’ve stated before, the Nuestra Senora is a fantastic wine that takes some babying to get fully into its captivating beauty. At first pull, it’s a phat gushing of tempestuous and overwhelming fruit. Left alone in the glass for a while, it starts to become more finessed. Considering many of the 2016 CdPs were more than flirting with various aspects of modernity, the SQN/Third Twin wines were not out of place here. Hold the Nuestra for a number of years to best integrate and tame its wild child. It’s a thrilling wine to be sure.
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6/28/2021 - swigna Likes this wine: 98 Points
Comes out swinging and doesn't stop! Flavors roll over each other with some polte jostling for attention. Then they line up and present. Dark plum, ripe strawberry, tobaco notes. Long finish means your friend finishes his story before the flavor has left your tougue on a single sip. Must have been minutes on the finish.
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6/7/2021 - csimm wrote: 98 Points
So, this was a wild ride of a wine, with a screaming baby and thundery boozy-blast start that luckily touches down at the right landing field after a succession of layovers and misconnections. I kept this thing on-Coravin for over two weeks; needle-in, gas-pour, needle-out – over and over again nearly every day, crossing my fingers that each small insertion of O2 would help to massage-out the slappy whack on this head-first-window-banging harpy. For the better part of forever, this was all up in my face and shoulder-checking me in the chin every time I'd give it a try. Every glass was like drinking a shaken jar full of wasps, with the stinging alcohol playing free-for-all cicada killer on my tongue. Pins and plums, needles and nutmeg, this Nuestra Senora del Tercer Gemelo de la Mujer Furiosa Quien Quiere Matarme Porque es una Chica Mala was all about ‘venganza’ up until the very final pours at the end of its two-week Bachelorette ‘journey.’
Once the dust had settled and the final, final, final rose was handed out, I received this wandering peaky blinder gypsy into my heart. Still wild and spicy, but within the spectrum of superior flavor continuity and more seamless succulence, Nuestra Senora gives up remarkable boysenberry jam, plum, muddled raspberry, cardamom, soil, salami, herbs de Provence, and faint warm leather chair and garrigue flavors. The depth really fills in once the manic intensity settles down some, with complexity allowed to unfold with more direct purpose. Finishes exceptionally long, with nippy red fruit and red/purple Twizzlers notes darting in and out of the bass purple plum and darker berry fruit. The savory elements eventually come out to dance with the otherwise penetrating and concentrated big boy flavors making for an alluring combination of sultry and commanding.
Basically, once this stops being such a fist-pounding agitator, its personality is allowed to truly blossom. A lot going on here that absolutely requires time in-bottle. This seems to be a recurring relational ping-pong that I have with young SQN I open early just to test drive them. Do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result, right?! Oftentimes long decants will remedy the awkwardness all in one shot, but waiting is highly advised. So, here’s the deal: Don’t open this for 7+ years. Better yet, make it 10+ years from now. This is powerful and potent stuff. 97-98+ point potential.
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3/10/2021 - Bakerbd Likes this wine: 95 Points
Cassis and plum, wet soil, iron. Full throttle, intense wine but was pleasantly surprised by the balance and that 15.8% ABV was well hidden
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12/26/2020 - rustyRudy Likes this wine: 98 Points
Loads of dark fruits, beautifully balanced, blueberry, adequate acidity, big, absolutely gorgeous. Lots of tart cherry on the finish
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12/26/2020 - andrewdodd86 wrote: 99 Points
I figured it’s SQN it’ll be amazing and I wasn’t disappointed.
Needs some decanter time but so far beautiful dark blue fruit and a touch of blueberry/açaí and black pepper. Gorgeous. Crazy young obviously.
2025-2035+? (97-100 range)
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11/27/2020 - AllRed wrote: 93 Points
Annual Friendsgiving Gathering (TLV's): Decanted about an hour. Dark inky color with aromas of currants and grapey black fruit. Hints of game and pepper underneath, as well as a subtle violet/floral quality. Full-bodied and youthfully firm tannins have a fine edge. Flavors of blue and black fruit, chocolate and spice. Lengthy finish. 93-94 pts.
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11/27/2020 - Vino Me wrote: 93 Points
Opened by Allred. Splash decanted 1 hour before drinking. 15.8% alcohol. Big and full bodied. 53% Mourvèdre, 16% Syrah, 14% Grenache, 6% Graciano, 9% Petite Sirah and 2% Viognier. Inky black. Notes of carmel, dark chocolate and cassis. Charcoal finish. Needs plenty of time. 93 points
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9/3/2020 - ews3 wrote: 97 Points
Way too young, but with five in the box and the next round of ordering likely in the next few months, took the opportunity to crack one open. Beautiful packaging (and we know that's what it's all about).... glass.... artwork.... owc... all stunning.
Getting into the wine, there is an initial blackberry attack that makes this quite approachable today -- but structure follows closely behind, with medium levels of soft tannins and a body that seemed to expand as the wine sits. long finish is where this shines, with some chocolate notes, a savory element, and continued dark fruit. got better as the night went on, so expect this will age nicely. I'll be a buyer for the next release
Night 2 (saved a glass) -- a phenomenal herbal/hay character coming through, especially on the nose -- it adds a lot to the fruit (still present) and gives a glimpse of what is to come. Increasing score 95 --> 97. Suggest that people decant the bulk of the bottle for a while (5+ hrs), while enjoying a glass pop-n-pour.
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8/30/2020 - Jahull03 wrote:
Exactly as expected given the pedigree & earlier reviews: huge, brawny, moving many directions at once in the opening hours. Gains direction (too big for “focus” at least at this point) with air, and becomes like Niagara Falls... headed the same direction / working toward the same goal, but so much power. The anti-burgundy. That’s neither praise nor indictment on its own - simply a statement of style. Charming, fun and boisterous. Love it, but will love it more when it’s settled in a few years from now.
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7/26/2020 - eschuldt wrote: 96 Points
Execlllent after 5 hour decant. Needs some time but picked up those mole notes. Still a bit more partial to the Syrah and Grenache but happy to have a few more.
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7/4/2020 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 98 Points
WOW! My first time with this wine. Superb structure and yet still very pleasurable to drink now. This wine is likely perfect and can't wait to try it again in 8-10 years.
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4/13/2020 - G_H wrote:
The rating is a 95+ but it could go up a lot with time. Fully second the mole notes, herbal, some blueberries, great length and density, amazing richness but still quite balanced.
Stunning!
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3/25/2020 - bonedocnine wrote:
Currently way too big and young. I think I'll stay away for awhile for sure.
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3/21/2020 - shadow wrote: 99 Points
Nose is mole sauce with a hint of cilantro.
First taste, wet and palate coating, warm finish.
Leather and anise, at the close, SQN drifts by.
Tannins leave a faint chalky feel behind,
The big picture, tall dark skinned girl dressed to kill, Nina Simone - Backlash blues.
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3/19/2020 - jaylew1 wrote: 98 Points
In the age of COVID-19 a welcome respite. Good stuff!
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3/5/2020 - corkcork wrote: 98 Points
Beautiful; “California dreaming, I got down on my knees and prayed”
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3/1/2020 - ageverett Likes this wine: 98 Points
Stood up for several hours. Decanted for 4 hours.
Certainly a beauty, and just . . . Different from SQN. It’s not Syrah, it’s not Grenache - it’s in the same family but more of a cousin than a twin.
Dark purple fruit. White pepper. Well balanced. Nothing heavy handed about this wine. Glad to have tried one early, but will lay down nicely for a couple of decades.
Great paired with Santa Maria style Tri tip.
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2/29/2020 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote: 98 Points
Almost as instructed I sat this upright for a few days and decanted 3 hours. Very explosive right out of the bottle and did mellow quite a bit with time. Dark fruit centric with a nice interplay between ripe, roasted and savory elements. Stylistically it’s dense, extracted and borderline sweet but also done so much cleaner than others in California. Check back with the others in 5 then 10 years.
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2/22/2020 - Brunello123 Likes this wine: 100 Points
I know you're thinking I'm just giving it 100 because it's a wine from Manfred and those of us who spend crazy amounts of money on his wines think every wine he makes should be rated 100 points to justify their price.
Nuestra Senora del Tercer Gemelo is his newest wine and I felt I needed to try a bottle now and let the others rest for a few years. I expected this young wine to need a few hours in the decanter before being approachable. I almost left it in the decanter over night to try the next day. However, I tried a glass and it was fresh, delicious and very approachable; I couldn't stop drinking it. Such a great surprise. I had to force myself to leave 1/2 bottle for the next day. It wasn't as good the next day because I think I decanted it for too long the first day.
I expect this wine to shut down soon; I'll lay the rest down and revisit again in 5 years.
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