Community Tasting Notes (38) Avg Score: 96.3 points

  • Intense dark plum and cherry fruit but also with a touch of blueberries. It really needs time to open up, 3-4 hours, and when it does it is an explosion of flavors and youthful complexity.
    Great length and flavor intensity. An absolutely stunning wine!

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  • Opened the bottle 4 hours in advance. Nose is subdued with grilled plums, dark cherries. Palate is an explosion of flavors 1 layered, with plums, blackberries, dark cherries, great acidity, spice, medium tannins, long ending with balanced notes of vanilla. Such a young but already complex wine - fruit forward but elegant and balanced at the same time. Excellent just as expected.

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  • Rich powerful cherry and blackberry on nose. Palate dark cherry some spice extracted and thick. Long finish. Worth it when you can.

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  • I just can't drink SQN young. Opened for about 2 hours, needed about 10 more hours to even be approachable. typical huge blue fruits, floral with a big tannic backbone. No doubt well made wine.

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  • No decant, took about an hour to open up

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  • Kleur: Helder dieprood. Aroma / bouquet: Zou ik ooit het aroma of bouquet van een SQN hebben beschreven zonder de combinatie van de woorden 'explosief' en 'verleidelijk' te gebruiken? Ook bij deze Georgeous Victim is het weer raak. Een verleidelijk aroma, een explosie van rijpe kersen en bramen, cederhout, rozenbottels, zacht zoete kruidkoek. Smaak / Afdronk: Geserveerd op een net iets te hoge termperatuur (>15° C) is de zuurgraad van deze wijn beperkt, superieure concentratie en harmonie, prachtig gerijpte, zijdezachte tannines. Dik-sappig. Dankzij de superieure vulling van deze wijn is de 15,7% alcohol niet storend. Algemeen / potentieel: Indrukwekkende SQN met nog een lange toekomst voor zich. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Smaak / Afdronk: 19 + Algemeen / potentieel: 9 = 97/100

    Color: Bright deep red. Aroma / bouquet: Would I have ever described the aroma or bouquet of an SQN without using the combination of the words 'explosive' and 'seductive' ? This Georgeous Victim hits the mark again. A seductive aroma, an explosion of ripe cherries and blackberries, cedar wood, rose hips, soft sweet gingerbread. Taste / Aftertaste: Served at a slightly too high temperature (>15° C), the acidity of this wine is limited, superior concentration and harmony, beautifully matured, silky tannins. Thick-juicy. Thanks to the superior filling of this wine, the 15.7% alcohol is not disturbing. Overall / Potential: Impressive SQN with a long future ahead of it. 50 + Color: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Taste / Aftertaste: 19 + General / potential: 9 = 97/100

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  • Decanted 4+ hours, this was exceptional.

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  • Dark fruit simmers on the nose, with spice box and floral notes as you breathe more in. Rich dark berry fruit dominates the palate right now. Tannins slide into the backdrop due to the velvety texture, but re-emerge late into the mid-palate. Long finish leaves dark chocolate covered cherries on the tongue. Extremely youthful. Delicious.

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  • Very friendly right now, very charming, and dangerous balance for a high-abv wine!

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  • Iron beef blood on nose and palate. So young and so much complexity already. I do feel the Mourvèdre is overpowering at this point so a bit more cellaring or plenty of decanting is necessary. Thick, lucious and oh so yummy. Very long finish...

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  • Billiets USA vs AUS Grenaches (Billiet's Bordelo): These wines were served double-blind, but I could clearly tell this was a SQN grenache and wrote it down. So much complexity on the nose, rich raspberry, dark berries, a touch of tree bark, and minerals. Voluptuous wine, with an incredible finish, and the quintessential SQN silkiness. A tremendous wine. Groups 1/6, my 1/6.

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  • Phenomenal. Double decant 7 hours before drinking - which I recommend for this wine at this time. Thick purple and unctuous. Lots of dark berry fruit and earth. Expressive wine that has many facets and touches every corner of your mouth. Lucious and viscous, the finish is long and lingering. Enjoy now or years from now.

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  • Damn near perfect, opened 7 hours prior no decant. Beautiful fruit good acid and fine tannins. Served with 40 day aged prime ribeyes, the funk and the wine were a great pairing.

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  • Double decant for 6 hours. Beautiful nose of bacon and dark fruits which carries through to palate. Silky smooth tannins. A big wine, but never heavy. Excellent.

    Last pour about 12 hours after opening: a streak of salinity has snuck into the palate, fruit has faded just a little bit.

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  • PnP for first glass. At first pass this 2017 Gorgeous Victim is musty on the nose, opaque in the glass except around the edge, where just a hint of transparency shines through. On the palate, it’s shows depth of dark fruit and tight tannins with a long finish. Is that a flash of minerality or heat at the front of my palate, followed by a mellowing of flavors and round tannins mid-palate, then the loooong finish. My lips are tingling…. More to come after it’s had time to open up a bit.

    1.5 hours later…. The nose softened and freshened - is lighter and cleaner. On the palate it’s livelier on the front, juicier on the mid-palate and deepens on the back palate, still with a long finish. Tomorrow may/may not reveal other changes as it’s being stored in an Evo; may need to give it time to breathe. Until then…

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  • Decanted for several hours and actually very approachable from the start (much more so than Profuga). Still it’s very early with plenty of crunchy/chewy notes to the body. Blackberry, raspberry, vanilla, clove, anise, game and dried earth. Drank next to 2017 Prefert Charles and 2013 Erasmus and the Sine was easily the best. Not sure how Manfred pulls the kind of freshness on something so heavy.

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  • Superb

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  • Wow is this wine balanced. Aromas are intense focused and very modern. There are blackberry, cherry fruit, and smoked cedar in the aromatic palette . In mouth this wine is so well balanced between the tannin, acidity and fruit. In fact it is near perfect. Balance alone is a 95+ score. Flavors are rich, viscous and keeps you coming back but lack the richness of a great wine. Still

    Smoky, leathery, dark fruits, pepper, licorice, spicy. The next day another transformation, much more Grenache like—almost a candied apples flavor, less spice and more red fruit. Delicious.

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  • Pop n pour demonstrates that this wine needs time; delicious flavors were starting to show during the last taste after 3 hours of air. If you’re considering trying it soon, decant for 3 to 4 hours minimum. I’d be thrilled to try this again in 2025!

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  • I couldn’t help myself, I had to give this one a try even though I only had 1 bottle and clearly it was a baby. I drank this over two days and loved the journey. Yes it is big and sweet and in your face. But it is so much more. This wine just keeps transforming in the glass. When I first opened it the fruit aromas seemed like a genie jumping out of the bottle, and the first taste was so big and round and mouth filling and lingering. It probably was the most ‘Wow’ moment. Tasting a few hours later and again that night it seemed more like a Syrah than a Grenache. I even checked the label to be sure it was the right bottle. Smoky, leathery, dark fruits, pepper, licorice, spicy. The next day another transformation, much more Grenache like—almost a candied apples flavor, less spice and more red fruit. Delicious. Terrible QPR, probably not worth it, but I went ahead and bought more bottles to see what happens here!!

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  • Oh my lord! How does he do it? Such a crazy level of greatness and in a unique style of Grenache! Dark, almost brooding, very syrah-like with all the spices of syrah, smoke, bacon, mocha, chocolate and then there is this streak of red fruits, which clearly sets it apart from his Syrah's. I can see, why he considers this the feminine of the two. However, in the grand scheme of all the wines of the world, it is not feminine at all! Who cares though, when it is this good. I find that SQN does the next best Grenache in the world, that I have tasted, after the master Rayas, which does take first place. Funny though, as Rayas is so bright, vibrant, energetic, Grand Cru Burgundy like. I find it is as unusual for Grenache as SQN is, just at the far ends of the spectrum in opposite directions. How can one not love the world of wine with all these unpredictable surprises? :-)

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  • 7 hr decant. Paired with Korean bbq, amazing as always.

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  • Jam packed with pure blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and berry berries of all kinds; gives new meaning the the word "fruit -driven". Big, rich, silky smooth, hedonistic, super fun to drink. Preferred the Conterno Barolo and Ermitage, but still, quite a wine, even if I typically don't drink this style. 15.7% and wears it well. Langham Hotel with Yarom, Larry, Seba, Jonathan

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  • Intense blackberry, blueberry, milk chocolate, camphor, anise, clove, cinnamon, silky palate and truly amazing purity!

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  • After 24 hour decant wine has gained weight and richness. Aromas of sweet mouthwatering kirsch. Palate is deep rich creamy dense red cherry fruit. Pure, concentrated juice. Succulent and so headonistic with a bright finish that goes on for over a minute. Only issue is Grenache by its nature often comes across primary and not spicy or particularly complex. This is just so good. Wow.

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  • A big blast of kirsch, black cherry liqueur, black raspberry, and a hefty amount of rocket fuel on the finish. This needs a martini glass. My nose hairs... Where have my precious nose hairs gone...? “Bumbling Bacardi Boozemonger Batman...!...Quick, to the Bat-Decanter...!"

    3+ hours at cellar temp (52 degrees) in a decanter indeed helped this turn from Vegas Happy Hour to a more upscale night on the town in New York. The perception of alcohol never fully dissipated on the finish, but the mid-palate filled-in more and was able to muster up some deeper and darker tonalities, to include intriguing cacao and anise notes. And of course I remind myself every time I have an SQN early... Wait 10 years from vintage. But hey, it’s Halloween, so what better day to “victimize” this little monster, eh?! (See...see what I did there?!... cuz it’s called Gorgeous Victim, and, and it’s Halloween, and... um.....)...

    Hold until 2027 if you actually want to taste Grenache and not just a Grenachetini.

    Served next to a 2017 St. Prefert Giraud CdP, which is much more put-together at the moment. 95+ points for the SQN, with a couple points of upside in the coming years. Patience young Jedis.

    I also currently prefer the Hated Hunter by comparison.

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  • What can I can say that has not been said on the CT notes that I read. I get a beautiful and delicate SQN Grenache. It is medium bodied and packed with flavor. So balanced and a near perfect wine.

    Decant for 1 hour as this improved later in the night. Glad I have another.

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  • Exotic perfume, stony minerals with rhubarb and candied red fruits. Meatly with a little funk. My closest taste memory is a 2011 No Girls grenache, which was a bit more rustic and less glossy in texture. This one should hold a few years. Not a bad Friday afternoon.

    Lots more new French oak showing on day 2. Some of those stony notes might actually be wood tannins. Profile feels a bit darker today as well. Changing my vote to hold for 2 years.

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  • There is nothing like SQN Grenache. Full stop. Brown sugar. Spices. Body odor. Tang. Heat. Savory. White pepper. The perfect balance. I was tempted to rate this 100.

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  • 3rd Friday Group: Uptown Brown Bag (R&D's): We filled in on short notice and so only had this and the syrah as UTB bottles within reach, and were only able to give this just over an hour in the decanter. This really needs 8-10 and should be served at less than room temperature.

    Blind, though easy to identify as our SQN in the small lineup. Dark inky purple color with aromas of grapey black fruit, blueberry, spice and pine resin. Full-bodied, with dark frut and candied black raspberry flavors.

    True to the style, and as I have long said, scratches that certain itch every once in a while.

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  • Consistent to my last bottle, drinking extremely well as a PnP.

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  • Lots of dark fruit and chocolate. Boysenberry. Tar. Silky. Really amazing wine. SQN for $170? Not sure it is possible to beat.

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  • still young, but who cares? this is as good as Grenache gets -- whether from the Rhone or anyplace else for that matter. Just superb. I don't know what a 'perfect' wine should be (100 points) -- I'm not that sophisticated -- so this one gets what qualifies for perfect in my book.

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  • This is amazing right now, intense blackberry, blueberry, anise, licorice, currants, cocoa, unreal purity, silky texture, perfect balance. I love this! Candidate for wine of the year.

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  • Phenomenal. So good. SQN Grenache may be my favorite wine.

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  • Double decanted and let breathe under cork for about 5 hours. Also opened the 2017 Syrah Hated Hunter.

    This wine was just stunning. It opened up better/quicker, and we drank it all up on Day 1. Dark fruited grenache, but already showing so many secondary flavors and aromas. White pepper. Lilac. So harmonious on the back end and finish . . . . just a gorgeous wine.

    Glad we took a peek to see how this showed early.

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  • Decanted for three hours. The nose is so mesmerizingly unctuous, with smoky cherry, lilacs, cassis, concentrated basil, thyme, bar b q pit, and melted chocolate. Such a perfect nose. Voluptuous and showy, yet suave and embodies finesse. Extremely attractive at this young age, but the layered, thick, and glowing palate shows backbone and a very well-framed structure; I have zero doubts about this in regards to the ability to age. Fine tannins with some velvet. Full-bodied. The finish goes on a journey that you can’t help but to study. The maestro of Grenache has blessed us again with something truly special. Drink 2023 -.

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  • Absolutely love SQN and had to try this young pup, though obviously immature... Incredible right outta the bottle! Gonna be even better over the next decade or two! Cheers!!

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