Decanted an hour and a half. Consumed slowly over the evening. Red Cherry. Currant. Blue fruit. Gravel. Warm Pine. Mocha. Round in the mouth, bordering on too smooth. Hesitate to use "syrupy", so I won't. But I guess I thought about it. An obviously well constructed wine, if not my preferred style.
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SQN Dinner (Jordan's Place - Chicago IL): In 06-07 flight. Lush and spicy with rich red and black plum and cherry. There is an enchanting start that ends with an even bigger, more robust finish. Very food now with upside.
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2nd bottle of this....slow ox'd for 2 hours and enjoyed over 2 more. Lighter Cardinal red in the glass. Loads of bright red cherries and over the course of a few hours more smokey barrel char emerges. HMC nailed it as an '07, but the varietal eluded everyone. This is a very nice wine, however I can't help but think it's a good bit overpriced. For $100, it would be very nice. Luckily, I got my 2 bottles at quite the discount, not the going rate today. This appears to be another case of too much hype, overall. Nice, but not GREAT! Or maybe its best years are behind it? Lori's fav!
Annual Tasting Group Holiday Party (St. Genevieve, Mpls, MN): Small glass over an hour. This was not much different from my note 5 years ago. And my one note on it tonight was: "This has got some nuts." That it does, bold, flashy dark berry fruits and liqueur. A little more integrated now.
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Decanted over pure crystals from Sedona. Run thru a blender. Chanted while placing the wine into a triangle. Nothing is going to help this homage to alcoholic prunes, a federal offense punishable by trying to drink it. Hey! I even tried aging it. Mercifully my last bottle of any SQN, and from a mailing list I used to covet and be a top tier allocation recipient. I was a big fan. Then they went estate. I’ve now been off the list longer than I was on it. It was fun for a while.
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Wasn't roaring out of the gate the way most SQNs do. There was a bit of reduction and the nose remained muted but the palate was terrific and got better across dinner. Tons of cherry, current, a hint of licorice and a dash of black pepper. Great wine but there was something unusually restrained about the nose.
On the nose, this smells a bit aged and quite hot. On the palate it’s silky smooth and quite vibrant still, so I’m torn as to whether or not it’s too young or in it’s prime, or even past it. I must drink more mature Grenache
2.5 hour slow ox......nose of macerated cherries to start, a touch of alc, and warm baking spices.Smooth creamy texture in the mouth with more red fruit and a touch of orange peel. Nice mouthwatering finish with perfectly balanced acidity and smooth integrated tannins. Wonderful wine and I am in complete agreement with the CT brotherhood on the scoring!
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Wineapolooza in Atlanta; 5/21/2021-5/23/2021 (My house): Drinking perfectly in its window for my palate. Creamy, fruity, complex. Black raspberry, orange tootsie roll, mulberry spice, great acid. So much fun Thank you Mark!
Three hour slow ox. Deep garnet ruby color. Macerated cherry, raspberry tea, mulberry, and orange-infused Tootsie Roll on the nose. Super smooth, dry, creamy palate. Full, round tannins on the longish finish.
Fun, interesting wine, but past its prime for my palate.
Absolutely exploding with red fruit on the nose. Perfectly balanced and delicious red berries with a smooth finish. Loved this Grenache almost as much as the Shakti 2014 by Sine Qua Non.
This still needed 2-3 hours of air to really open up so it is still a fairly young wine. When it does open up, it is however completely open for business and lovely to drink. Plenty of young dark raspberry/cherry fruit with a lovely acidity. The alcohol is protruding just a little bit but overall, the wine is in a good balance. The intensity is amazing which is really why I recommend trying this wine at the moment and for the next 1-2 years as it still is in a transitional place where the intensity, young fruit and acidity, really can impress and show the wine best. Amazing wine!
Dark ruby in color and dark in personality. Initial notes of blueberry, Honduran tobacco, black raspberry, plum, cedar, leather, flower petal, vanilla, white pepper, underbrush and river sand and mud. This thing is spicy and fruity (in all the best ways) The muddy earth and ripe berry become dominant and licorice notes make their way into the palate. The mouthfeel is of soft suede and the finish is of dried suede to berry and very long. Absolutely fantastic ..... drink now - 2027.
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Beautiful pure fruit, hides alcohol content well, long, long finish. A bit more green note than I like. Some call this savory or herbal notes, but it just tastes a little green to me.
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Lots of black fruit, tobacco, and plums on the intense, very bold, but also super complex nose. Medium tannins, full body, more dark berries and fruit, as well as cedar notes on the palate. Long finish. Excellent wine, with suprisjnf balance and finesse, given the 15.6% ABV.
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Served blind to us (along side the 2007 Vieux Telegraphe) by Walter at Lalimes in Berkeley. Dark in color. A floral and dark fruit nose. In the mouth, there are dark plums, blueberries and black raspberries. Some licorice and black pepper in the background with what seems like a bit of nutmeg. Full bodied with tannin remaining. Almost brooding. Good finish.I seemed to like it more than everyone else. I think it might be Syrah,but it seems very cabernet-like so I guess a 2005 left bank Bordeaux. Nope, not close. A delicious wine nonetheless that I'd love to try again in a decade.
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SQN & BBQ (The Krengels - Bannockburn IL): Small glass, brief note from memory. Dense and ripe with great combination of sweet and savory spice. Rich but also excellent balance. Best I can ever recall for this wine.
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Really excellent bottle of wine. Opened three and a half hours before dinner. Dark fruit on the nose with hints of spice. The palate was dark red fruit, plums and Christmas spices The finish was long and smooth. Served with our dinner of oven roasted salmon.
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36th Birthday (Noreetuh): Wine #4. The 2007 Sine Qua Non "Pictures" was easily the wine of the night for just about everyone at the table. The 2007 has an intense nose of blue and black fruit, ground pepper, smoked herbs, baking spices, and bright flowers. Layers upon layers of flavor and a finish that goes on forever. Impressive! This is still a baby and should last another two decades. We gave it a 2 hour decant.
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My first SQN. Lots of rich black fruit, liqueur and spice. Showed fairly young and improved with air. This was a big, ripe wine but not as completely over the top as I feared it might be. Good stuff (but relatively poor QPR for the price on the secondary market)
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Dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of aspirin, rubber tire and mixed dark berries. Rich flavors of berries, cocoa powder and sugar plums. Medium acidity, medium to firm tannin, full bodied. Drink or hold.
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Sine Qua Non (SQN) Magnum Extravaganza + Bevan, Mike Smith, Sparkling/Champagne, and others (Calistoga): From magnum. An extraordinary wine whose distribution of flavor had so much to do with temperature control. When I first tasted it on PnP, it was operating in that 94-ish point range. The bottle was creeping toward room temperature, and the flavors (though interesting and seemingly complex) came off a little flat and blown out because of the elevated temperature. It displayed some awesome saline and wild blueberry and blackberry notes up front, and then hit into the red fruit spectrum as it traveled through the mid and back end.
Decanted and cooled down over an ice bucket for a number of hours. NOW this is what I'm talking about! The flavors came into amazing focus. Super elevated and distinct, tiered and complex. Wave after deliberate wave of blackberry, black raspberry, red/purple plum, wild blueberry, strong saline, railroad tie, camphor, asphalt, and black sand beach. I would have thought this was more Syrah-driven than Grenache based on its fruit profile, but it showed some more familiar hints of its varietal heritage toward the tail end.
An amazing wine that has a decent amount of life left in it. For me, I'd be opening this now and giving it a healthy decant. Consider drinking at a cooler temperature (<52 degrees), as it really did improve the focus of the flavors. Beautiful stuff.
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Outrageous! Maybe 99 but really 100! Sweet spot....yes. The most pure grenache I have had in a very long time. Cherries dominate and I can still taste it.
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Slo-oxed for 30 minutes with not much change, so then decanted for 30 minutes and the wine began opening up -- would recommend more decanter time. Very little sediment upon decant. The nose was mostly dark red fruits, with some blue fruit, on steroids. Hard to tell it was Grenache as the fruits were darker, and the pepper and spice were more dominant, than we expected. The palate was medium plus, the acidity was juicy and balancing, and there was just a hint of heat on the long, smooth finish. Will hold our other bottle for a while, then give it more time in the decanter, before enjoying.
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Hommage a DryCab - Washington Wines release; 5/3/2018-5/5/2018 (Various spots in Walla Walla): I'm always a sucker for the SQN wines. The way Manfred can make them almost over the top and then somehow create a touch of balance to them I find quite interesting. This is candied fruit and pepper and relatively intense and then somehow it breaks a bit and the acidity shines through some more. Tasty wine.
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Sine Qua Non dinner (Eddie V's - Tysons Corner, VA): Expressive nose displaying blueberry liqueur, blackberry pie, black cherry, fruitcake, baking spices and a hint of heat. Excellent concentration, intense ripe black and blue fruit driven palate impression, bright acidity, nicely integrated tannins and a long intense jammy black fruit and baking spices driven finish. There is a hint of heat at the end. I prefer the birds for the richness.
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SLDS GC NY Traditional Tasting: Violets, cherry/kirsch, musk, plums, raspberry and blackcurrant on the nose. The palate is full of power but there is a slippery elegance about it, even with how ripe and full it is, it feels classy and stylish. Excellent length. Young but plenty of time to go.
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Candied raspberry, licorice and baking spice notes. Classic iron fist in a velvet glove style- very smooth and ripe in style, but backed up by plenty of underlying structure. A crowd pleasing cocktail wine- had multiple naive drinkers ask where they could buy it...
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Late in the night not a ton of notes. Very good as usual. Youthful. And the texture - just amazing. Loads of nuance and complexity. 10 years in and these wines have hit stride. Very nice.
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Mouton, Shafer, SQN, Prum, Chave, CdP, Yquem, Port ++ (Home): This was opened and allowed to breathe for 10 hours. Inky purple in color. The nose is very deep with boysenberries, black cherries, licorice and iodine. On the palate, this is still pretty youthful. Boysenberries, dark cherries, some vanilla, spice and slight earthiness. On the palate, enough acidity to cut thru the tannins and fruit. A nice complexity. Almost seamless. Long finish. This is delicious yet it works well with the food. No hurry on this, it has at least a decade and probably more left.
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Small Sine Qua Non Dinner (Echo & Rig - Las Vegas NV): Decanted 30 minutes before serving, then tasted and re-tasted over 3 hours. Plum and black cherries with liqueur hints and rich, slightly sweet spice. Lots and lots of everything good/ great and tasty here, but this didn't seem perfectly harmonious tonight. Ripe fruit, then good structure, then fruit and spice in various iterations. But nothing flabby or hot whatsoever. Maybe flying from Chicago to Las Vegas hurt this bottle a little today, and I'm confident in its potential, but it didn't quite hit all its expected high notes tonight.
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Very dark and deep color. A lot of funk on the nose initially that blew off after a bit. Dark cherries, red currant and some candied licorice, with hints of vanilla. Full body, long finish. This needed a big decant.
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RJ's birthday gathering - perfect 09 VCC and 01 Yquem (Eddie V's - Tysons Corner): For my palate, this was served slightly too warm. Blackberry liqueur, cherry and alcohol/heat expresses in baking spices. Excellent concentration, youthful and intense black fruit, nicely integrated tannins and noticeable heat at the end. For people like me, SQNs need to served cooler than other reds. There is enough fruit so lessening fruit expression shouldn’t be an issue.
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15.6% alcohol? No problem. This is an exercise is balance and harmony. Yes, the wine is huge. But there is no sign of heat or imbalance. Its very rich, powerful and yet elegant. If you taste these wines blind, Manfreds signature is all over them. So unique. Would appear this wine is in a great spot and has a very long life ahead. 95+
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Smoke, sweet black cherries dipped in chocolate, coffee on the nose. Soft and very nice mouthfeel. Good acidity, some soft tannins, black cherries and chocolate.
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Opened for Cubs wildcard playoff victory. Pretty wine with lovely smooth rich creamy texture. Nice sweet red and black berry flavors, although perhaps just a bit more subdued than expected. Went down easily and each sip better than the last. Well balanced and nicely integrated, good complexity, but not mind blowing experience.
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My first bottle of this cuvee, I found the wine to be about complexity much more so than concentration and power, though these latter two characteristics were indeed very notable as well. A very layered, enticing bouquet of berries, spice, herbs and a petrol aspect. The palate was layered as well, with waves of sweet red fruit, spice and minerality. Firm tannins that softened somewhat as the evening progressed, and made the wine an outstanding accompaniment alongside sweet shrimp risotto. The tiny portion of Viognier in the wine seemed surprisingly evident, and added a sweet floral taste that served to complement the red fruit and spice. Balanced, nuanced and irresistible. Could even have room to improve further from here.
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Sine Qua Non's on a Saturday afternoon (Loretta Paganini School fo Cooking): Delicious. Drinking really well. Seemingly ready to drink if still with a decade or two left. Ruby/purple. The nose has black raspberries, cedar, black cherries, spice and floral notes. Full bodied. On the palate, this has layers of fruit and fruit. Juicy acidity. Long finish. Just a great wine.
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Fabulous SQN. Nuanced, subtle and huge all at the same time. I love Manfred's Grenache's. They are special. This is smooth and supple in the mouth. The flavors burst out of the glass. No hard edges and an incredible balance of finesse and power. Absolutely outstanding. 95+
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Throwndown in Madtown; 8/27/2015-8/29/2015 (Madison, WI): Burger wine, yeah! Great nose of black and red raspberry with hints of blueberry and tons of Asian spice. On the palate rich and dense with red raspberry, black raspberry, plum, pepper, and hints of leather. On the finish, nicely balanced with the slightest bit of hear. Lots to love here. Drink or continue to hold.
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Tasted non blind. Opened, tasted and re-corked for 8 hours before serving.
Dark garnet to purple color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of coffee, cocoa, roses, plums and pepper. Rich flavors of black berries, plums and cherries. Medium acidity, medium tannin, full bodied. Drink now with some air or continue to hold. Pretty dang good right now with some air.
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Madison Offline 2015; 8/27/2015-8/29/2015: Pure ruby-cerise color. Beautiful nose showing an array of bright fruits and pepper. Less depth on the palate as the heat comes through more than I like. Medium length. Not scored; a fan of the style would appreciate this even more than I do, but this still was a treat to drink. 15.6% abv
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Purple. Lucious nose of minerals, dark fruit, cedar grilled meat and wisps of vanilla. Deep and concentrated with layers of dark fruit and prominent red raspberry compote. Clearly still young, needed several hours to open up but was worth the wait. This was the red wine of the beach week for me.
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Wonderful. Quite reticent and reserved at first. Really took a long time to open up and show its stuff. Dark raspberry and blue fruit. Well balanced. Graphite and a meatiness on the palate. Love it. Not as large of a presence as other SQN. Closer to the '05 Atlantis from my memory. So well balanced. A burgundy lovers Cali Rhone. Nose is unreal. Perfect. Still tannic has years to go.
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What a remarkable wine. It had a deep purple color, with a bouquet and flavor of raspberries and cotton candy, with pepper showing up at the end. The mouth feel was smooth and creamy, and quite distinctive. Lovely definition and good balance despite the high alcohol, which peaks out a bit toward the end of the long finish.
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Nice expression of Grenache. Light ruby color. Terrific dusky nose with loads of floral scents. Good tart raspberry and plum palate but somewhat astringent. Nice soft mouthfeel, which became more voluptuous with hours in the glass. Tasty, not special, especially for SQN.
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Wonderful wine. Dark and rich. Coffee and chocolate overtones. Beautiful dark purple color. Very slight bitterness on opening smoothed out after short time. Delighted I have additional bottles. This wine will drink well for many years.
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Stunning array of stewed red and black fruits, jammy smokiness, perfectly ripe. Palate is full, round, robust and silkly -- imagine all the words you can use to describe a well-integrated wine that coats the palate. Grenache at its best, in my opinion... but I like big wines like this.
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Brawny nose with a little underbrush, beef and raspberries. The palate is sweet and sexy with very ripe raspberries and some cream notes. Tannic still despite the sweetness. Awesome.
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double-decanted, followed over 3 hours. dark purple, minimal lightening at rim; super exuberant nose, candied black cherries & sweet blackberries, brown spices & vanilla bean; full-bodied; intense & concentrated black fruits, structured & opulent at the same time, w/solid acid/tannic balance & faintly bitter espresso notes on the youthful conclusion. most expressive of tonight's group, but young.
This clear wine was deep purple in colour and was drank at a local restaurant after being decanted for 45 minutes. Tonight this bottle was wonderful. Tons of candied cherries on the nose and in the glass. Add in a hint of vanilla and just the right amount of acidity and tannins and you have a wine that is in a really good space to drink right now.
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Better than expected. Tonight this has depth, layers of flavors. Decanted and drank over 2-3 hours. Air helps. Classic Grenache from Manfred. Big, nuanced and balanced. Very good. 94+
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Drank at dinner at The Wallace restaurant in Culver City. Decanted for 1 hour before diving in at which time it was showing classic SQN flowery expressive nose. Wine had nice fruit but was coming off as young and tannic at first. Well, 45 more minutes in the glass made all the difference with the beautiful blackberry, raspberry fruit, milk chocolate and some vanilla just coating the whole palate. With 2 hour decant this wine is a treasure. Everyone loved it. WOTN.
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Give it a swirl, long dark legs shoot out from under the short leather skirt. Take a sip, roll it around, perfect balance, leather, berries, smashed pile up of fruit. Some black tea, bitter chocolate, touch of leather
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liked by all after thanksgiving dinner, nice acid but nonetheless a mid- to full-bodied wine (as i expected), smack down the middle between masculine and feminine, loads of fruit but with some spice (oak spice?) to add a second dimension, very nice
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Purchased off the wine list, poured two small glasses and decanted the rest. Opens with notes of blue fruit, cranberry and white pepper. There are underlying red fruit liqueur and floral qualities- rose petals, and vanilla. Full-bodied with cherry, plum and red fruit notes with a pomegranate/red fruit note and pepper lingering on the long finish. The finish lingers for well over a minute. About an hour and a half later, the last glasses were poured. Lavender, blueberry, raspberry ganache, vanilla & rose petal notes with white pepper undertones. Fleshy and vibrant on the palate with an abundance of red fruit and spice.
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I tasted the first glass an hour after being opened and the final glass two days later after storing in the fridge. Very dark purple and heavy legs, no sediment. Powerful and complex nose but still seems rather wound up, if not immature, in it's generosity and transparency. Silky and big, it does show the alcohol but I guess it doesn't matter with so much gorgeous fruit to play with. Finesse isn't part of the equation, but intrigue certainly is. Not a wine I prefer in terms of balance but it sure is one I could count on to impress the boss (if I had one). Better days still to come. 5+12+18+8 = 93
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Bramble, mushroom, earth and black fruit, perhaps even some floral elements. Dark, dark purple, almost black. Nose a bit restrained initially, but opens up. A huge wine, but kept well in balance. Maybe, just maybe a bit disappointing on the tail end, but I am looking for issues when I say that. Not the best SQN, but damn good, and probably even has some improvement ahead for the next few years.
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Testing out my new Coravin and figured I would have a glass of SQN and nurse the bottle over the next 4-6 weeks. Pickle, bramble and spice on the nose. Plenty of heat and extract on the palate, but I dare say, it actually has that indescribable texture and 'crunch' that I so often find in Chateauneuf and never really find in US Grenache. Yum, this is really aging quite nicely!
Decanted for two hours. This is full-bodied and delineated on every floor. Mischievous amounts of berry and Oreo cookie, turning to fresh mushroom, scorched earth and rose petals. Thick then lithe; gorgeous and divine. Designed for a long study. The sense of place is all there, regardless of the amalgamation of vineyards within. Drink now - 2030.
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Decanted 6 hours. Wonderful taste & balance The wine looks Inky colored. It tastes like and Black Pepper. The body is Full. The wine has Satin-like texture. The wine finishes Long.
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Enjoyed with Cuban cigars and lamb in Oregon. Medium hue with light nose. Decanted 4 hours exposing tart blackberry and spice palate. Not as complex as other SQN but we opened it too young.
See more detail at http://maximumsatisfaction.tumblr.com/post/44141316600
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Dark red/purple. Cherry, raspberry, flowers on the nose. Rich ripe lush fruit follows the nose, very pure, intense, well-integrated tannins, backing acidity, intensity persists on back palate and into long finish. Has many years to go. Outstanding-extraordinary.
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Great, but not amazing like we have become accustomed to with SQN grenache. Drank after an Aubert Ritchie '09. Enjoyed at The Kenwood with Trent & Heidi.
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Vibrant and thick, the wine cascade into my glass with a powerful ruby color amid bottomless inky tints.
Equally to the moment ago tasted Syrah-blend The Thrill of, Pictures brings a immense alliance effect of aromas - a supreme coaction and interplay of complexity. Unquestionably the most intense Grenache-nose I've ever encountered. Incredibly layered. The spectrum starts in pears, blue flowers violets, liquorices, rolls into pure ripe fruits (raspberries and cherries), some varnish (in a good way), with underlying black tuscany greenness and vanilla. Fascinating to say the least.
At first sip I cannot believe this wine - it's so unreal velvety and rich, thoroughly without edges. The mid-palate is fiery, smooth and sexy, not flabby. Perhaps one of the most concentrated wines I've ever experienced. The acidity is puzzling high along with tannins juicy and nano-like fine-grained. I'm almost overlook the alcohol, veiled but also contributing to all that silkiness. Characters that comes to mind are rhubarb, spice, creamy cherries, violets and a magnificent virtual subtle oak.
I'm so astonished over how this Grenache-blend holds together and at the same time stay so slender. The fact that I'm nearly overlooking the alcohol in this wine tells its incredible integration. Even though the length is high by all means, it isn't everlasting like The Thrill of. This wine has a world-class complexity, but The Thrill of… is extraordinary in that matter. Nevertheless, Pictures is even more velvety and concentrated, yet still enclose amazing balance and structure. Drink until 2020. Thank you Manfred! http://quaffable.org/?p=198
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Sine Qua Non the Cult of Cults; 10/10/2012-10/11/2012 (Roberson Wine, South Ken, London & The Square, London): Dark red in colour, vibrant. From the first smell you are reminded Grenache is what SQN can develop to another level.floral nose, light petrolly Riesling style aromatics overlay the rich fruit notes. Singing nose. The palate feel of this 15.6% alc wine is textbook SQN which we like to say it has a balance, and harmony in its strength, as if the wine is amplified but amplified in a parallel way so that while all elements are loud they are not of of sync with one another.95
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Simply adorable, the 2007 Pictures Grenache is showing its best side tonight. The nose is full of flowers, violets, lilac and very appealing dark mature Grenache fruit. What makes me tick even more is a sense of purity and that I can feel all components in a way which I do like. SQNs are normally extremely integrated. Of course, so is this effort but not the same extent. Tannins are certainly present but very enjoyable. With a few more years of bottle age this wine will turn into an even more beautiful swan.
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Slow Ox'd. Black cherries and some earth on the nose. The berries and cherries exploded on the palate but in a great way. Loved the texture. Long finish. Hope to have the discipline to drink the rest after some time.
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Decanted. Still wound up. Not overly tight. May have seemed more so in contrast with the much older other bottle we were drinking. Loosened up nicely with a little time.
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Popped n poured. Not revealing much at first, but with air this opened up into a rich, delicious beauty. Think, rich and well-integrated - everyone loved this bottle.
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Very huge overripe notes coming through which were baked berry cobbler in definition of cherry, blueberry, blackberry, dark chocolate mint, leather, white pepper,tobbacco, mineral and loads of alcohol. Although big and brooding enpugh to warrant it . D now-2024.
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Dark ruby with med-heavy viscosity in the glass. Decanted for two hours. Black cherry skin, fresh-baked strawberry pie, earth, tobacco, spice, brown sugar and flint on the nose. Secondary Rolls Royce interior and diesel soot. Full body with thick, persistent cherry and black berries on the palate. Spice (cinnamon), earth, tobacco, BBQ, licorice, red fruit cobbler and cola. A touch of green (squash, green pepper, olive and pine) on the back. Superbly balanced and infinitely complex…gave up identifying secondary notes after an hour. Good structure. Long finish. Impressive!
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My first go at the Pictures Grenache. And it was no surprise that it was very young and tight. Still the nose had a fantstic wave of Rhubarb and gunpowder. More like a young La Turque than a Grenache wine. The taste was both rich and elegant at the same time. Typical of Sine Qua Non. This wine has a great potiental! A big+ after the 96 point rating!
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Just a few notes; enormously juicy with a lot of good fruits like cherries and black forest fruits as well as some chocolate. Strangely enough I did not write down anything about the herbs and spice you usually expect in a Grenache. Scored it 94, so it is a great wine anyhow.
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An evening with Sine Qua Non (Restaurant Bottles, Sas van Gent): Sweet creamy cherryfruit, like in a cherrypie. Lacking depth and complexity at the moment. Very sweet and slightly monolithic. Where is the garrigue/herbaceousness? Where is the badly needed complexity? My palate seems to have a problem with grenache in general, and when they're modern and New-Worldy in particular. Can't help to feel that these kind of wines are thick and big, but the beauty goes only skin deep. So, beautifully crafted , but not for me. 16.5/20
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Third time with this. Great nose of rhubarb, strawberries and baking spices. The palate is full but does not feel heavy. Glides into every crevice of the mouth. Very fine grainy tannins. Krankl makes one of the few American grenaches I like.
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I was disappointed in this wine that followed the 2007 Alban Grenache. Had an interesting rubber and tar nose but there was clean fruit behind it. Flavor profile was lava (a nice minerality), some tar and a decent amount of barnyard that blew off. Huge backbone with some tobacco on finish. Complex yes. Worth the price tag, not for me.
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SQN Dinner (Lockkeepers): Ruby/purple in color. The nose is dusty with red and black raspberries and spice. Silky and delicious. Great texture. Balanced. Black cherries and raspberries on the palate. This took a while to open and is still very young and needs time. Seems so well made though and when it did open was very sexy. I would love to try this in a few years.
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(Tasted in a flight with 2007 Cristia Vieilles Vignes, 2007 Clos Saint Jean Deus Ex Machina and 2007 Saxum James Berry Proprietary Red. ) The 2007 Grenache Pictures is probably the best wine in this flight. The wine is astonishingly integrated and velvety, with a finish that just goes on and on. The nose reveals dark mature fruit surrounded by young but subtle tannins. Wonderful. I am always amazed by how Sine Qua Nons are massive and touch the essence of what a nose and palate in a wine can actually be, but they almost always do this dressed up in an elegant ermine cloak. To me this is magic. Highly recommended.
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Dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Lovely nose of dark chocolate, perfume, berries, cherries and graham crackers. Rich and juicy flavors of berries, cherries, raspberries and plums. Medium to bright acidity, medium to firm tannins, full bodied. Drink now with about 30 minutes of air or continue to hold.
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This was again what I had expected. Last bottle 9 months ago was a relative disappointment (93p). This time it is still beautiful looking, light but not quite as young as last year. Here is the exuberant bright, intense, high fruit that I love on Krankl's Grenache. This brings a smile to my face.
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Popped and poured. Medium-plus bright purple/ruby. Expressive nose redolent with fruit & spice...think raspberry, kirsch, vanilla bean, graham cracker, clove, spiced incense, and an earthiness that grows stronger with air. Medium-plus body. Pure, expressive, even explosive fruit on the palate...really covers the gamut of red fruit expression along with notes of smoked herbs, spices, and a faint hint of green which adds complexity (possibly some stem inclusion?). The tannins are surprisingly refrained on the lengthy finish. Perhaps what truly sets this wine apart is the overall balance; never huge or ponderous, this is a seamless wine, with all components in perfect proportion. Should age beautifully for many years.
Quick note: This particular bottle drank at it's best within 30 minutes of opening. After 2-3 hours, it started to shut down and even by day 3 never regained the initial fireworks. If opening another bottle in the near, I would think a quick splash decant would work beautifully. Otherwise, probably best to refrain from opening for at least a few years. But what great juice!
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Lugeresque 2011 (Peter Pratt's Inn): This was a decadent treat. I'm such a loyal fan of Manfred's wines and I really think he has honed his wine making into a true art. This is a wonderful example of what he does with Grenache. This was absolutely chock-full of black berries, plums and anise with hints of coriander and cracked white pepper. Simply divine.
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Its no news to me that I like the syrahs better when it comes to SQN. This was superb, however. Smokey nose of raspberries, strawberries and pomegranate. The palate is very smooth with beef, some tangy bbq notes and loads of ripe berries. Velvety, refined finish with nary a hint of alcohol which I was expecting for some reason. Yummy stuff.
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18 bottles of Sine Qua Non (Copenhagen, Denmark): A young wine with a lot of potential - but for now (and especially compared with some of the more mature wines from SQN) this was a quite restrained in its offerings. Had some of the nice elegance of the Atlantis Grenache (2005), and will probably get there with time.
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Sine Qua Non Dinner: the Younger Wines (Custom House Tavern - Chicago IL): Mostly primary fruit on the nose, with good spice in the background. Dense fruit concentration on the palate with some more apparent sweet spice flavors coming through. Lots of tannin, lots of structure, great textures. This is an fun wine tonight, with really exciting potential to become more nuanced and interesting in the next few years.
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COLOR: Deep purple with ruby rim NOTE: Pacific Grove Trip - Limited Notes --- Very youthful. Don't remember much, but it was very red spectrum fruit, lots of white pepper and garrigue. More CDP in style, and it was missing the opulence I was hoping for from Mr. Krankl. I took the bottle back to the room and continued to taste from a small glass. The midpalate opened up a little and the finish stretched out. FOUND MY MISSING NOTES: Nose is beautiful red raspberry liqueur, hints of herbs de Provence, mesquite smoke. Mouth is medium-heavy toasted brambly black fruit with a lithe richness. Pipe tobacco, braised red meats and hints of tomato sauce appear. The finish has yummy blackberry jam and crushed granite but falls down a little because it lacks the opulence of other great Grenaches (thinking 2005 Saxum Rocket Block). Nice, but finishes with a tinge of heat. Love the label though!
SQN, Lagier, Pride, Mordoree, Red Car; 8/22/2010-8/23/2010: Tom opened this thinking it was a white. He had apparently grabbed the wrong bottle. It was interesting, because I could not stand the first couple of sips of it. It was the first wine of the afternoon and it was so big and tasted over oaked. With air, food and time, this got better. I think it is still quite young and need five years to develop, but it is a lovely wine. With air, the nose showed raspberries, leather, scorched earth and some raspberry milk shake notes. The palate was lush, juicy raspberries and strawberry candy. Very tight layers. Long finish. Plenty of room for improvement, but not what I want for an afternoon aperitif. ;-)
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Opened and poured at Campanile in Los Angeles. This was another lovely bottle from SQN. No notes taken but this wine was very well balanced. Nice flavours with lots of jam and vanilla. It got slightly better over time but the whole bottle only lasted 45 minutes. I hope to enjoy another one soon.
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Decanted for two hours. The most delicious dark fruits, berries, and freshly roasted pumpkin on the nose. The palate is nothing short of remarkable. The fruit is so abundant, so rich, and so pure. Some alcohol, almost perfectly integrated. Balanced and delicious acidity. The finish, oh the finish. Delicious and long. I could drink this forever. Balance. balance, and more balance. Man, SQN rocks!
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great bottle. wonderful color - consistent core to rim. nose of rich dark fruits, blue and black, meat, spice and tar. palate is strong (in a good way) start to finish. opens big and bold on the front and stays consistently big and creamy throughout the finish. big, lasting finish without a rough edge. loaded with fruits, meats, spice and floral. will get better i believe but what a great young sqn. bravo.
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This looks like a SQN but it is probably the least exciting SQN I've ever had - must try another bottle soon, maybe this was not a great bottle or was it bad timing? Beautiful looking, very bright, luminescent, very thick legs. Very young looking but light color (typical Grenache). 83;93. More muted version of the intense, focused red fruits I normally get from Krankl Grenache. Not a bad wine at all but not up to the normal superior standard that SQN has set.
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If seamless is a proper way of describing the sensation of perfect balance - the 2007 SQN Grenache Pictures is a seamless wine. How strange is it when there are absolutely no edges, nothing "rough or rugged" to really touch and annoy your palate? The pure fruit, silky tannins, 60 sec+ finish, nose and deep deep color all seem to be perfectly harmonious. Like Mr Kirsch, Mrs Pepper and baby Spice all went down the road holding each others hands singing. Lovely.
Wow... First SQN and it lived up to the hype and then some.No formal notes taken. Pop and pour. First impression- ripe Cali grenache nose (so what's the big deal?). This wine was much different then expected... as I thought I would experience a wine similar to Alban. This was not that. Incredible purity, balance, length, richness...all without being heavy, how can this be? Strawberry compote, rocks, a touch of oak hanging out in the back but the incredible fruit shined through. Would like to revisit in a year or two to see the evolution... exciting wine.
Opened about 3 hours before drinking. Dark, dark dark in the glass. Dark, smoky, red fruit nose. The palate showed coffee, currant, strawberry, but is so primary right now that it probably shouldn't be touched for at least a year, better two. Fun to drink, however, and showing glimpses of what is coming down the road. (PE: 95)
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2/23/2024 - realstevebeam wrote:
Decanted an hour and a half. Consumed slowly over the evening.
Red Cherry. Currant. Blue fruit. Gravel. Warm Pine. Mocha. Round in the mouth, bordering on too smooth. Hesitate to use "syrupy", so I won't. But I guess I thought about it. An obviously well constructed wine, if not my preferred style.
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12/21/2023 - MonacoMik wrote: 97 Points
My next pre 2010 SQN victim of the week (3rd to be correct) of my Hong Kong shopping spree.
A few hours decant and it was just shining - smooth white chocolate black raspberry black cherry & subtle graphite.
Super yummy and think it is at its peak now!
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4/16/2023 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
SQN Dinner (Jordan's Place - Chicago IL): In 06-07 flight. Lush and spicy with rich red and black plum and cherry. There is an enchanting start that ends with an even bigger, more robust finish. Very food now with upside.
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12/15/2022 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 95 Points
2nd bottle of this....slow ox'd for 2 hours and enjoyed over 2 more. Lighter Cardinal red in the glass. Loads of bright red cherries and over the course of a few hours more smokey barrel char emerges. HMC nailed it as an '07, but the varietal eluded everyone. This is a very nice wine, however I can't help but think it's a good bit overpriced. For $100, it would be very nice. Luckily, I got my 2 bottles at quite the discount, not the going rate today. This appears to be another case of too much hype, overall. Nice, but not GREAT! Or maybe its best years are behind it? Lori's fav!
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11/4/2022 - Snoman wrote:
Wow. Amazing balance and integration, nearly perfect at this level of maturity. Versatile and memorable.
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5/11/2022 - jimcopland wrote: 97 Points
Just beautiful. Luscious red-purple fruit, strong backbone, finish for days. Perfect with my smoked ribs.
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12/12/2021 - rocknroller wrote:
Annual Tasting Group Holiday Party (St. Genevieve, Mpls, MN): Small glass over an hour. This was not much different from my note 5 years ago. And my one note on it tonight was: "This has got some nuts." That it does, bold, flashy dark berry fruits and liqueur. A little more integrated now.
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9/18/2021 - jeff nowak Does not like this wine:
Decanted over pure crystals from Sedona. Run thru a blender. Chanted while placing the wine into a triangle. Nothing is going to help this homage to alcoholic prunes, a federal offense punishable by trying to drink it. Hey! I even tried aging it. Mercifully my last bottle of any SQN, and from a mailing list I used to covet and be a top tier allocation recipient. I was a big fan. Then they went estate. I’ve now been off the list longer than I was on it. It was fun for a while.
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8/8/2021 - Topper wrote: 94 Points
Wasn't roaring out of the gate the way most SQNs do. There was a bit of reduction and the nose remained muted but the palate was terrific and got better across dinner. Tons of cherry, current, a hint of licorice and a dash of black pepper. Great wine but there was something unusually restrained about the nose.
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7/24/2021 - Burgnick wrote: 90 Points
The nose’s greenness is quite dominating, yet palate is rich and smooth. It would have been benefitted from 5-6 hour of decanting.
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6/14/2021 - anthozep wrote: 95 Points
On the nose, this smells a bit aged and quite hot. On the palate it’s silky smooth and quite vibrant still, so I’m torn as to whether or not it’s too young or in it’s prime, or even past it. I must drink more mature Grenache
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5/23/2021 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 95 Points
2.5 hour slow ox......nose of macerated cherries to start, a touch of alc, and warm baking spices.Smooth creamy texture in the mouth with more red fruit and a touch of orange peel. Nice mouthwatering finish with perfectly balanced acidity and smooth integrated tannins. Wonderful wine and I am in complete agreement with the CT brotherhood on the scoring!
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5/22/2021 - Decanting Queen Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wineapolooza in Atlanta; 5/21/2021-5/23/2021 (My house): Drinking perfectly in its window for my palate. Creamy, fruity, complex. Black raspberry, orange tootsie roll, mulberry spice, great acid. So much fun
Thank you Mark!
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5/22/2021 - AGELVIS Likes this wine: 92 Points
Three hour slow ox. Deep garnet ruby color. Macerated cherry, raspberry tea, mulberry, and orange-infused Tootsie Roll on the nose. Super smooth, dry, creamy palate. Full, round tannins on the longish finish.
Fun, interesting wine, but past its prime for my palate.
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12/5/2020 - GlobalNomadGuy Likes this wine: 96 Points
Absolutely exploding with red fruit on the nose. Perfectly balanced and delicious red berries with a smooth finish. Loved this Grenache almost as much as the Shakti 2014 by Sine Qua Non.
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10/10/2020 - canan wrote: 96 Points
This still needed 2-3 hours of air to really open up so it is still a fairly young wine.
When it does open up, it is however completely open for business and lovely to drink.
Plenty of young dark raspberry/cherry fruit with a lovely acidity. The alcohol is protruding just a little bit but overall, the wine is in a good balance.
The intensity is amazing which is really why I recommend trying this wine at the moment and for the next 1-2 years as it still is in a transitional place where the intensity, young fruit and acidity, really can impress and show the wine best. Amazing wine!
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6/27/2020 - Amerique wrote: 96 Points
Rich, delicious black raspberry fruit with leathery flavors, excellent structure, long finish, great wine
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5/2/2020 - Chris Keller wrote: 95 Points
Dark ruby in color and dark in personality. Initial notes of blueberry, Honduran tobacco, black raspberry, plum, cedar, leather, flower petal, vanilla, white pepper, underbrush and river sand and mud. This thing is spicy and fruity (in all the best ways) The muddy earth and ripe berry become dominant and licorice notes make their way into the palate. The mouthfeel is of soft suede and the finish is of dried suede to berry and very long. Absolutely fantastic ..... drink now - 2027.
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1/19/2020 - Geoff Likes this wine: 95 Points
Beautiful pure fruit, hides alcohol content well, long, long finish. A bit more green note than I like. Some call this savory or herbal notes, but it just tastes a little green to me.
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11/30/2019 - glou.sf Likes this wine: 96 Points
Lots of black fruit, tobacco, and plums on the intense, very bold, but also super complex nose. Medium tannins, full body, more dark berries and fruit, as well as cedar notes on the palate. Long finish. Excellent wine, with suprisjnf balance and finesse, given the 15.6% ABV.
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10/28/2019 - mhudes Likes this wine: 95 Points
Served blind to us (along side the 2007 Vieux Telegraphe) by Walter at Lalimes in Berkeley. Dark in color. A floral and dark fruit nose. In the mouth, there are dark plums, blueberries and black raspberries. Some licorice and black pepper in the background with what seems like a bit of nutmeg. Full bodied with tannin remaining. Almost brooding. Good finish.I seemed to like it more than everyone else. I think it might be Syrah,but it seems very cabernet-like so I guess a 2005 left bank Bordeaux. Nope, not close. A delicious wine nonetheless that I'd love to try again in a decade.
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8/17/2019 - Burgundy Al wrote: 95 Points
SQN & BBQ (The Krengels - Bannockburn IL): Small glass, brief note from memory. Dense and ripe with great combination of sweet and savory spice. Rich but also excellent balance. Best I can ever recall for this wine.
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6/6/2019 - Friendless Drinkers Club Likes this wine: 96 Points
Dinner at Red Star; 6/6/2019-6/8/2019 (Red Star Seafood Restaurant): Spectacular wine with black cherry and pepper notes. Decanted for about 1 hour. Lots of fruit and hitting its peak. 96 pts.
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5/16/2019 - markcic Likes this wine: 95 Points
Really excellent bottle of wine. Opened three and a half hours before dinner. Dark fruit on the nose with hints of spice. The palate was dark red fruit, plums and Christmas spices The finish was long and smooth. Served with our dinner of oven roasted salmon.
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5/4/2019 - jgreco Likes this wine: 98 Points
36th Birthday (Noreetuh): Wine #4. The 2007 Sine Qua Non "Pictures" was easily the wine of the night for just about everyone at the table. The 2007 has an intense nose of blue and black fruit, ground pepper, smoked herbs, baking spices, and bright flowers. Layers upon layers of flavor and a finish that goes on forever. Impressive! This is still a baby and should last another two decades. We gave it a 2 hour decant.
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11/20/2018 - bobvictor Likes this wine: 97 Points
First bottle of SQN. Amazing. Incredible concentration and layers of flavor. Wonderful
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11/8/2018 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
2018 Villa d’Este Wine Symposium – Kelly, RJ, Justin and Kevin's excellent adventure; 11/7/2018-11/11/2018 (Villa D’este, Lake Como): Massive scale nose displaying intense jammy black fruit, blackberry liqueur, blueberry liqueur, black cherry, ink, cinnamon, nutmeg and iron mineral. Excellent concentration, densely packed jammy black fruit, bright acidity, strong steely mineral, a hint of fine tannins and a long intense jammy black fruit driven finish. It is a bit our of place. Still need another decade to reach the peak.
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10/8/2018 - Bakerbd Likes this wine: 94 Points
My first SQN. Lots of rich black fruit, liqueur and spice. Showed fairly young and improved with air. This was a big, ripe wine but not as completely over the top as I feared it might be. Good stuff (but relatively poor QPR for the price on the secondary market)
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8/18/2018 - wineismylife wrote: 94 Points
WIML94
Tasted non blind.
Dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of aspirin, rubber tire and mixed dark berries. Rich flavors of berries, cocoa powder and sugar plums. Medium acidity, medium to firm tannin, full bodied. Drink or hold.
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8/4/2018 - csimm wrote: 99 Points
Sine Qua Non (SQN) Magnum Extravaganza + Bevan, Mike Smith, Sparkling/Champagne, and others (Calistoga): From magnum. An extraordinary wine whose distribution of flavor had so much to do with temperature control. When I first tasted it on PnP, it was operating in that 94-ish point range. The bottle was creeping toward room temperature, and the flavors (though interesting and seemingly complex) came off a little flat and blown out because of the elevated temperature. It displayed some awesome saline and wild blueberry and blackberry notes up front, and then hit into the red fruit spectrum as it traveled through the mid and back end.
Decanted and cooled down over an ice bucket for a number of hours. NOW this is what I'm talking about! The flavors came into amazing focus. Super elevated and distinct, tiered and complex. Wave after deliberate wave of blackberry, black raspberry, red/purple plum, wild blueberry, strong saline, railroad tie, camphor, asphalt, and black sand beach. I would have thought this was more Syrah-driven than Grenache based on its fruit profile, but it showed some more familiar hints of its varietal heritage toward the tail end.
An amazing wine that has a decent amount of life left in it. For me, I'd be opening this now and giving it a healthy decant. Consider drinking at a cooler temperature (<52 degrees), as it really did improve the focus of the flavors. Beautiful stuff.
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7/29/2018 - bingram wrote:
Outrageous! Maybe 99 but really 100! Sweet spot....yes. The most pure grenache I have had in a very long time. Cherries dominate and I can still taste it.
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7/4/2018 - VlgJeff Likes this wine: 94 Points
Slo-oxed for 30 minutes with not much change, so then decanted for 30 minutes and the wine began opening up -- would recommend more decanter time. Very little sediment upon decant. The nose was mostly dark red fruits, with some blue fruit, on steroids. Hard to tell it was Grenache as the fruits were darker, and the pepper and spice were more dominant, than we expected. The palate was medium plus, the acidity was juicy and balancing, and there was just a hint of heat on the long, smooth finish. Will hold our other bottle for a while, then give it more time in the decanter, before enjoying.
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5/5/2018 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Hommage a DryCab - Washington Wines release; 5/3/2018-5/5/2018 (Various spots in Walla Walla): I'm always a sucker for the SQN wines. The way Manfred can make them almost over the top and then somehow create a touch of balance to them I find quite interesting. This is candied fruit and pepper and relatively intense and then somehow it breaks a bit and the acidity shines through some more. Tasty wine.
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1/26/2018 - dcwino wrote: 93 Points
Sine Qua Non dinner (Eddie V's - Tysons Corner, VA): Expressive nose displaying blueberry liqueur, blackberry pie, black cherry, fruitcake, baking spices and a hint of heat. Excellent concentration, intense ripe black and blue fruit driven palate impression, bright acidity, nicely integrated tannins and a long intense jammy black fruit and baking spices driven finish. There is a hint of heat at the end. I prefer the birds for the richness.
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1/3/2018 - CamWheeler wrote: 93 Points
SLDS GC NY Traditional Tasting: Violets, cherry/kirsch, musk, plums, raspberry and blackcurrant on the nose. The palate is full of power but there is a slippery elegance about it, even with how ripe and full it is, it feels classy and stylish. Excellent length. Young but plenty of time to go.
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11/30/2017 - bengti Likes this wine: 90 Points
HK Wine Society Tasting and Dinner JW Marriott HK
Nose of velvety choc, vanilla pods; palette of roasted meats and portabellos, licorice, chassis.
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11/9/2017 - mjf@ulkner wrote: 95 Points
Candied raspberry, licorice and baking spice notes. Classic iron fist in a velvet glove style- very smooth and ripe in style, but backed up by plenty of underlying structure. A crowd pleasing cocktail wine- had multiple naive drinkers ask where they could buy it...
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8/21/2017 - Lord Rodney wrote: 95 Points
Last bottle - still not mature but so good
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4/8/2017 - Kemo Sabe Likes this wine: 94 Points
Late in the night not a ton of notes. Very good as usual. Youthful. And the texture - just amazing. Loads of nuance and complexity. 10 years in and these wines have hit stride. Very nice.
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12/31/2016 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 97 Points
Mouton, Shafer, SQN, Prum, Chave, CdP, Yquem, Port ++ (Home): This was opened and allowed to breathe for 10 hours. Inky purple in color. The nose is very deep with boysenberries, black cherries, licorice and iodine. On the palate, this is still pretty youthful. Boysenberries, dark cherries, some vanilla, spice and slight earthiness. On the palate, enough acidity to cut thru the tannins and fruit. A nice complexity. Almost seamless. Long finish. This is delicious yet it works well with the food. No hurry on this, it has at least a decade and probably more left.
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11/11/2016 - Burgundy Al wrote: 93 Points
Small Sine Qua Non Dinner (Echo & Rig - Las Vegas NV): Decanted 30 minutes before serving, then tasted and re-tasted over 3 hours. Plum and black cherries with liqueur hints and rich, slightly sweet spice. Lots and lots of everything good/ great and tasty here, but this didn't seem perfectly harmonious tonight. Ripe fruit, then good structure, then fruit and spice in various iterations. But nothing flabby or hot whatsoever. Maybe flying from Chicago to Las Vegas hurt this bottle a little today, and I'm confident in its potential, but it didn't quite hit all its expected high notes tonight.
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10/29/2016 - rocknroller wrote: 92 Points
Brisket Bash Deux: 10 Vintage Vertical of Clos de Papes and more (Siggy & Jenny's Place, Mpls, MN): Very dark red/purple color. Drank a small pour. Quite decadent, impressive fruits, blackberry liqueur, flashy red berry preserves, glycerin, quite velvety, savory, the wood is in place, plush tannins, though there is some heat showing, Pretty flashy. 92+ to 93pts.
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10/24/2016 - Minnesota wrote: 95 Points
Kemo Sabe's comments nailed it. 95+
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10/20/2016 - jfpwine Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very dark and deep color. A lot of funk on the nose initially that blew off after a bit. Dark cherries, red currant and some candied licorice, with hints of vanilla. Full body, long finish. This needed a big decant.
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8/30/2016 - RayOB wrote: 94 Points
Drank at 67
Rich velvet and smooth with a powerful nose. Lovely. But is it better than some of the CNDPs.
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7/23/2016 - rgcanada Likes this wine: 95 Points
Incredible Grenache. Maybe the best I've ever had. Had at birthday dinner at Hook & Plow in Hermosa Beach.
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4/22/2016 - dcwino wrote: 93 Points
RJ's birthday gathering - perfect 09 VCC and 01 Yquem (Eddie V's - Tysons Corner): For my palate, this was served slightly too warm. Blackberry liqueur, cherry and alcohol/heat expresses in baking spices. Excellent concentration, youthful and intense black fruit, nicely integrated tannins and noticeable heat at the end. For people like me, SQNs need to served cooler than other reds. There is enough fruit so lessening fruit expression shouldn’t be an issue.
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4/3/2016 - Kemo Sabe Likes this wine: 95 Points
15.6% alcohol? No problem. This is an exercise is balance and harmony. Yes, the wine is huge. But there is no sign of heat or imbalance. Its very rich, powerful and yet elegant. If you taste these wines blind, Manfreds signature is all over them. So unique. Would appear this wine is in a great spot and has a very long life ahead. 95+
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11/2/2015 - MayValley wrote: 96 Points
Smoke, sweet black cherries dipped in chocolate, coffee on the nose.
Soft and very nice mouthfeel. Good acidity, some soft tannins, black cherries and chocolate.
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10/6/2015 - KenK Likes this wine: 93 Points
Opened for Cubs wildcard playoff victory. Pretty wine with lovely smooth rich creamy texture. Nice sweet red and black berry flavors, although perhaps just a bit more subdued than expected. Went down easily and each sip better than the last. Well balanced and nicely integrated, good complexity, but not mind blowing experience.
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10/2/2015 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 97 Points
My first bottle of this cuvee, I found the wine to be about complexity much more so than concentration and power, though these latter two characteristics were indeed very notable as well. A very layered, enticing bouquet of berries, spice, herbs and a petrol aspect. The palate was layered as well, with waves of sweet red fruit, spice and minerality. Firm tannins that softened somewhat as the evening progressed, and made the wine an outstanding accompaniment alongside sweet shrimp risotto. The tiny portion of Viognier in the wine seemed surprisingly evident, and added a sweet floral taste that served to complement the red fruit and spice. Balanced, nuanced and irresistible. Could even have room to improve further from here.
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9/26/2015 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 97 Points
Sine Qua Non's on a Saturday afternoon (Loretta Paganini School fo Cooking): Delicious. Drinking really well. Seemingly ready to drink if still with a decade or two left. Ruby/purple. The nose has black raspberries, cedar, black cherries, spice and floral notes. Full bodied. On the palate, this has layers of fruit and fruit. Juicy acidity. Long finish. Just a great wine.
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9/24/2015 - Kemo Sabe Likes this wine: 95 Points
Fabulous SQN. Nuanced, subtle and huge all at the same time. I love Manfred's Grenache's. They are special. This is smooth and supple in the mouth. The flavors burst out of the glass. No hard edges and an incredible balance of finesse and power. Absolutely outstanding. 95+
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8/27/2015 - GalvezGuy Likes this wine: 95 Points
Throwndown in Madtown; 8/27/2015-8/29/2015 (Madison, WI): Burger wine, yeah! Great nose of black and red raspberry with hints of blueberry and tons of Asian spice. On the palate rich and dense with red raspberry, black raspberry, plum, pepper, and hints of leather. On the finish, nicely balanced with the slightest bit of hear. Lots to love here. Drink or continue to hold.
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8/27/2015 - wineismylife wrote: 95 Points
WIML95
Tasted non blind. Opened, tasted and re-corked for 8 hours before serving.
Dark garnet to purple color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of coffee, cocoa, roses, plums and pepper. Rich flavors of black berries, plums and cherries. Medium acidity, medium tannin, full bodied. Drink now with some air or continue to hold. Pretty dang good right now with some air.
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8/27/2015 - petitblanc wrote:
Madison Offline 2015; 8/27/2015-8/29/2015: Pure ruby-cerise color. Beautiful nose showing an array of bright fruits and pepper. Less depth on the palate as the heat comes through more than I like. Medium length. Not scored; a fan of the style would appreciate this even more than I do, but this still was a treat to drink. 15.6% abv
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8/7/2015 - rustyRudy Likes this wine: 99 Points
Purple. Lucious nose of minerals, dark fruit, cedar grilled meat and wisps of vanilla. Deep and concentrated with layers of dark fruit and prominent red raspberry compote. Clearly still young, needed several hours to open up but was worth the wait. This was the red wine of the beach week for me.
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8/7/2015 - andrewdodd86 Likes this wine: 100 Points
Wonderful. Quite reticent and reserved at first. Really took a long time to open up and show its stuff. Dark raspberry and blue fruit. Well balanced. Graphite and a meatiness on the palate. Love it. Not as large of a presence as other SQN. Closer to the '05 Atlantis from my memory. So well balanced. A burgundy lovers Cali Rhone. Nose is unreal. Perfect. Still tannic has years to go.
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8/1/2015 - tcosgriff Likes this wine: 96 Points
What a remarkable wine. It had a deep purple color, with a bouquet and flavor of raspberries and cotton candy, with pepper showing up at the end. The mouth feel was smooth and creamy, and quite distinctive. Lovely definition and good balance despite the high alcohol, which peaks out a bit toward the end of the long finish.
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6/20/2015 - rcg62 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nice expression of Grenache. Light ruby color. Terrific dusky nose with loads of floral scents. Good tart raspberry and plum palate but somewhat astringent. Nice soft mouthfeel, which became more voluptuous with hours in the glass. Tasty, not special, especially for SQN.
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3/28/2015 - RAD2626 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wonderful wine. Dark and rich. Coffee and chocolate overtones. Beautiful dark purple color. Very slight bitterness on opening smoothed out after short time. Delighted I have additional bottles. This wine will drink well for many years.
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12/24/2014 - CManthei wrote: 96 Points
Stunning array of stewed red and black fruits, jammy smokiness, perfectly ripe. Palate is full, round, robust and silkly -- imagine all the words you can use to describe a well-integrated wine that coats the palate. Grenache at its best, in my opinion... but I like big wines like this.
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8/8/2014 - Uglypinga wrote:
Brawny nose with a little underbrush, beef and raspberries. The palate is sweet and sexy with very ripe raspberries and some cream notes. Tannic still despite the sweetness. Awesome.
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6/22/2014 - pigdaddy wrote: 94 Points
double-decanted, followed over 3 hours. dark purple, minimal lightening at rim; super exuberant nose, candied black cherries & sweet blackberries, brown spices & vanilla bean; full-bodied; intense & concentrated black fruits, structured & opulent at the same time, w/solid acid/tannic balance & faintly bitter espresso notes on the youthful conclusion. most expressive of tonight's group, but young.
crisp pan-roasted lamb's tongue, olive & pomegranate molasses glaze; zucchini w/tapenade gremolata, burnt eggplant salad w/cherry tomatoes & cucumber
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6/16/2014 - Rosengoo Likes this wine: 97 Points
This clear wine was deep purple in colour and was drank at a local restaurant after being decanted for 45 minutes. Tonight this bottle was wonderful. Tons of candied cherries on the nose and in the glass. Add in a hint of vanilla and just the right amount of acidity and tannins and you have a wine that is in a really good space to drink right now.
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5/30/2014 - mike l. Likes this wine: 96 Points
Poured from Coravin
N: candied. a bit indistinct.
P: oak is integrating nicely. no heat. just starting to hit complexity. greatness.
drink 2-5 years.
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3/18/2014 - Kemo Sabe wrote: 94 Points
Better than expected. Tonight this has depth, layers of flavors. Decanted and drank over 2-3 hours. Air helps. Classic Grenache from Manfred. Big, nuanced and balanced. Very good. 94+
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3/15/2014 - Fid Likes this wine: 97 Points
Drank at dinner at The Wallace restaurant in Culver City. Decanted for 1 hour before diving in at which time it was showing classic SQN flowery expressive nose. Wine had nice fruit but was coming off as young and tannic at first. Well, 45 more minutes in the glass made all the difference with the beautiful blackberry, raspberry fruit, milk chocolate and some vanilla just coating the whole palate. With 2 hour decant this wine is a treasure. Everyone loved it. WOTN.
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2/8/2014 - shadow wrote: 96 Points
Give it a swirl, long dark legs shoot out from under the short leather skirt.
Take a sip, roll it around, perfect balance, leather, berries, smashed pile up of fruit.
Some black tea, bitter chocolate, touch of leather
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11/28/2013 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 92 Points
liked by all after thanksgiving dinner, nice acid but nonetheless a mid- to full-bodied wine (as i expected), smack down the middle between masculine and feminine, loads of fruit but with some spice (oak spice?) to add a second dimension, very nice
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11/6/2013 - jwolniak wrote: 91 Points
Sine Qua Non Tasting - Domaine Wine Storage Chicago - Nov 2013 (Domaine Wine Storage - Chicago): Swims along mid, diving late with some heat. I like it okay, I suppose. Not overly impressive.
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11/6/2013 - tooch wrote: 87 Points
Sine Qua Non Night @ Domaine (Domaine Wine Storage - Chicago, IL): Lots of dark cherry, spice, some mocha, and brambly dark fruit. Palate was warm, with spice, tart fruits, with some heat on the finish.
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11/4/2013 - mike l. Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted a couple hours. Needs another 5-10 years at least.
Fairly stunning as is.
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10/6/2013 - AllRed wrote: 94 Points
Purchased off the wine list, poured two small glasses and decanted the rest. Opens with notes of blue fruit, cranberry and white pepper. There are underlying red fruit liqueur and floral qualities- rose petals, and vanilla. Full-bodied with cherry, plum and red fruit notes with a pomegranate/red fruit note and pepper lingering on the long finish. The finish lingers for well over a minute. About an hour and a half later, the last glasses were poured. Lavender, blueberry, raspberry ganache, vanilla & rose petal notes with white pepper undertones. Fleshy and vibrant on the palate with an abundance of red fruit and spice.
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10/5/2013 - fingers wrote: 93 Points
I tasted the first glass an hour after being opened and the final glass two days later after storing in the fridge. Very dark purple and heavy legs, no sediment. Powerful and complex nose but still seems rather wound up, if not immature, in it's generosity and transparency. Silky and big, it does show the alcohol but I guess it doesn't matter with so much gorgeous fruit to play with. Finesse isn't part of the equation, but intrigue certainly is. Not a wine I prefer in terms of balance but it sure is one I could count on to impress the boss (if I had one). Better days still to come. 5+12+18+8 = 93
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9/24/2013 - cadamson Likes this wine: 94 Points
Bramble, mushroom, earth and black fruit, perhaps even some floral elements. Dark, dark purple, almost black. Nose a bit restrained initially, but opens up. A huge wine, but kept well in balance. Maybe, just maybe a bit disappointing on the tail end, but I am looking for issues when I say that. Not the best SQN, but damn good, and probably even has some improvement ahead for the next few years.
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9/19/2013 - Eric wrote: 94 Points
Testing out my new Coravin and figured I would have a glass of SQN and nurse the bottle over the next 4-6 weeks. Pickle, bramble and spice on the nose. Plenty of heat and extract on the palate, but I dare say, it actually has that indescribable texture and 'crunch' that I so often find in Chateauneuf and never really find in US Grenache. Yum, this is really aging quite nicely!
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8/20/2013 - S R U D I N Likes this wine: 98 Points
Stunning SQN from beginning to end.
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6/23/2013 - Matt Scott Likes this wine: 97 Points
Decanted for two hours. This is full-bodied and delineated on every floor. Mischievous amounts of berry and Oreo cookie, turning to fresh mushroom, scorched earth and rose petals. Thick then lithe; gorgeous and divine. Designed for a long study. The sense of place is all there, regardless of the amalgamation of vineyards within. Drink now - 2030.
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6/21/2013 - Patman2108 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted 6 hours.
Wonderful taste & balance
The wine looks Inky colored. It tastes like and Black Pepper. The body is Full. The wine has Satin-like texture. The wine finishes Long.
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6/19/2013 - S R U D I N Likes this wine: 96 Points
Classic SQN Grenache, beat a 1999 Petrus. 2005 Margaux, 2003 Saxum Rocket Block, and 2009 Cayuse Flying Pig in a non-blind taste test @Totoraku.
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5/12/2013 - drbdorfman wrote: 99 Points
One of Santa Barbara's best achievements. Unbelievable
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5/3/2013 - ews3 wrote: 93 Points
Sine Qua Non Dinner, volume II (Maloney & Porcelli, NYC): perfumed sweet spice, red fruit. nose shows more than the palate right now.
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4/5/2013 - cycheng wrote:
Powerful, spicy, lots of fruits, and long finish. Very good.
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3/1/2013 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote: 95 Points
Enjoyed with Cuban cigars and lamb in Oregon. Medium hue with light nose. Decanted 4 hours exposing tart blackberry and spice palate. Not as complex as other SQN but we opened it too young.
See more detail at
http://maximumsatisfaction.tumblr.com/post/44141316600
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12/25/2012 - dbg wrote:
Dark red/purple. Cherry, raspberry, flowers on the nose. Rich ripe lush fruit follows the nose, very pure, intense, well-integrated tannins, backing acidity, intensity persists on back palate and into long finish. Has many years to go. Outstanding-extraordinary.
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11/25/2012 - scooter260 wrote: 94 Points
Great, but not amazing like we have become accustomed to with SQN grenache. Drank after an Aubert Ritchie '09. Enjoyed at The Kenwood with Trent & Heidi.
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10/17/2012 - dln646 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Vibrant and thick, the wine cascade into my glass with a powerful ruby color amid bottomless inky tints.
Equally to the moment ago tasted Syrah-blend The Thrill of, Pictures brings a immense alliance effect of aromas - a supreme coaction and interplay of complexity. Unquestionably the most intense Grenache-nose I've ever encountered. Incredibly layered. The spectrum starts in pears, blue flowers violets, liquorices, rolls into pure ripe fruits (raspberries and cherries), some varnish (in a good way), with underlying black tuscany greenness and vanilla. Fascinating to say the least.
At first sip I cannot believe this wine - it's so unreal velvety and rich, thoroughly without edges. The mid-palate is fiery, smooth and sexy, not flabby. Perhaps one of the most concentrated wines I've ever experienced. The acidity is puzzling high along with tannins juicy and nano-like fine-grained. I'm almost overlook the alcohol, veiled but also contributing to all that silkiness. Characters that comes to mind are rhubarb, spice, creamy cherries, violets and a magnificent virtual subtle oak.
I'm so astonished over how this Grenache-blend holds together and at the same time stay so slender. The fact that I'm nearly overlooking the alcohol in this wine tells its incredible integration. Even though the length is high by all means, it isn't everlasting like The Thrill of. This wine has a world-class complexity, but The Thrill of… is extraordinary in that matter. Nevertheless, Pictures is even more velvety and concentrated, yet still enclose amazing balance and structure. Drink until 2020. Thank you Manfred! http://quaffable.org/?p=198
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10/11/2012 - Papies wrote: 95 Points
Sine Qua Non the Cult of Cults; 10/10/2012-10/11/2012 (Roberson Wine, South Ken, London & The Square, London): Dark red in colour, vibrant. From the first smell you are reminded Grenache is what SQN can develop to another level.floral nose, light petrolly Riesling style aromatics overlay the rich fruit notes. Singing nose. The palate feel of this 15.6% alc wine is textbook SQN which we like to say it has a balance, and harmony in its strength, as if the wine is amplified but amplified in a parallel way so that while all elements are loud they are not of of sync with one another.95
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10/11/2012 - Rupert wrote: 94 Points
A taste of SQN (Roberson, Kensington, London): The first wine to show some development, sharper, more volatile, more energy, some grip, brilliant
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7/8/2012 - Knicksfan wrote: 96 Points
2 hr decant -spectacular. Florals and fruit and just everything in balance. Wow
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5/25/2012 - Christoffer78 wrote: 98 Points
Simply adorable, the 2007 Pictures Grenache is showing its best side tonight. The nose is full of flowers, violets, lilac and very appealing dark mature Grenache fruit. What makes me tick even more is a sense of purity and that I can feel all components in a way which I do like. SQNs are normally extremely integrated. Of course, so is this effort but not the same extent. Tannins are certainly present but very enjoyable. With a few more years of bottle age this wine will turn into an even more beautiful swan.
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5/13/2012 - overspeed62 wrote: 94 Points
Slow Ox'd. Black cherries and some earth on the nose. The berries and cherries exploded on the palate but in a great way. Loved the texture. Long finish. Hope to have the discipline to drink the rest after some time.
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4/25/2012 - PJ Ward wrote: 93 Points
Decanted. Still wound up. Not overly tight. May have seemed more so in contrast with the much older other bottle we were drinking. Loosened up nicely with a little time.
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3/24/2012 - patwjr wrote: 97 Points
Popped n poured. Not revealing much at first, but with air this opened up into a rich, delicious beauty. Think, rich and well-integrated - everyone loved this bottle.
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2/10/2012 - Ckeller7777 wrote: 94 Points
Very huge overripe notes coming through which were baked berry cobbler in definition of cherry, blueberry, blackberry, dark chocolate mint, leather, white pepper,tobbacco, mineral and loads of alcohol. Although big and brooding enpugh to warrant it . D now-2024.
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2/4/2012 - christophee Likes this wine: 95 Points
Dark ruby with med-heavy viscosity in the glass. Decanted for two hours. Black cherry skin, fresh-baked strawberry pie, earth, tobacco, spice, brown sugar and flint on the nose. Secondary Rolls Royce interior and diesel soot. Full body with thick, persistent cherry and black berries on the palate. Spice (cinnamon), earth, tobacco, BBQ, licorice, red fruit cobbler and cola. A touch of green (squash, green pepper, olive and pine) on the back. Superbly balanced and infinitely complex…gave up identifying secondary notes after an hour. Good structure. Long finish. Impressive!
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12/25/2011 - Lord Rodney wrote: 96 Points
My first go at the Pictures Grenache. And it was no surprise that it was very young and tight. Still the nose had a fantstic wave of Rhubarb and gunpowder. More like a young La Turque than a Grenache wine. The taste was both rich and elegant at the same time. Typical of Sine Qua Non. This wine has a great potiental! A big+ after the 96 point rating!
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12/22/2011 - phenricsson wrote: 96 Points
Delicious. Big, well developed nose. Nice balance, great intensity of flavors. Long aftertaste.
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12/11/2011 - Zweder wrote: 94 Points
Just a few notes; enormously juicy with a lot of good fruits like cherries and black forest fruits as well as some chocolate. Strangely enough I did not write down anything about the herbs and spice you usually expect in a Grenache. Scored it 94, so it is a great wine anyhow.
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12/10/2011 - jkoenen wrote: 88 Points
An evening with Sine Qua Non (Restaurant Bottles, Sas van Gent): Sweet creamy cherryfruit, like in a cherrypie. Lacking depth and complexity at the moment. Very sweet and slightly monolithic. Where is the garrigue/herbaceousness? Where is the badly needed complexity? My palate seems to have a problem with grenache in general, and when they're modern and New-Worldy in particular. Can't help to feel that these kind of wines are thick and big, but the beauty goes only skin deep. So, beautifully crafted , but not for me. 16.5/20
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12/10/2011 - WildeMeeuw wrote: 97 Points
Kleur: Opvallend helderrood Aroma / bouquet: Expres Kleur: Opvallend helderrood Aroma / bouquet: Expressief, donker fruit, zoetig, marsepein, gedroogd fruit, Smaak / Afdronk: Zoetige aanzet met voldoende fraicheur, dik, bittere chocolade, krachtige tannines, mooie bite en bittere finale, Algemeen / potentieel: Superieure balans. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Smaak / Afdronk: 19 + Algemeen / potentieel: 9 = 97/100
Color: Striking bright red Aroma / Bouquet: Expressive, dark fruit, sweets, marzipan, dried fruit, Taste / Finish: Sweetish start with sufficient freshness , thick, bitter chocolate, powerful tannins, nice bite and bitter finish, General / potential: Superior balance. 50 + Colour: 5 + Aroma / Bouquet: 14 + Taste / Finish: 19 + General / potential: 9 = 97/100sief, donker fruit, zoetig, marsepein, gedroogd fruit, Smaak / Afdronk: Zoetige aanzet met voldoende fraicheur, dik, bittere chocolade, krachtige tannines, mooie bite en bitter, Algemeen / potentieel: Superieure balans. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Smaak / Afdronk: 19 + Algemeen / potentieel: 9 = 97/100
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11/26/2011 - pdemaio wrote: 95 Points
Big, complex, balanced and integrated. So much to think about for both the body and the nose. A bit hot, but still a huge sucess.
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9/17/2011 - patwjr wrote: 95 Points
P&P'd. Could still benefit from cellar time, but still delicious & big now.
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8/18/2011 - Uglypinga wrote:
Third time with this. Great nose of rhubarb, strawberries and baking spices. The palate is full but does not feel heavy. Glides into every crevice of the mouth. Very fine grainy tannins. Krankl makes one of the few American grenaches I like.
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8/1/2011 - spotfin wrote: 93 Points
Didn't give it enough time in the decanter.
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7/21/2011 - ERx wrote: 95 Points
Purple; smokey nose, almost gunpowder, blackberry & dark cherries to cassis, nice prevalent but light minerality throughout . Superb.
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7/13/2011 - rdsboca wrote: 88 Points
I was disappointed in this wine that followed the 2007 Alban Grenache. Had an interesting rubber and tar nose but there was clean fruit behind it. Flavor profile was lava (a nice minerality), some tar and a decent amount of barnyard that blew off. Huge backbone with some tobacco on finish. Complex yes. Worth the price tag, not for me.
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5/1/2011 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 98 Points
SQN Dinner (Lockkeepers): Ruby/purple in color. The nose is dusty with red and black raspberries and spice. Silky and delicious. Great texture. Balanced. Black cherries and raspberries on the palate. This took a while to open and is still very young and needs time. Seems so well made though and when it did open was very sexy. I would love to try this in a few years.
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3/17/2011 - Christoffer78 wrote: 98 Points
(Tasted in a flight with 2007 Cristia Vieilles Vignes, 2007 Clos Saint Jean Deus Ex Machina and 2007 Saxum James Berry Proprietary Red. ) The 2007 Grenache Pictures is probably the best wine in this flight. The wine is astonishingly integrated and velvety, with a finish that just goes on and on. The nose reveals dark mature fruit surrounded by young but subtle tannins. Wonderful. I am always amazed by how Sine Qua Nons are massive and touch the essence of what a nose and palate in a wine can actually be, but they almost always do this dressed up in an elegant ermine cloak. To me this is magic. Highly recommended.
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3/11/2011 - patwjr wrote: 95 Points
Popped & poured. Needed a decant or cellar time. Such a delicious baby.
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3/4/2011 - wineismylife Likes this wine: 94 Points
CellarTracker Texas Offline III - Part Two - Khamen visits Texas! (Urbano Cafe, Dallas, Texas): WIML94+
Tasted non bl;ind. Opened and served immediately.
Dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Lovely nose of dark chocolate, perfume, berries, cherries and graham crackers. Rich and juicy flavors of berries, cherries, raspberries and plums. Medium to bright acidity, medium to firm tannins, full bodied. Drink now with about 30 minutes of air or continue to hold.
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2/26/2011 - phenricsson wrote: 98 Points
This was again what I had expected. Last bottle 9 months ago was a relative disappointment (93p). This time it is still beautiful looking, light but not quite as young as last year. Here is the exuberant bright, intense, high fruit that I love on Krankl's Grenache. This brings a smile to my face.
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2/15/2011 - *Vine* wrote:
Popped and poured. Medium-plus bright purple/ruby. Expressive nose redolent with fruit & spice...think raspberry, kirsch, vanilla bean, graham cracker, clove, spiced incense, and an earthiness that grows stronger with air. Medium-plus body. Pure, expressive, even explosive fruit on the palate...really covers the gamut of red fruit expression along with notes of smoked herbs, spices, and a faint hint of green which adds complexity (possibly some stem inclusion?). The tannins are surprisingly refrained on the lengthy finish. Perhaps what truly sets this wine apart is the overall balance; never huge or ponderous, this is a seamless wine, with all components in perfect proportion. Should age beautifully for many years.
Quick note: This particular bottle drank at it's best within 30 minutes of opening. After 2-3 hours, it started to shut down and even by day 3 never regained the initial fireworks. If opening another bottle in the near, I would think a quick splash decant would work beautifully. Otherwise, probably best to refrain from opening for at least a few years. But what great juice!
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1/30/2011 - Vinomarcus wrote: 96 Points
Lugeresque 2011 (Peter Pratt's Inn): This was a decadent treat. I'm such a loyal fan of Manfred's wines and I really think he has honed his wine making into a true art. This is a wonderful example of what he does with Grenache. This was absolutely chock-full of black berries, plums and anise with hints of coriander and cracked white pepper. Simply divine.
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12/19/2010 - Uglypinga wrote:
Its no news to me that I like the syrahs better when it comes to SQN. This was superb, however. Smokey nose of raspberries, strawberries and pomegranate. The palate is very smooth with beef, some tangy bbq notes and loads of ripe berries. Velvety, refined finish with nary a hint of alcohol which I was expecting for some reason. Yummy stuff.
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11/26/2010 - scooter260 wrote: 96 Points
Delicious! Super smooth and complex. Enjoyed at Thanksgiving. Overshadowed by Raven Grenache but still outstanding!
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11/20/2010 - KristianT Likes this wine: 93 Points
18 bottles of Sine Qua Non (Copenhagen, Denmark): A young wine with a lot of potential - but for now (and especially compared with some of the more mature wines from SQN) this was a quite restrained in its offerings. Had some of the nice elegance of the Atlantis Grenache (2005), and will probably get there with time.
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10/23/2010 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
Sine Qua Non Dinner: the Younger Wines (Custom House Tavern - Chicago IL): Mostly primary fruit on the nose, with good spice in the background. Dense fruit concentration on the palate with some more apparent sweet spice flavors coming through. Lots of tannin, lots of structure, great textures. This is an fun wine tonight, with really exciting potential to become more nuanced and interesting in the next few years.
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9/27/2010 - tp096255 wrote: 93 Points
COLOR: Deep purple with ruby rim
NOTE: Pacific Grove Trip - Limited Notes --- Very youthful. Don't remember much, but it was very red spectrum fruit, lots of white pepper and garrigue. More CDP in style, and it was missing the opulence I was hoping for from Mr. Krankl. I took the bottle back to the room and continued to taste from a small glass. The midpalate opened up a little and the finish stretched out.
FOUND MY MISSING NOTES: Nose is beautiful red raspberry liqueur, hints of herbs de Provence, mesquite smoke. Mouth is medium-heavy toasted brambly black fruit with a lithe richness. Pipe tobacco, braised red meats and hints of tomato sauce appear. The finish has yummy blackberry jam and crushed granite but falls down a little because it lacks the opulence of other great Grenaches (thinking 2005 Saxum Rocket Block). Nice, but finishes with a tinge of heat. Love the label though!
DECANT: none
GLASS USED: Bordeaux
TASTE: 9.3
COST: 155
VALUE: 3.0
PREVIOUSLY TASTED: n/a
TRY AGAIN: n/a
PAIRING: Braised pork shoulder at Passionfish.
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8/22/2010 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 94 Points
SQN, Lagier, Pride, Mordoree, Red Car; 8/22/2010-8/23/2010: Tom opened this thinking it was a white. He had apparently grabbed the wrong bottle. It was interesting, because I could not stand the first couple of sips of it. It was the first wine of the afternoon and it was so big and tasted over oaked. With air, food and time, this got better. I think it is still quite young and need five years to develop, but it is a lovely wine. With air, the nose showed raspberries, leather, scorched earth and some raspberry milk shake notes. The palate was lush, juicy raspberries and strawberry candy. Very tight layers. Long finish. Plenty of room for improvement, but not what I want for an afternoon aperitif. ;-)
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8/10/2010 - Rosengoo wrote: 95 Points
Opened and poured at Campanile in Los Angeles. This was another lovely bottle from SQN. No notes taken but this wine was very well balanced. Nice flavours with lots of jam and vanilla. It got slightly better over time but the whole bottle only lasted 45 minutes. I hope to enjoy another one soon.
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8/8/2010 - bonedocnine wrote: 96 Points
WOTN
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8/2/2010 - bonedocnine wrote: 95 Points
yummmmmmmm! Rich and ripe.
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8/2/2010 - Cellar Fiend wrote: 95 Points
Decanted for two hours. The most delicious dark fruits, berries, and freshly roasted pumpkin on the nose. The palate is nothing short of remarkable. The fruit is so abundant, so rich, and so pure. Some alcohol, almost perfectly integrated. Balanced and delicious acidity. The finish, oh the finish. Delicious and long. I could drink this forever. Balance. balance, and more balance. Man, SQN rocks!
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8/1/2010 - exphilip wrote: 95 Points
impressive, character,
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7/27/2010 - jc-mmb wrote: 96 Points
great bottle. wonderful color - consistent core to rim. nose of rich dark fruits, blue and black, meat, spice and tar. palate is strong (in a good way) start to finish. opens big and bold on the front and stays consistently big and creamy throughout the finish. big, lasting finish without a rough edge. loaded with fruits, meats, spice and floral. will get better i believe but what a great young sqn. bravo.
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7/20/2010 - EMichels wrote: 94 Points
Eleven Madison Park: Deep, Rich, Full; Really nice
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7/3/2010 - phenricsson wrote: 93 Points
This looks like a SQN but it is probably the least exciting SQN I've ever had - must try another bottle soon, maybe this was not a great bottle or was it bad timing? Beautiful looking, very bright, luminescent, very thick legs. Very young looking but light color (typical Grenache). 83;93. More muted version of the intense, focused red fruits I normally get from Krankl Grenache. Not a bad wine at all but not up to the normal superior standard that SQN has set.
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5/8/2010 - Christoffer78 Likes this wine: 97 Points
If seamless is a proper way of describing the sensation of perfect balance - the 2007 SQN Grenache Pictures is a seamless wine. How strange is it when there are absolutely no edges, nothing "rough or rugged" to really touch and annoy your palate? The pure fruit, silky tannins, 60 sec+ finish, nose and deep deep color all seem to be perfectly harmonious. Like Mr Kirsch, Mrs Pepper and baby Spice all went down the road holding each others hands singing. Lovely.
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4/24/2010 - SlaterRules wrote: 97 Points
Wow... First SQN and it lived up to the hype and then some.No formal notes taken. Pop and pour. First impression- ripe Cali grenache nose (so what's the big deal?). This wine was much different then expected... as I thought I would experience a wine similar to Alban. This was not that. Incredible purity, balance, length, richness...all without being heavy, how can this be? Strawberry compote, rocks, a touch of oak hanging out in the back but the incredible fruit shined through. Would like to revisit in a year or two to see the evolution... exciting wine.
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4/23/2010 - MarkC Likes this wine: 93 Points
Opened about 3 hours before drinking. Dark, dark dark in the glass. Dark, smoky, red fruit nose. The palate showed coffee, currant, strawberry, but is so primary right now that it probably shouldn't be touched for at least a year, better two. Fun to drink, however, and showing glimpses of what is coming down the road. (PE: 95)
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