Sine Qua Non VS Cayuse - A battle of two of the New World’s Top Rhone Rangers

"I think it is a great error to consider a heavy tax on wines as a tax on luxury.  On the contrary, it is a tax on the health of our citizens." - Thomas Jefferson

If only a modern day politician could contribute as much to the quality of our life as the late great Thomas Jefferson.  He was one of the first advocates of wine in the United States and he is one of the reasons why we have the greatest selection of wines from all around the world in the U.S. today.  So, remember...no matter how bad it gets, we still have great wines here in the U.S. of A.

In a few weeks we will be continuing the party with some GREAT wines from the U.S.A…. I need a few good men or women to help me drink some really fine wine on this occasion- our Sine Qua Non VS Cayuse new world Cult Rhone wine tasting.

What makes a "cult wine"? Do the producers pick the grapes at night under the full moon? Do they make it under a secret oath or while sacrificing a small farm animal? These ultra expensive, hard to find wines from California, Oregon and Washington State just have more customers than they do bottles to go around.  The simplest factor in the economy kicks in with these wines, good old supply and demand.  

These are two of the only New World Cult wineries that makes wines from Rhone varietals where the market demand has driven the price up to sometimes ridiculous levels and that is due to the tiny quantity produced and the high scores by the critics.  The wines from these two producers defy all odds and both sell out of everything on the mailing list in short order every vintage and the wines skyrocket in price shortly after release, some selling for over $1000 per bottle!!

This evening you can taste 10 different wines from these two producers for less than the cost of a single bottle in most cases!  And the price of this event includes dinner!!  The fee for this tasting is $350 + tax for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

Sine Qua Non VS Cayuse
A battle of two of the New World’s Top Rhone Rangers
Thursday, September 30, 2021
7:30 PM

2017 Cayuse Grenache God Only Knows Walla Walla
2018 Cayuse Camaspelo
2018 Cayuse Syrah Cailloux Columbia Valley
2018 Cayuse Syrah En Cerise Columbia Valley
2018 Cayuse Syrah En Chamberlin Walla Walla
2017 Sine Qua Non Grenache The Gorgeous Victim
2017 Sine Qua Non Next of Kyn Red Wine California
2017 Sine Qua Non Syrah The Hated Hunter
2018 Sine Qua Non Grenache Profuga California
2018 Sine Qua Non Syrah Ziehharmonika California California

Menu
Selection of Cheese and Charcuterie
Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras with Sauteed Wild Mushrooms and Grilled Brioche Toast
Seared Ancho BBQ King Salmon Served over Black Bean Puree with Roasted Pepper Salsa
Colorad Rack of Lamb with Mongolian BBQ and Sweet Potato Au Gratin
Dark Chocolate Creme Brulee with Raspberry Coulis

The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $350 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.  Please let us know when you make your reservations if you have issues and chef Toni will be happy to accommodate you.

A bit about Sine Qua Non from their web page:

"an essential condition; a thing that is absolutely necessary."

Our wines were born of pure passion and a wishful dream – to make something that is so distinctive and so delicious as to make it indispensable to wine lovers the world over. Clearly a rather lofty, even unrealistic notion, but one we decided to pursue anyway. And so with the 1994 vintage  started Sine Qua Non, made a whopping four and a half barrels of Syrah that we called “Queen of Spades.”
That first wine was a much greater hit than we could have ever imagined and it literally changed our life. What started as a hobby, more or less on a whim, has become not only our full time occupation, but indeed our life. It is now a part of just about everything we do.
These first four and a half barrels have grown into four different vineyard sites (see our Vineyards section please), a good number of wonderfully dedicated and hard working employees, a new winery building and a simply amazing number of loyal wine lovers the world over. In fact there are so very many lovely folks interested in our wines that we don’t have enough to go around and instead had to create something as annoying as a waiting list.
We are humbled by all the positive feedback we continuously receive by people like you as well as critics and journalists from all corners of the earth. We take that as our mandate to forever strive to get better, to never compromise and to stay true to ourselves and by extension to all those who have supported us and believed in us since those first 100+ cases of wine left our cellar…now so many years ago.
Although at heart we are a Rhone (Ranger) house where Syrah and Grenache play top fiddle… supported by Mourvedre, Rousanne and Viognier, we have an aversion to labels and dogmas or mindless ritual that are sometimes called tradition. And so we also grow non-Rhone-origin grapes such as Petite Manseng, Touriga Nacional, Graciano and Petite Sirah. Varieties we believe can work well on a Rhone canvas.

We are not working on a grape growing or winemaking THESIS. Instead we want all of our efforts to be reflected in every glass of SQN. And so our goal has been and always will be to understand Mother Nature’s often oblique ways and (re)act accordingly so that we may create wines that express all that Nature has so generously given us. And all that this beautifully warm and sunny place called California has to offer. Wines that speak to the heart and the mind both. Wines that are ripe and flavorful, but also graceful and balanced. Wines  that are perfectly enjoyable and delicious young, but  that will age and show a new and interesting personality with each passing year. Wines that surprise with each sip and where the last drop – not the first sip – was the best one. Wines that make you smile and happy and appreciate all that is lovely.

Wines that make you sense they were crafted by people who loved making them.

With that we hope you’ll join our vinous family and thanks again for looking us up.

In vino veritas,

Elaine & Manfred Krankl

Big Bottles of Cayuse

2011 Cayuse Flying Pigs 3 Liter (Etched and Signed bottle)
Price: $3500.00  Sale $3080.00
(95 Points) A Merlot-dominated blend, the 2011 Flying Pig checks in as 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon that spent 12 months in 50% new French oak before being moved to large oak puncheons. Deep-ruby in color, it has beautiful cassis, plum, licorice, olive tapenade and lead pencil shaving-like aromas and flavors that give way to a full-bodied, layered and concentrated 2011 that has beautifully integrated oak, plenty of mid-palate and a terrific finish. Enjoy it anytime over the coming 10-15 years. –Jeb Dunnuck, The Wine Advocate

2011 Cayuse Camaspelo 3 liter (Etched and Signed bottle)
Price: $3500.00  Sale $3080.00
(95 Points) More Cabernet Sauvignon dominated, the 2011 Camaspelo incorporates 20% Merlot and was aged in 50-60% new French oak. One of the few 2011s that has some upside, it offers up a smoke-laced array of black currants, singed herbs, graphite and hints of spring flowers to go with a medium to full-bodied, elegant and seamless character on the palate. Inky purple in color, with fine tannin and a big finish, it’s a smoking Cabernet that will evolve nicely for 15 to 20 years. –Jeb Dunnuck, The Wine Advocate

2011 Cayuse Syrah Armanda Vineyard 3 liter (Etched and Signed bottle)
Price: $3500.00  Sale $3080.00
(98 Points) ...Spectacular, and one of the highlights of this tasting, bursting from the glass with aromas of dark chocolate, smoked duck, blackberries, licorice, cassis, burning embers, tapenade and cracked black pepper. On the palate, it's full-bodied, layered and mouthwateringly savory, with cool fruit tones, a lovely underlying line of acidity and plenty of youthful energy, concluding with a refined but gently tannic finish... this compelling wine that screams Syrah and Walla Walla—but also more than nods to the Northern Rhône. —William Kelley, The Wine Advocate

2011 Cayuse God Only Knows 3 Liter (Etched and Signed bottle)
Price: $3500.00  Sale $3080.00
**All four of these 3 liters were purchases at the Washington State wine Auction and have been here at the Wine Watch since release!!  And they are all signed by Christophe Baron