Sine Qua Non Tasting at WWWB

"By making this wine vine known to the public, I have rendered my country as great a service as if I had enabled it to pay back the national debt."
~ 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.

Speaking of 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 first Sine Qua Non California Cult Rhone 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 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.  

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

This is one of the only California Cult wineries that makes wines from Rhone varietals that demands ridiculous prices and that is due to the tiny quantity produced and the ridiculous scores by the critics.  These wines defy all odds and they change the names of the wines and the bottle shapes every year which would seemingly confuse even the most astute collectors, but they 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!!

There are only 16 spaces available for this event.  We also have another party of 20 this evening so there are no tables available this evening at the Wine Bar except the ones for our fans of Sine Qua Non.  The fee for this tasting is $295 + tax for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

Sine Qua Non Tasting at WWWB
Saturday, January 27, 2018
7:30 PM

2015 Sine Qua Non "Entre Chien et Loup'' White Blend 

(97 Points) The 2015 Entre Chien et Loup is a blend of 44% Chardonnay, 40% Roussanne, 8% Petit Manseng and 8% Viognier coming 44% from Bien Nacido Vineyard, 30% from the Cumulus (Estate) Vineyard and 26% from the Eleven Confessions (Estate) Vineyard. No settling was done to the juices—they were fermented as “dirty” as possible and, as usual, they were not racked. This wine was matured for around 19 months (bottled April 12, 2017), in: 19% concrete eggs, 20% stainless steel, 20% used barrels and 41% new French oak. It opens with a positively electric nose of ripe apricots, pink grapefruit and green mango with notions of candied ginger, honeycomb, allspice and baking bread. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a wonderfully satiny texture and incredible freshness, cutting through the dense tropical and stone fruit layers, finishing with epic length and many layers of savory and spice notions. By the way, I love the name of this wine and just wait until you see the label which, I’m happy to report, has already (somehow) been given the all-clear by the TTB. Drinking deliciously right now, it is built like a brick house and should cellar gracefully for 10-12 years." Robert Parker

2014 Sine Qua Non Lightmotif

(97 Points) Starting with the whites and a rich, thrillingly concentrated and unctuous wine from Manfred, the 2014 White Wine Lightmotif is made from 47% Roussanne, 21% Chardonnay, 14% Petite Manseng, 11% Viognier and 7% Marsanne that spent 19 months in a combination of concrete eggs, new French oak, neutral barrels and a tiny portion in stainless steel. Coming from close to equal parts Eleven Confessions, Cumulus and Bien Nacido vineyards, this beauty sports a medium gold color to go with a rich, layered profile that carries tons of ripe peach, honeycomb, pineapple, flowers and citrus. Pure, elegant and silky on the palate, with full-bodied richness, it never puts a foot wrong, is ethereally textured and has a great finish. Drink it anytime over the coming decade.  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2009 Sine Qua Non On The Lam Proprietary White

(93 points) The 2009 On the Lam is a blend of 48% Roussanne, 34% Chardonnay and 18% Viognier from the Eleven Confessions and Bien Nacido vineyards. Tangerine peel, white peaches, mango, lychee and passion fruit are some of the nuances that emerge from this beautifully layered white. Weekly lees stirring gives the wine much of its depth. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2015.-AG  Wine Advocate

2012 Sine Qua Non "Rattrapante - Eleven Confessions Vineyard" Sta. Rita Hills Grenache 

(100 points) A perfect wine any way you look at it, the 2012 Grenache Rattrapante comes all from the Eleven Confessions Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills and spent 33 months in 27% new French oak. My notes start - and end - with “Wow.” Giving up tons of black raspberries, peppery herbs, licorice, dried flowers and cured meats, it’s a massively concentrated, rich and layered Grenache that somehow manages to stay graceful, lively and fresh on the palate. There are roughly 800 cases of this elixir and any Grenache lover should do their best to latch onto a bottle (or two). It’s also worth noting that this cuvee saw 26% whole clusters, which is a small change from past vintages. (JD) (8/2016)  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2012 Sine Qua Non Touche Estate Syrah

(100 Points) Lastly, the utterly perfect 2012 Syrah Touche reminds me of a great vintage of Guigal’s Cote Rotie La Landonne. A blend of 93% Syrah, 5% Petite Sirah and 2% Viognier, all from the Eleven Confessions Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills, it spent 40 months in 78% new French oak. Deep, concentrated, full-bodied and layered, with a multidimensional texture and to-die-for notes of camphor, cured meats, violets, smoke and assorted dark fruits, this beauty has fine, perfectly ripe tannin and blockbuster length. Give it 3-4 years and drink over the following two decades.  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2013 Sine Qua Non Grenache Female California
Price: $350.00    Sale Price: $275.00
Quantity in Stock: 5

(98 points)  Manfred's 2013 Grenache Female checks in as a blend of 78% Grenache, 19% Syrah and 3% Mourvèdre that is mostly from his Eleven Confessions estate vineyard in Sta. Rita Hills, yet has smaller portions from his Cumulus, The Third Twin and Bien Nacido vineyards. Seeing just over 24 months in a mix of demi-muids, 300-liter Hog Heads and barrique, it has a sensational bouquet of spring flowers, black raspberries, black cherries, violets, licorice and camphor. Reminding me of a great vintage of Raymond Usseglio's Cuvée Imperiale, this full-bodied, elegant Grenache is impeccably balanced, has a full and layered mid-palate (which is missing from just about every other Grenache made in California), and sweet tannin on the finish. It's almost impervious to air and didn't budge an inch over the three days I followed this bottle. It will cruise for over two decades.  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 5/2016

2013 Sine Qua Non Male Syrah California
Price: $350.00    Sale Price: $275.00
Quantity in Stock: 6

(98 points) The 2013 Syrah Male is an elegant, seamless Syrah that exudes class in its creme de cassis, black raspberry, smoked meats, graphite and asphalt-laced bouquet. This is a blend of 80% Syrah, 7% Petite Sirah, 6% Mourvèdre, 3.5% Touriga National and 3.5% Viognier, fermented with 28% whole clusters and aged 25 months in 65% new French oak. It's full-bodied, beautifully layered, silky and seamless, with no hard edges and wonderful freshness in both the aromatics and palate. Give bottles 3-4 years and enjoy over the following 10-15. (JD) (5/2016) Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2014 Sine Qua Non Grenache Shakti
Price: $295.00    Sale Price: $259.60
Quantity in Stock: 7

(100 points) The 2014 Grenache Shakti is blended of 88% Grenache, 6% Mourvèdre, 4% Petite Sirah and 2% Touriga Nacional, coming 51% from the Cumulus (Estate) Vineyard, 18% from The Third Twin (Estate) Vineyard, 9.5% from Bien Nacido Vineyard and 21.5% for the Eleven Confessions (Estate) Vineyard. It was produced using 42% whole cluster and aged for around 21 months in French oak, 6% new (bottled June 21, 2017). It offers up a deep garnet-purple color and notes of dried Mediterranean herbs, dusty earth, Chinese five spice and rose petals over a core of red currants, mulberries, red plums and black raspberries, plus a waft of chocolate covered cherries. Full-bodied, decadently concentrated and yet very, very pretty in the mouth, it delivers incredibly fine-grained, ripe tannins and wonderful freshness, finishing on a persistent--totally disarming--perfumed red fruit note. (LPB) (9/2017)  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2006 Sine Qua Non Racen Series No. 5 Syrah
Price: $300.00    Sale Price: $250.00
Quantity in Stock: 3

96-99 Points"The 2006 Syrah Raven Series (93% Syrah, 5% Grenache, and 2% Viognier) is primarily from the Eleven Confessions Vineyard with small quantities from the Bien Nacido and White Hawk vineyards. It will be bottled after spending 22 months in oak casks. Aromas of sweet black and blue fruits, forest floor, lead pencil shavings, and spring flowers emerge from this remarkably elegant Syrah. With great fruit intensity, a stunning texture, and an opulent mouthfeel, this is a gentle, gracious, large-scaled wine displaying extraordinary finesse and elegance for its size. It will drink beautifully for 12-15+ years." Wine Advocate, June 2008

2006 Sine Qua Non Raven Series No. 1 Grenache
Price: $400.00    Sale Price: $325.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

(98 points) This blend of 90% Grenache and 10% Syrah, largely from the 11 Confessions Vineyard, with a small amount from Bien Nacido, spent 21 months in barrel. It is really strutting its stuff now, and showing even better than my original note predicted in August of 2009. The wine has loads of meat, licorice, smoke, charcoal and graphite, as well as huge peppery, blackberry and black cherry notes. Full-bodied, with great acidity, nicely integrated tannin, an admirable mouthfeel and tremendous length, this killer Grenache is still young and probably 3-5 years away from prime time drinking. (RP) (8/2011)  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2001 Sine Qua Non Ventriloquist Grenache
Price: $575.00    Sale Price: $475.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

This was the only wine in the entire tasting that refused to open and fully reveal itself. It is a blend of 82% Grenache and 18% Syrah, with much of it coming from the Alban Vineyard and the balance from the Stolpman Vineyard and the Shadow Canyon Vineyard further north. I would liked to have had a crack at another bottle, but this wine came across as very tightly knit, with far higher acids, giving the wine a more austere and tart quality. It did possess some nice, attractive black fruits, damp earth, spice box and hints of licorice and pepper...(RP) (8/2011) Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Menu

Foie Gras with Honeydew Melon Mint Salsa on Brioche Lavender Vanilla French Toast

Wild Boar Shepard’s Pie with grilled Chayote Squash and creme fraiche mash

Dark chocolate Soufflé with blackberry and black raspberry gelato

The fee for this tasting is $295 + tax for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

A bit about Sine Qua Non from their web page:

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,