Sine Qua Non, The Inaugural Syrah, Sta. Rita Hills

At 21 years, this scarce and amazing Sine Qua Non wine was on fire and showed like a champion at Christmas dinner 2024. The nose had red fruit, mandarin orange, peat moss, wet leaves and forest floor. The palate was juicy with ripe and fresh red fruits and tobacco. Unlike most younger Sine Qua Non, this wine has mellow and nuanced flavors. This makes me want to age all of our Sine Qua Non to 20+ years. Paired incredibly well …

2003 vintage

Blueberry jam of a wine. Bitter alcoholic finish. Don't really get the appeal.

2003 vintage

Kleur: Diep donkerrood. Aroma / bouquet: Ik denk dat ik de meeste proefnotitie over het aroma / bouquet van rode SQN begin met het beschrijven van de serieuze, vaak explosieve, intensiteit. Dit aroma, na 21 jaar, is opvallend zacht. Uitgesproken, opvallend tertiair )zeker voor SQN). Een subtiel zoetig bouquet waarin bosaardbeitjes, cederhout, kaneel. Smaak / Afdronk: Boterzachte power van een ultieme klasse. Zachte (en beperkte) zuurgraad, fluweelzachte tannines en 15,8% alcohol. Waarneembaar, maar niet storend dankzij de serieuze aromatische vulling …

2003 vintage

This is absolutely unbelievable. The vines were planted in 2001 and by 2003 they were producing Syrah of this quality. Also, this has aged exceptionally well. Such a siren to all things Syrah. It is really something, there�s smoked meat, peppercorn, blueberries, camphor, hope chest and wet earth. Full with body and a slight silky tannin remains, with a finish that glides along without effort. Drinking well within its window and shall hold on for many years; truly an experience. …

2003 vintage

2023 Athens Wine Event; 12/8/2023-12/9/2023 (Athens, Greece) : Tasted blind. Textbook SQN Syrah no doubt and spotted as such. The question which one and how old. We went with 10 years old such energy and unwavering power this wine had. Impressive, amplified in all respects like all great SQNs , big of course but also harmonious and a magical wine in its own special way. Impressively so young and this has easily another 2 decades of life and maybe more. …

2003 vintage

OMFG. That�s it. That�s my review of the 2003 SQN The Inaugural Syrah. This wine was an absolute pleasure to drink. This brooding bomb of tasty goodness had a finish longer than the wait to get an SQN allocation. The wine was silky with perfect acidity and tannins and was an absolute masterpiece. Here are our notes: On the nose� Medium Rare New York Steak Black Pepper Spicy Tobacco Smoke Black Fruits Leather On the palate� Blackberry Liquer Smoked Meats …

2003 vintage

Weekend in Westport; 8/25/2021-8/29/2021 (Westport, CT) : The first time we ever had an SQN we ended up decanting it overnight a bit by mistake and in retrospect it really added a ton of depth to the wine. This was drunk over the course of two nights and the second night it was really a gem. It's of course one of the more intense styles of wine but there is a lovely elegance to it.

2003 vintage

A perfect wine for a perfect celebration, Biden's inauguration! Zingy blackberry, integrated oak and tannins. The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are medium. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like blackberry, blueberry, black currant (cassis), black pepper and clove. The body is medium/full. The wine has silky texture. The wine finishes long. The wine has medium acidity.

2003 vintage

Decanted 3 hours. I am a big fan of SQN, but am not a big fan of California Grenache. I like Cali Syrah (and love SQN's at the right time), but there is a certain "weed" element to Cali Grenache that tends to put me off. So I figure if there is one that could turn me, it would be this one, at this age, perfectly stored, and decanted with enough air to fully open. This wine is great on …

2003 vintage

Decanted 3 hours. Dark fruit, rare red meat, and some forest floor on the nose. Maybe not as expressive on the nose as I expected. On the palate this has rich, concentrated, dark fruit with some minerals and an incredibly long finish with the tannin in the background and completely integrated. This is a wonderful Cali Syrah that is bigger, meatier, more brawny than the Grenache tasted last night, but more enjoyable for my taste. Needs to be paired with …

2003 vintage

Acker 2019/05 (Zuma) : Power, finesse and clarity all in one piece; all marks of true greatness. 96

2003 vintage

Acker SQN Dinner (NoMad Rooftop) : Relatively muted, but may have been bottle variation. Our table generally agreed that this was not as great as the other SQNs, but people at other tables (different bottles) said theirs was fantastic. I was going to give it a 92 but withholding score.

2003 vintage

Fantastic

2003 vintage

SQN Big Guns Night, Beefbar HK. SQN In Extremis. Legendary release from the Krankls, this is now super smooth yet opulent and hedonistic to taste. Nose of smoked meats, charcoal, leather, chocolate, violet essence, pepper. Superb balance and length supported by the finest of tannins. Developed an aromatic perfume of coffee in the glass that lingered for the longest time.

2003 vintage

Wife's Big 40th Bday Bash. Been saving this for a special occasion, its doubly meaningful in that 2003 was our wedding year. Popped a healthy cork was a good sign this bottle was in good condition after 14 years laying down. A faint, lavender violet nose, berries, leather. Was expecting more of a olfactory explosion but it was a very alluring nose nonetheless. First taste straight from bottle, still had very healthy but not overpowering alcohol levels. Pure sweet fruit …

2003 vintage

Decanted 2 hours. Booming nose, inky dark color. Incredible flavors in this wine but what is the most impressive is the balance and the texture. Liquid silk. Just so smooth and balanced yet its 15.5% alcohol and every bit a California wine. This is a must have bottle for any collector. Alas, this was my last bottle.

2003 vintage

large wine , sweet nose of excellent Syrah fruit , world class. This wine is 13 years old , almost not believable . Many years ahead.

2003 vintage

A Matter of Taste (Meritage Resort & Spa Napa, CA) : 97+ This was one of if not the best wine of dinner. Showing very well, but I do believe its best years are still to come.

2003 vintage

SQN - Legends : This was really a bottle I had looked very much forward to tasting and it didn't disappoint!! The flavors are incredible dark plum style fruit with a liqueur-style sweetness to it. Packed with impressive spices, smoke, roasted meat and vanilla. Even though everything in and about the flavors of the wine can seem over the top, everything is just integrated in a perfect and very impressive balance. This is just a stunning and mind blowing wine.

2003 vintage

Another Casual Burgundy Dinner...Followed by Sine Qua Non (Paris Club - Chicago IL) : Tasted very late, brief note. Another huge scaled wine with lots of incredibly fresh fruit and kirsch hints. this also has incredible baking spice and dark chocolate. Powerful and intense through long finish. Beautiful now, I can easily see this as even better in 5 or 10 more years.

2003 vintage

Still massive. Good with hanger steak

2003 vintage

After opening the bottle aromas of dark red fruits, spices and a bit of heat filled my nose. I let the bottle decant for 3 hours and then revisited before tasting. After a healthy decant the heat had blown off and it seemed in a much better place. On the palate this beauty gave loads of black cherry fruit, followed my notes of eucalyptus and clove. Initially the wine gave off some notes of white pepper but it blew off …

2003 vintage

Grenache Tasting (Manhattan Beach, CA) : Nice fruit, blueberry, rich, oaky, long finish. One of the best of the tasting.

2003 vintage

Very impressive wine. This bottle was much deeper and darker in flavor and nose. I was not even sure it was the Grenache, it could have been Syrah. Vibrant. Huge lingering flavors, good acidity. Very big wine. I love these wines.

2003 vintage

Pretty spectacular wine in general that is in a good place in particular. Reminiscent of the Papa (different blend, but similar lush, rich fruit with a laser-like focus). Tannins are nicely integrated with the fruit, but I bet this wine has a solid 10 years left before it *might* start to show signs of age. Hope I can taste it again at that time... (PE: 98)

2003 vintage

Sine Qua Non Dinner: the Younger Wines (Custom House Tavern - Chicago IL) : Incredibly impressive fruit, perhaps a bit too massive and primary for a wine already 7 years old. Exotic aromas show lots of oak, but great licorice, baking spice, pepper and even some floral hints in deep background. Intense black cherry and red cherry on palate, also complemented by excellent spice. Others liked this better than I did, my only concern keeping it from a 95+ point …

2003 vintage

Sine Qua Non Dinner: the Younger Wines (Custom House Tavern - Chicago IL) : Not a personal favorite tonight. Black fruit with salty and peppery elements throughout. somehow this came across awkward, backward with some real rough edges vs. almost every other bottle tonight. Others liked this more.

2003 vintage

Tasted in a flight with 2001 On Your Toes Syrah, 2002 Heart Chorea Syrah and 2004 Ode To E Syrah. All these wines are truly amazing stuff. But to me the 2003 Inaugural is also an example of perfection. Expressing a bit more green tones on the palate it is still amazingly balanced, elegant and integrated. Palate explodes of dark berries, mature sun dried strawberries, blueberries and roasted meat. Tannins are as silky as a tannin could ever be. I …

2003 vintage

The label says 15.8% alcohol and it stings like a shot of vodka. Part of the reason for the sting, I imagine, is that the expected "gobs of fruit" were mostly absent; the main ingredients to this were alcohol and raw, lumber-yard wood, which has managed, in positively vampiric fashion, to drain completely whatever fruit might have made this acceptably slick or sweet once upon a time. Whatever fruit remains tastes washed out with dry tannin and entirely incapable of …

2003 vintage

Tasted at a charity event (GGFAGC/10). Just a great wine. With a very deep colour and a spicy bouquet of vanilla and alcohol, this wine had very long legs in the glass. Lots of fruit in the taste and not too spicy as today's syrahs tend to be.

2003 vintage

Great Grapes for a Great Cause SQN Tasting -- 3rd Annual; 5/7/2010-5/8/2010 (Mandarin Oriental, Washington DC) : Nose of sour red fruit (dark cranberry?), this belied a palate that was much darker and showed blackberry, and black pepper before growing into a great long finish that built even more black pepper. Paired with pan roasted dakota ranch bison.

2003 vintage

Rhone Rangers tasting (Vinens verden, Odense) : Black color with a thin red rim. Very complex, concentrated and tight nose with loads of licorice, asphalt, bacon, meat, cool blackberry, sweet, ripe cherries, olives and an underlying coolness of minerals and iron notes. On the palate it has huge, almost boiled down intensity and concentration of the fruit. Very complex with layer upon layer of flavours such as black cherries, blackberry, caramel, bacon, meat, iron, olives, gunpowder and licorice. Perfect balance …

2003 vintage

An Unforgettable Birthday for Martin (Lucas @ Klapsons) : The background of this wine reads: Auction wine , not available for sale, the first one to be home grown and a Sine Qua Non at that. Oh did I forget to mention the 100rp pts on it! It is parker at its ultimate. Ultra ripe jammy black fruits, sweet pain grille bbq meats, rich cassis and big roundish sun ripened black californian / aussie plums. As hedonistic as one can …

2003 vintage

15.8% alcohol. decanted 2 hours. i dipped back a couple of years experimentally tonight. i frankly had forgotten that i had this wine about 20 months ago at a comprehensive SQN tasting we all contributed to in california. the power of CT! demonstrated once again. but, i was drinking it tonight because i have not exactly been enamoured by the 05-06 SQN syrahs. admittedly, they have not been the extended aging examples like this one is, but all the same, …

2003 vintage

My only crime opening this bottle was not giving it enough air. I thought about having Carolynn decant it during the day, but then before I knew it we were home and scrambling to put on some food for our friends. It was interesting, sharing this with friends who enjoy wine, but are not wine geeks. I didn't say anything about it until we were halfway through the bottle, then I mentioned that this was a Parker 100-pointer. My buddy …

2003 vintage

Great Grapes for a Great Cause SQN Tasting -- 2nd Annual (Le Paradou, Washington DC) : awesome wine. dark plum, really nice smoked meat (this went VERY well with the venison), and blackberry. but also some nice perfume notes dancing up above the dark fruit notes that lightened this up. long, pleasant finish.

2003 vintage

Tasted at a charity event (GGFAGC/09). With a very deep colour to it and a fantastic taste that had tons of vanilla and caramel. I had this right after an SQN "Atlantis" and this was a stronger bottle. So smooth and wonderful. This was my number 2 wine of the night.

2003 vintage

At Hank's in the Green Valley Ranch, celebrating Pete's birthday. They had three of these in stock, and all three were consistently decadent. All six of us agreed that this was as good as it gets. After the first sip of this exceedingly elegant wine, I immediately determined that I didn't require anything else from our server. This was something so special that food would just get in the way (not to badmouth Hank's-the food was excellent). I concur with …

2003 vintage

Nose of pure, clean fruit from a foot away from the glass. Round and voluptuous but clean and clear mouthfeel. Enormous, concentrated, pure, focused, intense, clean Grenache fruit of cherries, red currants, smoke, figs and black currant liquor. Once you get past the pure joy of drinking such intense flavours, there actually are quite a lot of complexities as well and the aftertaste lasts for ever. Wow, very impressive and enjoyable now but feels a bit “untamed” now and will …

2003 vintage

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Sine Qua Non, The Inaugural Syrah, Sta. Rita Hills

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