I have never had Mollydooker (is that a Molly that went to dook?) so cannot compare.
I have only had SQN a few times and have not really enjoyed the ones I have had. Too big for me. And, I do like a number of California wines (esp. Ridge, Montelena, Mayacamas, Stony Hill, etc.). However, I am also not really a big Rhone wine person. Don’t really drink Hermitage, Cote Rotie, Chateauneuff, etc.
Greg the same argument can be made plugging any expensive wine in the world instead of SQN. Sometimes its the scarcity sometimes the price itself and sometimes the points. Sometimes peoples palates prefer one thing over another, however, even if they are highly rated and expensive. For my palate your statement about there being far better RR than SQN is wrong. I cant think of a rhone ranger id rather drink than SQN any day of the week. Again, to my palate there is one equal or almost so and that is Alban. Saxum comes in a close third. It could be that I am just a point whore or it could be that I like similar wines to parker and parker happens to be the guy that made those wines famous and expensive by his points. There are some wines Parker is nuts about that my palate disagrees with. Enter most of Bordeaux, half of Spain and Most of Latin America. FWIW I like 07 CDPs.
As for aging once again, to me, SQN syrah and grenache are better between 10 and 15 years in the bottle. They get a smokey, BBQ note that is not there to begin with and they start changing in the glass which they decidedly do not do in their relative youth. Im sure some people find that BBQ thing off putting but that is a preference issue also.
Oh and Berry, the pinots, with some exceptions, were somewhat more restrained than the syrah and grenaches. Especially the Oregon ones. One notable exception was Over and Out which made Seasmoke seem restrained 
Mollydooker is what they call left handed people in Oz land. Sparky is a lefty.
Mollydooker often reminds me of cough syrup. I have never gotten that from SQN. The whites (in my limited experience) are not my thing at all, but the reds offer a very occasional divergence into big but balanced wines that straddle the edges of everything and very seldom go over. The prices are hard to swallow when I know the money could be spent on equally enjoyable wines for me like Moric, G Conterno, and B Mascarello, but this hobby isn’t always rational.
Dan, it is to David’s comment quoted here that I was alluding to. I can’t appreciate the subtle differences among any Burgundy I’ve tried. My wife, the non-label, non-geek drinker who just tolerates my obsession waxed poetically about a DRC I poured for her blind. I didn’t get it.
Domestic wines I get. SQN is to Rhone Grapes as Rhys is to Pinot. X Factor and points aside, both producers are benchmarks for their respective grapes, style, and quality.
If someone finds SQN indistinguishable from it’s peers, I would suspect that person has no tolerence/interest/utility for wines of this power and weight.
I’m not fond of either overcooked steak or overcooked lamb chops, but I can generally distinguish between them. I’ve never tasted a Mollydooker. I have tasted an SQN. I didn’t like it. I also don’t much care for Aussie wines. They only seem to me the same though in the way that both the overcooked steak and the overcooked lamb chop are both overcooked. And that judgment may indeed make mine something like an AFWE taste–except that I like CdP.
Wasn’t my first SQN. It was poured blind to me. I guessed Mollydooker.
Fred,
I opened a bottle of the 2009 Upside Down Grenache a few weeks back and it was excellent. I wrote a TN on the WB board (not CT). Certainly is ready now, but can hold for many more years. Sadly it was my only bottle.
I’m mostly an AFWE guy but still like and appreciate SQN.
Mollydooky makes me gag though.
But at least it won’t make you cough! ![[stirthepothal.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/f/f40faec63ca1018898a40805efbf9f0066a3d205.gif "[stirthepothal.gif]"){kind=small}
I’ve only had JFTLOI (at restaurant for $200ish) wasn’t overly impressed…thankfully.
Thats a crazy price on JFTLOI. (Market wise, if you hate the wines its still overpriced) jeez even if you can find it it trades for well over 500 bucks. At a restaurant thats insane.
This was a year or two after release. (Not sure what release price was). For my own tastes, I thought it was over priced then…but >$500?? Wow…wtf.
Vintage wines shows the cheapest on ws for $800…
Thanks for all of the responses and generous offers to share. Glenn: I love good tartare but I’m cautious about where I will eat it. Two good ones are: La Petite Grocery (Uptown on Magazine) and Chateau DuLac (Old Metairie on Metairie Rd). One to consider that I’ve not tried is a relatively new steak place in the Quarter called Doris Metropolitan.
Michael has given me excellent dining advice for NOLA - listen to the man.
Next time I am there we have to do dinner together. I’ll bring the SQN, and I’ll even let you calculate the tip on the bottle.
I was lucky to share a allocation with a friend who ended it without letting me know. Bastard, but that’s another story. I enjoyed about four releases where we split the allocation. Honestly, I agree with remarks about the Grenache, it is a very well made wine, perfectly balanced in my opinion. You cannot dispute the care and quality that seemingly goes into it. When I found out that I could sell many of my bottles I was holding onto for anywhere form five to ten times what I paid it was a no brainer decision for me. I was sitting on a case, and probably drank four bottles. The Raven was one of my favorites, and so was Atlantis. The two that fetched me the best price were the 17th nail in my cranium. They went at auction for over $900 each. I’m a working guy with an expensive hobby, so this allowed me to buy quite a bit more wine. Since I had already experienced the wine, it was no big deal I suppose.
Okay this is great, I just finished reading the thread on whether or not to tip on the bottle, what a lively discussion! hahaha 
When does SQN ship?
Last email regarding shipping just stated beginning in October weather permitting.