At a recent dinner, these 2 were drunk blind side by side:
2008 SIN QUA NON KOLIBRI SANTA BARBARA COUNTY WHITE BLEND- 69% Roussanne and 31% Viognier from Estate fruit plus 18% from Bien Nacido Vineyard; fermented in concrete eggs and aged in about 25% new French oak; it had a yellow orange color; the aromatics are almost overwhelming and I had to back off a bit to just discern the makeup then I got apricot, pear, papaya and honeysuckle; on the palate, there was cinnamon toast, lime, lemon, pear, honeydew melon and apple; it was delivered in a viscous textured substance that carried everything to the back end with gusto.
2006 SIN QUA NON HOODO MAN CALIFORNIA WHITE BLEND- 39% Roussanne, 31% Viognier and 30% Chardonnay; 75% from John Alban’s vineyard and 25% from Eleven Confessions; it was aged in 58% new oak, the rest 1-2 year-old barrels and a small amount of stainless steel; the nose had a really sweet profile with honeyed pear, mango, citrus and a hit of ginger which continued on and was joined by spicy rich orange peel, lemon zest, peach and honeysuckle; it had a creamy lush mouthfeel and held on forever.
Had a Lightmotif this week and the wine looked viscuous. I am always amazed at how these whites feel in your mouth. Almost thick. What causes that? I love them with food.
Nice notes Blake. I think I may have drunk my SQN whites too young, but they were delicious in youth.
Leonard, I used to attribute that oily viscosity similar to some Rhône whites to Roussanne, but John Morris (I think) offered counterexamples that convinced me otherwise. I’m not sure what gives those wines that texture.
Re the mouthfeel, I defer the answer to those who are much more knowledgable about SQN`s winemaking techniques, but I will venture a guess that Manfred goes for 100% malolactic fermentation on these whites. Either that or he adds sunflower oil.
See my response to Leonard. This stimulates me to ask the question of a few of my dinner group colleges who have been collecting gobs of SQNs since inception. I`ll get back.
Here’s the reply I got from one in the know: “they’re usually a blend of Roussane, Marsanne, and Chardonnay, which are all pretty viscous to begin with, plus they’re quite ripe, so high glycerin and alcohol levels, plus wood, lees stirring, and ML. I’ve never had one from SQN I liked, though the two we had were far from the worst…”
Interesting response and as logical as any other I’ve heard.
Yes SQN can be polarizing. I somehow manage to find a way to love them and to love entirely differently-styled Rieslings, Bordeaux, Rhône, etc. I’m an equal opportunity wino.
I like your style David. When my palate went wimpy about 10 years ago, the big, majorly extracted, high alcohol wines were and still are just too much. These 2 white blends were actually OK and I liked them enough to post notes.
