Matt Luczy has posted some of his first reviews and here’s what he had to say about SQN:
"Concurrently, the process of critiquing and rating wine must include balance, complexity and representation of place as metrics, all of which are affected by the winemaker’s decisions; the monolithic style displayed in several wines within this report often emphasizes homogeneity and noticeable alcoholic burn at the expense of balance, nuance and a sense of origin.
Any notion that wine is or should be exclusively the product of place is illusory—given that human hands planned, planted, picked and produced it—but a wine’s origins are inseparable from its intrigue. There is such exactitude and passion on display throughout these projects that I would love to see the raw materials allowed to shine. There need not be a forced choice between style and place. The balance between these poles is central to my approach to reviewing wine, and it’s increasingly vital to many modern wine enthusiasts." Matthew Luczy
Thoughts? Curious whether he said the same about other producers as well . . .
i’m intrigued by what i anticipate will be an interesting conversation. i’d love to read the entire piece. ironic that robert parker put SQN on the map.
the only thing i can add is that one of my greatest wine experiences ever was sitting next to John Gilman at a dinner the first time he ever tried a SQN wine.
you’d need a far better writer to properly describe and encapsulate the deep personal offense, confusion, and sheer shock in what he tasted. it was like witnessing the 5 stages of grief all at once.
Luczy rated the seven SQN wines between 93-95+. The portion of the article quoted by Larry begins with:
Exploring the boundaries of what is possible sometimes results in going beyond them. While I greatly appreciate wines of vision, pushing into extreme territories of ripeness and concentration is increasingly antiquated in the contemporary wine world, with its renewed focus on harmony and integration.
I appreciate his independence and candor. And agree with his quoted comment.
when I logged in to check the scores, I was surprised at the score despite the fairly negative criticism. But this is probably threading the needle. Almost like a 3 star Michelin losing a star but really deserves to lose more than one… but the backlash would be too severe
If you compare to the scores LPB and Erin Brooks, the scores from Luczy is already quite a statement… Not sure if its the equivalent of going from 3 to 2 stars, or actually pushing 1 already (unless there are severe vintage differences to also take into account - of which I have no clue).
I almost made a post about this when it came out, so I’m glad someone else actually did.
I really respect Matt as a somm and now also as a reviewer. These reviews are honest and refreshing when pretty much all other reviews seem to need to rate all SQNs between 98 - 100 just because it’s SQN. I like these wines from time to time, but have trouble trusting a reviewer that can’t seem to rate the wines under 98 points on release.
the only thing i can add is that one of my greatest wine experiences ever was sitting next to John Gilman at a dinner the first time he ever tried a SQN wine.
[/quote]
Replace John Gilman with Neal Martin and I had the same great experience.
I actually have never had issues whatsoever with whatever scores any winery gets - including mine. After receiving a series of 80-85 pt scores back in the day, u just laughed them off.
What I have challenges with is when a high scoring wine is compared to other wines made with similar grapes - but said high scoring wine shows zero ‘typicity’ for that variety. It may be well made and ‘interesting’ but impossible IMHO to ‘compare’ with others.
Nikolas and Julia Krankl’s Fingers Crossed project is another planet that orbits the central star of Sine Qua Non, as can be ascertained in the luxurious style and avant-garde packaging of these aromatically intriguing and texturally pleasing wines. That said, many of the reds tasted here display obtrusive alcoholic heat, jeopardizing their harmony and longevity.
Walson Holland features Santa Barbara County and Edna Valley fruit sources made by winemaker Benjamin Holland, who co-founded the label in 2018. Before this, he worked stints at Kosta Browne and Sine Qua Non, influences clearly shown in the rich, forward style of the wines. A range of Burgundian and Rhône varieties are produced, and in my view, the white Rhône blends are currently the most successful and harmonious. The red wines rely heavily on whole-cluster fermentations, a practice that could perhaps use another look, as I found many wines finished with harsh, edgy tannins that will likely not integrate. I look forward to following the progress of this project, as there is solid potential here.
