SQN "Just For The Fun Of It" tour - San Diego edition

WINE TALK
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The idea for this tasting started back in September when I posted the Win A Bottle of SQN thread and Mark C suggested doing an SQN tasting in San Diego. Bob K won the contest with his tear jerking Metro story and instead of me sending him a bottle of Inaugural Grenache, he asked that he be invited to the tasting and we would open it then.

Thanks to Mark C, we had a fantastic venue and menu set at Amaya at the Grand Del Mar and the date was set. Yvonne and I were going to fly to San Diego, but given neither of us are working at the moment, we decided on the slightly crazy idea to make this our 3rd Anniversary vacation roadtrip and drive 1500 miles from Houston, TX. The journey to San Diego passed without much drama, with no speeding tickets despite a few very close calls.

The day of the dinner arrived and I felt like a kid at Christmas waiting to open presents! The lineup was incredible, with an unbelievable selection of white SQN’s, Syrah and Grenache SQN’s and some stickies just to really finish us off.

The full lineup was:

2000 The Boot
2004 The Rejuvenators
2005 The Petition
2007 Body & Soul (Magnum)
2008 Kolibri

2001 Ventriloquist Grenache (Magnum)
2000 Incognito Grenache (Magnum)
2003 The Inaugural Grenache
2005 The Naked Truth Grenache
2006 In The Crosshairs Grenache
2010 Five Shooter Grenache

1998 E-Raised Syrah
2000 In Flagrante Syrah (Magnum)
2001 Midnight Oil Syrah
2001 On Your Toes Syrah

2002 Heart Chorea Syrah
2003 Papa Syrah
2003 The Inaugural Syrah
2004 Poker Face Syrah

2005 Atlantis Syrah
2005 The 17th Nail In My Cranium Syrah
2006 A Shot In the Dark Syrah
2008 The Duel Syrah

D’yquem (the year escapes me)
2006 Mr K
1999 Alois Kracher Chardonnay TBA #7 Nouvelle Vague
2000 Alois Kracher Chardonnay TBA #7 Nouvelle Vague

The evening was a great chance to compare these amazing wines. I’m not big on taking notes, as I’m too busy enjoying myself, but these were my favourites were:

  • Inaugural Grenache - this is my absolute favourite SQN Grenache’s
  • 17th Nail - as usual, absolutely amazing and in my humble opinion the best SQN Syrah that has probably another 5 years before it even starts to hit its peak (and what a peak it will be!)
  • Heart Chorea. My first time having this wine and I hope it’s not my last - absolutely beautiful dark black fruit and beef jerky notes. A shame this wine is so expensive now - I wish I owned more bottles
  • On Your Toes…a rare treat courtesy of Bob K…absolutely amazing wine. This particular bottle showed better than the one the previous night at the warmup dinner. This must be the heaviest SQN bottle ever made!
  • Papa. I’ve got to drink this more often!

Sadly Naked Truth and E Raised were slightly off, not corked, but a little funky on the nose - very sad as I think E Raised is in a beautiful place right now.

I should also mention that both In Flagrante and Incognito tasted amazing from magnum…noticeably fresher than regular sized bottles I’ve had recently. SQN magnums are an expensive habit, but absolutely worth it.

Thanks to everyone who so generously contributed bottles, this was an amazing night of beautiful wines with some old and new friends. These dinners have been a great way to meet some of the most generous, fun and overall cool SQN wine lovers. Kudos to Elaine and Manfred for crafting these amazing wines that have a unique ability to get everyone so excited about a tasting like this!

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Duncan, I totally agree about the 17th Nail and the Heart Chorea–just fabulous. This is only the second time I’ve had the HC and it was, for me, just superlative–I think it was my WOTN if I had a gun placed to my head and was forced to pick one. The 17th Nail is always outstanding–makes me think of Jorge Lorenzo racing around on a MotoGP bike–although he’s technically on the ragged edge at 60º lean angles, he always looks like he’s out for a Sunday spin. Despite the challenges of making wine and the differences that can occur from storage and circumstances under which a wine is served and personal preferences, etc., the 17th Nail always comes through with flying colors and makes it look easy :slight_smile:

The OYT, one of my all time favorite wines, was an interesting experience as well. Thanks to Bob Kitts’ generosity we were able to sample this rare wine twice in two nights. I loved the wine on Thursday (although I may have been in the minority) but the bottle on Friday was on another level–reminded me of the first bottle I had back in 2006, incredibly fresh, concentrated, light on its feet, but packed full of deliciousness.

There was something off with the Naked Truth–not corked, but just off. Almost tasted like different juice–not sure what could cause that problem. I commented to Steve that it tasted so different I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a counterfeit bottle (not that I think it was, but there was no way to describe how different it tasted from how it should have tasted). That said, half the table thought it was one of the top wines :slight_smile:

I’m an outlier on the E-Raised–I thought it was great. Perhaps not the best bottle ever, but definitely tasted “correct” to me. And at 15 years of age it is a wine that is going strong.

I also agree with Duncan that the In Flagrante was excellent, and I thought the Ventriloquist (also from magnum) showed well, too. Format does matter :slight_smile:

I think the biggest issue was that the whites were all served too warm (with the exception of the Body & Soul) and I think it hurt The Boot and Kolibri a little bit. The others, in particular The Rejuvenators, were singing. I have come to the conclusion that these wines actually start to show best at 5-6+ years, and clearly have the stuffing and structure to not just last but actually improve beyond the standard 3-4 year assumed drinking windows.

Most of the wines were contributed by Duncan & Yvonne, and we are grateful for their generosity and for being the impetus to have this fun evening. Carolynn loved the wines but was most pleased that she had a woman to talk to so that she could converse about something other than wine :slight_smile: Also, a healthy bunch of the wines were schlepped over from Chicago by the inimitable James Fogerty–I’m just bummed we never got to The Other Hand :slight_smile: Thanks also to Jeff Ruggels, Alan Winter, Dan Smiley, Don Nuzzo, Bruce Hubbard, and Steve Williams for bringing wine and being part of a really fun night.

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Wow - color me jealous! What a great tasting/dinner!

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Wow Duncan – you outdid yourself yet again!

The Heart Chorea is always a special treat – glad to hear the Inaugural Grenache showed well!

Which was the second-most preferred of that Grenache flight? I always enjoy their Grenaches so always looking to hear what’s drinking well for people!

Cheers!

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Erich - Incognito from Mag was pretty spectacular too, but for me the Inaugural Grenache was head and shoulders above it which was no mean feat

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Its clothes? Buh dump, Fail(Awful joke).

Duncan, what’s more than making everyone’s world at that celebration, you likely made the people of San Diego proud by placing their state on the map. At least now they can say if asked what goes on in San Diego “Oh, there was an epic SQN tasting that happened, here.” Probably another awful joke. I’ll quit while I’m not even ahead.

Duncan, your generosity I believe is unmatched. Bringing wine is one thing, but to bring so many high-end bottles, and–moreover–for them to be Sine Qua Non, well, maybe there really is a Santa Claus. [cheers.gif]

Best,

Kenney