Organized by Justin Bonner in DC. The proceeds go to his charity, which you can ask him about. I’m having a hard time imagining how this one could be topped at all.
These were my very brief notes starting with the evening before:
2005 Lillian: A nose of sweet BBQ and a little heat. Lots of dark berries and cinnamon. The palate is huge with bright berries, BBQ and grilled beef. Long finish with heavy handed tannins. Needs time but wow. I dont think anyone would have been able to call this one blind if thrown into the SQN bash.
2004 SQN Into the Dark
The thing about Manfred’s grenaches, great as they are, is that they remind me so much of the syrahs. This was no exception. Some petrol, beef blood and leather on the nose. The palate is medium bodied and full of red fruit but also heavy handed with the tannins. Great acid. This also need time.
The next day I woke up with a massive headache (The Lillian must have a ton of sulfites, I drank most of that bottle) but after some serious rehydration…
This was the order in which I had them and the sparse notes I wrote:
Strapless: Oily nose, simple strawberry.
Omadhaun and Poltroon: Nice fruity nose, thick palate but nice peach and pinapple notes.
ReNeVa Plus: Oily oak bomb.
The Boot: Vanilla nose and more oak on the palate. Big giant finish.
Albino (from a Riesling looking mag): Thick and oaky but drinkable.
The Bride: Odd nose with some petrol. Not oaky at all compared to the previous few. Nice acid to this and some petrol on the palate as well. Nice. Went to refill the glass with something else and noticed a smell in the empty glass that was a dead ringer for pickled eggs.
The Hoodoo Man: A Sauvignon Blanc nose. Nice citrus on the palate with a bit of oak. Very refreshing. I liked this.
Backwards and Forwards: The nose reminded me of candied mangoes. The palate was bright but the mango smell made it taste odd.
The petition: Some sweat and oak on the nose. The palate has some fruit trying to break in but its really thick and oily. May turn out to be good with time.
The Pinots:
Veiled: Bit of horse sweat and grapes on the nose. Nice berry notes but it felt over the hill for me. Fading fast.
Omega (from Mag): Nice sweet pinot nose with chocolate and dark berries. Soft palate with dark fruits. No heat. Smooth finish.
A Capella: Huge nose of roasted dark fruits. Big berried palate, mostly darker fruits. Bruiser pinot. I liked it a lot.
The complicator and Over and Out were both flawed. A shame…O and O is one of my favorite pinots.
The main event:
A note on these. Because of what we expected would be small pours, the glasses used had straight sides (the bowl and opening were the same size) this made it difficult to make much of the nose in some cases where I know the nose would have made a difference and is likely subtle. An example would be The Other Hand.
Flight I
Queen of Spades: Some BBQ and Slim Jim. A bit thin but nice caramel and tobacco on the palate. I had the better bottle. It smelled nothing like Erich’s, he was sitting next to me.
The Other Hand: This was one of my epiphany wines last year. Not to be this year. Soft, with BBQ and tobacco notes as well. Good, not great. I took an unfinished bottle home and the next day, in a riedel glass both the palate and the nose were much better. Still not as good as last year but this was 24 hours later.
Against the Wall: I could smell very little in this one, but the palate had a meaty BBQ taste that was awesome. Lots of bright fruits and some tannins left. Medium bodied.
Imposter McCoy: Red and black fruit notes with some sweat on the nose. The palate is medium and feels comfortable in the mouth. Red fruits and spices to spare. Nice finish too.
The Marauder: Whiff of berries and not much else on the nose. Light palate with bright berries and nice lenght. For the first time with the reds I got no oak. Wish I could have tasted this one out of a better glass.
Flight II
Incognito: “Thats what Im talking about” kind of nose. Smoke and black fruits. Palate was medium bodied with ripe red fruits. Nice and smooth with a lingering finish. Great wine.
Papa: Softer nose at first. Full and creamy palate but less ripe and ready than Incognito. A bit tight but clearly a great wine.
Just for the Love of It: Muted nose (again I think a function of the glass.) Hefty palate but also somewhat closed. I left this one sit and filled the glass more. (Boy was there a lot of wine) I wanted to like this. With some air the fruit turned sweeter and darker. Much better but still not one of the best of the night.
Poker Face: Big fruity nose with some sweat. Huge, creamy palate. Big, sweet dark fruit with a long finish. The tannins were certainly making their mark and there was a bit of alcohol. A young monster Syrah.
Flight III
Atlantis Grenache: First actual grenache nose of the night. Bright red fruit, kirch and cinnamon with some tea and other spices. Best nose of the night. Palate was ripe with red and dark berries. Medium bodied but with some serious tannins. Great and will be better.
The Inaugural grenache: Similar nose to Atlantis but the fruit seemed darker, more toward blackberries. Palate is big and sweet. Clearly more evolved than Atlantis. The tannins and soft and pleasant. A little vanilla. Awesome wine.
Ode to E grenache: Nice nose, bright fruit and candied fruit all at once. Medium bodied (by this time tar would seem medium bodied) Lots of spices, red fruit and also lots of oak. Heavily tannic. This needs time.
Flight IV
Atlantis syrah: Nice syrah nose with grilled beef, red and dark berries. Possibly the best palate of the night. Huge in heft with nicely balanced dar berries, acid, spice and a very long finish. I could not find any harsh tannins.
Heart Chorea: Big nose of sweat, BBQ and beef. Some great flowery notes that surprised me. I thought they brought another dish out with some flowery aromas while I wasnt looking. Medium palate with all kinds of berries and great acidity. Long finish and sweet tannins. I remember Erich commenting that he found it a bit hot…not me. Another great wine.
The Inaugural syrah: Mostly grilled meat on the nose. These two flight were like going to a chop house. Some very ripe dark fruit on the nose as well. Medium palate (again take all these mediums with a grain of salt) with some beef blood and acidic ripe berries. Great finish and another great wine.
Ode to E Syrah: I found the nose on this to be muted and also noted a bit of sweat. Heavy, and fruit laden. I did find some heat in this one. Very young to me but likely with a bright future.
Desserts:
Inamorata: Strawberries and peaches have it all wrong, this is what they should smell like. Big sweet palate of very ripe figs and stone fruits. Very intense wine. Same intensity if a little less rounded as the 83 Yquem I had 2 weeks ago. Awesome.
Boots, pasties, scanty panties and a ten gallon hat: The nose is softer and sweet. Some strawberry and peaches. This was so thick on the palate it was shocking…approaching the viscosity of liquid jello. Ultra ripe berries and honey. And another wow.
1999 Mr. K DBS: Nose of candied citrus and berries. Palate is thick and full of more candied fruit. Long lingering finish, but the previous too were so good this just seemed ok. I imagine this is much much better than it seemed.
Again, thanks JB, you rock! Those kids sure are lucky, and so are we.
BTW, I dont think Ill live to see this again, but we kind of had to push people into taking open bottles home and finishing SQN bottles off! You could have had seconds and in some cases thirds of everything in the lineup! This was a crazy tasting.
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