Same same here Mark. I’ve got one 2000 The Boot left…just don’t want to let it go from the cellar!
2 Likes
Years ago we found a mag of The Boot on the list at Martini House in Napa for something ridiculous like $250…while it was really good it was past peak, but far from dead.
1 Like
‘18 Zieharmonika is firing for a youngin! If you have a few I’d suggest a dabble; it was my only one, but glad to have cracked it.
Lots to enjoy here.
2 Likes
Distenta I rocks well with bbq ribs; I know, I know, it might be an unconventional pairing but worth considering if you have a few to start getting into them!
2 Likes
You are anything but conventional, my friend!
Happy 4th!
1 Like
I just had a 2005 SQN Syrah The 17th Nail in My Cranium and it was the best SQN I’ve had. Anyone else a fan of this one?
4 Likes
Why was it your favorite?
I thought it was very expressive and fairly complex, with an extraordinary plush mouthfeel, and concentrated without being overdone. Everything just seemed to be in the right place. Sometimes (mainly with young SQNs), I feel like there’s a bit too much of something (or of a lot of things) and/or I don’t feel the need to have more than 1 or 2 glasses. However, I felt this wine was very harmonious even though it was very much in the SQN style.
1 Like
Probably the best wine I have ever tried from M&E. Honorable mention to JFTLOI for reds.
3 Likes
My favorite SQN and one of my top 5 wines of all time. It’s been a while since I opened one, I would guess that it still has a long life ahead ?
2 Likes
It seems to still have almost its whole life ahead of it.
2 Likes
Just ripped into a distenta Grenache ‘19.
Monster, yes
Boozy, yes
Tasty, absolutely
If you have a few, check in on one, give it a little decant and it’ll be an evening well spent
2 Likes
2004 Sine Qua Non Into the Dark - USA, California, Central Coast (3/19/2025)
Last bottle from release…found it leaking a few months ago(have had a few sqn leakers) and stood it up since. A weds seems like a good time to kill it! Decanted for an hour…seems a slight roasted and VA at first…the 15.9 abv poking out…but some swirling and more air have seemed to calm it down, and darken it up a bit. Last bottle a few years ago suggested a Bordeaux-esk smoothness and regality…this bottle is not! Ripe and red fruited with wild berries and kirsch liqueur…intense sour tarts and white pepper spices…alc still showing…love the red licorice and graphite dryness…dusty cedar planks…woods smoke, cherry blossom florals mixed with mushroom. Last bottle showed some old leather and silk…this one is more angry and intense with its flavors…kind of reminds me of that 2007 Rayas hot mess? This wine is WAY better…but I was really expecting a little more elegance with the 21yrs of age…maybe the leakage pissed it off a bit, and it’s just not a happy camper? I know how great this wine can be, so I’ll blame it on the cork…still giving some pleasure though, so not a total loss. (92 points)
Posted from CellarTracker
4 Likes
Since Buzz posted, I’ve had the following:
2020 Distenta II Grenache
2017 Tectumque White
2009 The Thrill Of… Syrah
2022 Distenta IV White
2007 Next of Kyn (magnum)
2017 Next of Kyn (magnum)
2020 Distenta II White
2015 Trouver l’Arène Syrah
2017 Next of Kyn Número Três Touriga Nacional
2014 Capo dei Putti Syrah
2019 Distenta Grenache
2021 Eleven Confessions Grenache
2019 Distenta I White
2018 Ziehharmonika Syrah
2019 Eleven Confessions Grenache
2019 Eleven Confessions Syrah
Spanning 15 years and lot of different grapes, I have noticed themes that seems to run through them all.
Some of the older wines (2004 and earlier in particular) had a “devil may care” attitude that was fun and I love. IMO, starting with the 2005 vintage, the wines are, to my palate, much more structured and built to age than older wines.
This is even more true for the wines made since 2017.
That’s not to suggest that the older vintages don’t age. In fact, despite the estimates from Parker and others, I think the older wines have aged far better than anybody (except perhaps the Krankls) anticipated. But I bet many of these current vintages will outlast me (I’m 57) or at least come close.
I’ve had several red around the 20-year old mark that were still quite fresh and vibrant. In fact, the complaint that I see thrown around most of the time is that they don’t age into secondary and tertiary flavors like Old World wines tend to do. I see that as a positive, not a negative. If I wanted my wine to taste completely differently than it did upon release, I don’t think I’d be into wine. I do appreciate the evolution, as it were, but it seems like a wine that doesn’t make stepwise changes and instead changes slowly along the same trajectory is much more interesting and (again) IMO, more of an ideal.
One other difference is that the newer wines need more air than the older wines. I think Manfred’s wines have always benefited from plenty of decant time, but the newer ones need even more. Unfortunately, I don’t usually plan ahead so we pop-and-pour, but when a little ends up in the bottle and I try it the next day (or two days later even) I’m always amazed at how good it is.
Which brings me to my final thought.
I’ve been fortunate to have consumed approximately 700 bottles of SQN, NoK, and TTT. And what I’ve found is this: although it can be interesting to discuss opinions on ageability, professional scores, styles, bottle size, etc., the most important thing, by far, is that they have provided pleasure. Whether with leftover pizza on a Tuesday night, or at the French Laundry, these continue to be superlative wines that always provide significant pleasure to me and the people with whom I drink.
And that’s all that really matters if you ask me 
9 Likes
recently for us: 2016 Sine Qua Non Grenache Dirt Vernacular, I felt like it still needs time to show its best, but was outstanding and delish nonetheless.
2 Likes
Love the Hoodoo Man
I haven’t been very fastidious about posting what I drink here (or even in updating CT inventory…alas), but did get into a 2018 Grenache Profuga with my standard barbeque platter order last night. This is such an obvious winning combination that it has become automatic to have an SQN Syrah or Grenache every time we do barbeque takeout. The wine had a black fruit profile and the heat showed a bit without food, but with brisket and a salad dressed with blue cheese dressing, all of that disappears and the wine is delicious and complementary in its assertive flavor.
Cheers,
fred
2 Likes
I love SQN with BBQ. Here in TX our BBQ is different than yours, and I’d be interested to try SQN with NC BBQ sometime.
1 Like
Our normal place is a multi-style blend of Texas and Carolina, so I typically get brisket, sausage (Texas style), and pulled pork (Carolina style). It works well, but best with brisket.
fred
1 Like