Sine Qua Non

Dinner at Nikushou.

2005 Sine Qua Non The Petition - 37% viognier, 33% roussanne, 30% chardonnay.  Served 45 minutes after opening.  Honey on the nose, with lots of straw and Chinese licorice.  Some 1 hour and 45 minutes after opening, showing a really overripe palate.  More than 4½ hours after opening the wine was nice and ripe, with candied pineapple and a hint of bitterness.

2003 Sine Qua Non Sublime Isolation - 44% chardonnay, 37% roussanne, 19% viognier.  Served 50 minutes after opening.  Really ripe and big, very hot on both the palate and the nose.  Some 1 hour and 40 minutes after opening the nose was absolutely beautiful, and almost like candied pineapple.

1999 Sine Qua Non Tarantella - 39% roussanne, 33% chardonnay, 28% viognier.  Popped and poured.  Nose was beautiful with tons of sugar cane, a little flint, and a hint of savory notes.  Smooth on the palate.  A little more than 3 hours after opening, this wine was just fucking beautiful.

1998 Sine Qua Non Veiled - 100% pinot noir.  I was totally crushed that the bottle I brought was corked, and it didn't get any better with more aeration - nor did the cling wrap trick help.  But I do love the artwork on the label, and in fact it's arguably my favorite among the entire collection.

2005 Sine Qua Non Over and Out - 100% pinot noir.  Beautiful nose, lovely fruit with leather notes.  Gorgeous.  So sweet and candy-like.

2004 Sine Qua Non Into the Dark - 84% grenache, 8% mourvedre, 7% syrah, 1% viognier.  Seriously ripe and jammy.  Also very metallic.

2005 Atlantis Fe2O3, 2c - 93% grenache, 7% syrah.  Opened 2 hours before serving,  Really sweet nose, with lots of metallic notes and plenty of oak.  Beautiful.

Full post on dinner is here.