10 Sine Qua Non

Dinner at Nikushou.  All Sine Qua Non lineup.

Flight one:  opened just prior to serving.

2000 Sine Qua Non The Boot - 52% chardonnay, 24% roussanne, and 24% viognier. 14.9% alcohol.  The nose was the ripest of the three whites, with caramelized sweetness like sugar cane.  This improved a lot later, but still rather short on the palate.

2001 Sine Qua Non Rien Ne Va Plus - 100% roussanne.  15.5% alcohol.  Nice toasty nose and really ripe.  Mature on the palate now.

2002 Sine Qua Non Whisperin' E - 50% roussanne, 31% viognier, and 19% chardonnay. 14.9% alcohol.  Really explosive nose with huge amount of toast, really beautiful with a little flint.  Really ripe on the palate, soft and kinda short on the finish.  Still going strong some 4 hours later.

Flight two:

1999 Sine Qua Non The Ox - 100% pinot noir. 14% alcohol. Really fragrant nose.  Served an hour after decanting.  A little meaty with leather notes.

2005 Sine Qua Non The Naked Truth - 90% grenache and 10% syrah. 15.8% alcohol.  Wow!  Really fragrant.  Definitely notes of black pepper, lot of dried herbs, a little green pepper.  Fucking good!

Flight three:

1996 Sine Qua Non Against the Wall - 92% syrah and 8% grenache.  14.5% alcohol.  Served 6½ hours after opening.  Smoky, sweet fruit, with coffee notes.  Very smooth.  So nice.  

2000 Sine Qua Non In Flagrante - 88% syrah, 10% grenach, 2% viognier.  14.9% alcohol.  Served 3 hours after opening.  Unfortunately corked, but showing some toasty notes.

2001 Sine Qua Non Midnight Oil - 96% syrah, 2.5% grenache, and 1.5% viognier. 14.9% alcohol.  A little ripe fruit and a little smoke on the nose.  Pretty nice.

2005 Sine Qua Non The 17th Nail in My Cranium - 97% syrah and 3% viognier.  15.8% alcohol.  Served 4½ hours after opening.   Really ripe and jammy, with metallic notes.  A really big wine.

2006 Sine Qua Non The Raven N° 5 - 93% syrah, 5% grenache, and 2% viognier. 15.5% alcohol.  Served 3½ hours after opening. Very minty, metallic, with ripe fruit.  Drinking really well now.

Full post on dinner is here.