I hestiate to post notes on wines like this since they are so rare and
notes really don't do them justice. I've been able to pick up a
number of SQN wines over the years and they range from great to
weird. The 2004 SQN "Into The Dark Grenache" is great. It's a blend
of Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah and Viognier coming in at 15.5% alcohol
yet not a bit hot. The color is a dark red with a medium heavy
weight. The nose is effusive and full of ripe fruits...cherries, red
berries and red plums with a mixture of different spices and vanilla.
The wine is silken on the palate, rich but not cloying, oaked but not
oaky with a nice acidity that keeps it fresh on the palate. Very pure
flavors of red fruits and spice with a long finish. It bears a strong
similarity to a new age, full throttle CNP but is just a bit more
integreted and restrained. I simply loved this wine and it's hard to
be objective about it. Probably my WOTY so far this year.

In article
>,
"Bi!!" > wrote:

> I hestiate to post notes on wines like this since they are so rare and
> notes really don't do them justice. I've been able to pick up a
> number of SQN wines over the years and they range from great to
> weird. The 2004 SQN "Into The Dark Grenache" is great. It's a blend
> of Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah and Viognier coming in at 15.5% alcohol
> yet not a bit hot. The color is a dark red with a medium heavy
> weight. The nose is effusive and full of ripe fruits...cherries, red
> berries and red plums with a mixture of different spices and vanilla.
> The wine is silken on the palate, rich but not cloying, oaked but not
> oaky with a nice acidity that keeps it fresh on the palate. Very pure
> flavors of red fruits and spice with a long finish. It bears a strong
> similarity to a new age, full throttle CNP but is just a bit more
> integreted and restrained. I simply loved this wine and it's hard to
> be objective about it. Probably my WOTY so far this year.

They are so hard to find. Good get there Bi!!. When I can find them they
are very enjoyable wines for me. I enjoy the weirdness occasionally.

On Jul 10, 11:24�am, Lawrence Leichtman > wrote:
> In article
> >,
>
> �"Bi!!" > wrote:
> > I hestiate to post notes on wines like this since they are so rare and
> > notes really don't do them justice. �I've been able to pick up a
> > number of SQN wines over the years and they range from great to
> > weird. �The 2004 SQN "Into The Dark Grenache" is great. �It's a blend
> > of Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah and Viognier coming in at 15.5% alcohol
> > yet not a bit hot. �The color is a dark red with a medium heavy
> > weight. �The nose is effusive and full of ripe fruits...cherries, red
> > berries and red plums with a mixture of different spices and vanilla.
> > The wine is silken on the palate, rich but not cloying, oaked but not
> > oaky with a nice acidity that keeps it fresh on the palate. �Very pure
> > flavors of red fruits and spice with a long finish. �It bears a strong
> > similarity to a new age, full throttle �CNP but is just a bit more
> > integreted and restrained. �I simply loved this wine and it's hard to
> > be objective about it. �Probably my WOTY so far this year.
>
> They are so hard to find. Good get there Bi!!. When I can find them they
> are very enjoyable wines for me. I enjoy the weirdness occasionally.

You know, I enjoy the weirdness myself. His white wines can be
especially weird often with strange blends but it's hard to stop
drinking them once you've started. A few years ago I came across a
few bottles of a white called "The Good Girl" that was 50% Chardonnay,
and 25% Viognier and 25% Roussanne. It was weird, but hard to stop
drinking it. It had the mothfeel and nuance of a white Rhone wine,
the depth and richness of a California Chardonnay and the power and
finesse of a GC white Burg. I don't want these wines everyday but the
may well be the best crafted wines in the USA.

Bi!! wrote:

> You know, I enjoy the weirdness myself. His white wines can be
> especially weird often with strange blends but it's hard to stop
> drinking them once you've started. A few years ago I came across a
> few bottles of a white called "The Good Girl" that was 50% Chardonnay,
> and 25% Viognier and 25% Roussanne. It was weird, but hard to stop
> drinking it. It had the mothfeel and nuance of a white Rhone wine,
> the depth and richness of a California Chardonnay and the power and
> finesse of a GC white Burg. I don't want these wines everyday but the
> may well be the best crafted wines in the USA.

You guys have the advantage of me re SQN wines: I've never seen, let
alone tasted, one (and, at their price, I'm unlikely to). For sheer
weirdness in CA winemaking, though, it's hard to top Scholium Project.
The two encounters I've had with their wines have been memorable, if
bizar hazy, pinkish "white" wines with very earthy, unusual flavors.
Kind of like a homegrown Gravner or Radikon to me. Those wines make
Kalin and Coturri look downright mainstream ;-)

Mark Lipton


--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

On Jul 10, 12:07�pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> Bi!! wrote:
> > You know, I enjoy the weirdness myself. �His white wines can be
> > especially weird often with strange blends but it's hard to stop
> > drinking them once you've started. �A few years ago I came across a
> > few bottles of a white called "The Good Girl" that was 50% Chardonnay,
> > and 25% Viognier and 25% Roussanne. �It was weird, but hard to stop
> > drinking it. �It had the mothfeel and nuance of a white Rhone wine,
> > the depth and richness of a California Chardonnay and the power and
> > finesse of a GC white Burg. �I don't want these wines everyday but the
> > may well be the best crafted wines in the USA.
>
> You guys have the advantage of me re SQN wines: I've never seen, let
> alone tasted, one (and, at their price, I'm unlikely to). �For sheer
> weirdness in CA winemaking, though, it's hard to top Scholium Project.
> The two encounters I've had with their wines have been memorable, if
> bizar hazy, pinkish "white" wines with very earthy, unusual flavors.
> � Kind of like a homegrown Gravner or Radikon to me. �Those wines make
> Kalin and Coturri look downright mainstream ;-)
>
> Mark Lipton
>
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: �http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

The weirdness continues.....within the hour I was offered Scholium
Cardonnay to taste and purchase. I thought that the chard was
oxidized, maderized and any other kind of "ized" that can happen to
wine. It tasted a bit off and had no varietal character or
relationship to any chardonnay I have ever drank. It's my
understanding that they want it that way.

In article
>,
"Bi!!" > wrote:

> On Jul 10, 12:07?pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> > Bi!! wrote:
> > > You know, I enjoy the weirdness myself. ?His white wines can be
> > > especially weird often with strange blends but it's hard to stop
> > > drinking them once you've started. ?A few years ago I came across a
> > > few bottles of a white called "The Good Girl" that was 50% Chardonnay,
> > > and 25% Viognier and 25% Roussanne. ?It was weird, but hard to stop
> > > drinking it. ?It had the mothfeel and nuance of a white Rhone wine,
> > > the depth and richness of a California Chardonnay and the power and
> > > finesse of a GC white Burg. ?I don't want these wines everyday but the
> > > may well be the best crafted wines in the USA.
> >
> > You guys have the advantage of me re SQN wines: I've never seen, let
> > alone tasted, one (and, at their price, I'm unlikely to). ?For sheer
> > weirdness in CA winemaking, though, it's hard to top Scholium Project.
> > The two encounters I've had with their wines have been memorable, if
> > bizar hazy, pinkish "white" wines with very earthy, unusual flavors.
> > ? Kind of like a homegrown Gravner or Radikon to me. ?Those wines make
> > Kalin and Coturri look downright mainstream ;-)
> >
> > Mark Lipton
> >
> > --
> > alt.food.wine FAQ: ?http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com
>
> The weirdness continues.....within the hour I was offered Scholium
> Cardonnay to taste and purchase. I thought that the chard was
> oxidized, maderized and any other kind of "ized" that can happen to
> wine. It tasted a bit off and had no varietal character or
> relationship to any chardonnay I have ever drank. It's my
> understanding that they want it that way.

The Scholium wines were just too weird for me. If that was what they
were going for who do they expect to sell to? Sine Qua Nons have always
been birthday gifts etc. At 160-4000 per bottle I'm not buying them
either.

Lawrence Leichtman wrote:

> The Scholium wines were just too weird for me. If that was what they
> were going for who do they expect to sell to? Sine Qua Nons have always
> been birthday gifts etc. At 160-4000 per bottle I'm not buying them
> either.

Judging from the number of notes found on Cellartracker's site (198),
there's no shortage of people buying -- and drinking -- Scholium Project
wines. And the vast majority of notes are positive, too. There's also
a startling array of different wines, probably none of them made in
quantity. De gustibus non disputandum.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

On Jul 10, 5:00�pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> Lawrence Leichtman wrote:
> > The Scholium wines were just too weird for me. If that was what they
> > were going for who do they expect to sell to? Sine Qua Nons have always
> > been birthday gifts etc. At 160-4000 per bottle I'm not buying them
> > either.
>
> Judging from the number of notes found on Cellartracker's site (198),
> there's no shortage of people buying -- and drinking -- Scholium Project
> wines. �And the vast majority of notes are positive, too. �There's also
> a startling array of different wines, probably none of them made in
> quantity. �De gustibus non disputandum.
>
> Mark Lipton
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: �http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

It's a hard one to figure out. They released seven different labels
at Scholium with a total release of a little over 500 cases for 2008
and some bottlings were so small that they are listed in the number of
bottles produced (162 for one and 192 for another) yet there are
fairly large numbers of reviews on a number of wine forums. I just
had an offer from a small retailer in Colorado for three bottles three
different 2007 whites from Scholium and just last night was offered
two bottles from a local wine geek. It seems like there is a lot of
it around for a wine made in such tiny quantities.

In article
>,
"Bi!!" > wrote:

> On Jul 10, 5:00?pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> > Lawrence Leichtman wrote:
> > > The Scholium wines were just too weird for me. If that was what they
> > > were going for who do they expect to sell to? Sine Qua Nons have always
> > > been birthday gifts etc. At 160-4000 per bottle I'm not buying them
> > > either.
> >
> > Judging from the number of notes found on Cellartracker's site (198),
> > there's no shortage of people buying -- and drinking -- Scholium Project
> > wines. ?And the vast majority of notes are positive, too. ?There's also
> > a startling array of different wines, probably none of them made in
> > quantity. ?De gustibus non disputandum.
> >
> > Mark Lipton
> > --
> > alt.food.wine FAQ: ?http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com
>
> It's a hard one to figure out. They released seven different labels
> at Scholium with a total release of a little over 500 cases for 2008
> and some bottlings were so small that they are listed in the number of
> bottles produced (162 for one and 192 for another) yet there are
> fairly large numbers of reviews on a number of wine forums. I just
> had an offer from a small retailer in Colorado for three bottles three
> different 2007 whites from Scholium and just last night was offered
> two bottles from a local wine geek. It seems like there is a lot of
> it around for a wine made in such tiny quantities.

Went to a friends house in Healdsburg and he had 8 different bottles all
made in 2006 and 2007 and none with the same label.