Sine Qua Non!

Clearly, I go to a lot of wine tastings. I admit that I am totally spoiled and do my best not to get jaded by all the great wines I get to taste, and try to keep my enthusiasm about trying new wines. Inevitably, tasting wine becomes somewhat routine. But not last night. Some friends and I have been talking about doing a Sine Qua Non dinner for sometime now. Last night, we did it. I'm going to make the broad, sweeping overgeneralization, that Sine Qua Non wines, to me, are without a doubt, consistently, THE best wines coming out of California right now. I've been on their waiting list for around 2 years now, and have never been able to get a single bottle directly. For my birthday in February though, one of my best friends sent me a bottle of the 2006 Sine Qua Non Hoo Doo Man, a blend of Rousanne Viognier and Chard. This was my contribution to the dinner, and our first wine while we sood outside and waited for our table inside. Man, oh man.
There are wines, to me, that can be debated, wines, that, one might want to reflect on, and almost lean into the glass to search for a better understanding of some of the components. There are other wines that hit you over the head with their power and fruit. And then, there are wines, like people, that come onto the scene without great fanfare, but shine with a pure power of being, and leave a lasting impression. This Hoo Doo Man was the last. The chardonnay was the element that showed the most to me, and usually, would be my least favorite of the three. Here, though, the beautiful balance and acidity, created such a perfect condition for the fruit to come through and linger, that the finish must've lasted for 45 seconds. The "presence" of this wine was, for me, revelatory. That alone, not even to mention the fruit characteristics, was enough to stun me. All this, just standing around outside, on Silverlake Blvd, while taking in the early LA evening.


Once our table was ready, we sat down and started on the business of getting our appetizers in order. We got some pan seared sea scallops, which I very carefully sliced down into thin strips to pair with the Hoo Doo man. You'd never believe how many strips you can get out of half of a scallop when the pairing is that perfect.
Next up, carpaccio di manzo (raw slices of filet mignon with asparagus and black truffle) to be paired with the 2001 Sine Qua Non No. 6 Pinot Noir (Grapes sourced from the Shea Vineyard in Oregon) The fruit in the no. 6 was just right. It was aromatically quite similar to the other pinots from Shea vineyard I've had before, like Brian Loring's, but it was the texture that Krankl nailed so perfectly with this vintage. His ability to draw out the native characteristics of fruit, and coax them to take an extra long stroll down the catwalk, spinning ever so gracefully before returning back behind the curtain.


The menus at Domenico, a yellow imitation alligator (I think) I'd need to have one of my more handbag savvy friends weigh in on it...


My Osso Buco (Veal Shank) with gold leaf on top. For the Secondi, after our zuppa, of course, we had the 2001 SQN Midnight Oil (Syrah). We had these popped as soon as we sat down, but even still, I think, The Midnight Oil could've benefitted from a little more time to open up and stretch. All said, it was fantastic. Depth of fruit, power, grace. Stunning finish. The greatest testament is that I had a perfectly cooked osso buco and didn't pine for a Brunello for a moment.


No room for dessert, but we did have to reach into the bag once more, to pull out a 375ml of the 2001 SQN Pagan Poetry Rose. Like all SQN's Manifred won't put the varietals on the label, but an educated guess would be Grenache and Syrah. The table leaned towards thinking Grenache, more praise for Krankl. Who makes an 01 Rose that holds up in 2009? Who? Krankl, that's who.