The mystery of Sine Qua Non

Sine Qua Non, the California syrah that reduces even the most hardened wine collectors to spent lees, has no equal in more ways than one. First, it is probably the most collectable wine on the market even though it sells for more than $200 a bottle. No one seems to drink it — I recently read a story that estimated far less than 30 percent are consumed. Most sit like museum pieces in cellars of the most elite collectors who either sell them for profit or prominently display them for visitors to see.

Its winemaker and owner don’t agree to interviews or allow for any visitors. They don’t need any marketing or promotion — just the frustration of not being able to buy the product. Some people have been on the waiting list for years.

For years I wanted to taste the wine just to see what the fuss was all about. Finally, got my chance when a good friend and collector opened a bottle after I put together a program and tasting of the wines of the Languedoc-Roussillon region. He and his wife were headed there for a month. It was quite a generous reward.

Now that I’ve tasted the wine, I get it. I don’t think I have ever tasted a syrah of this caliber and that includes some the best wines from the northern Rhone Valley. Of course, stylistically it quite different from the massive syrahs made in northern Rhone. The Sine Qua Non is more extracted, more hedonistic. The 2011 Dark Blossom, blended with grenache and petite sirah, was loaded with forward and young black fruit flavors and layers of herbs and spice. Big tannins make it a keeper for sure. Even at 11 years, this wine could last at least another 10.

I may not be able to afford to buy it — if I lived long enough to get off the waiting list — but I’m blessed to have tasted it. It will go down as one of my favorite all-time wines.

The value of blind tastings

As often as I embarrass myself in a blind tasting, it is essential to measuring a wine without prejudice. How many times have you — or someone in your circle — chosen a favorite based on cost or region? A $100 cabernet sauvignon must be better than one that sells for $25, right? Burgundy pinot noirs must be better than one from California, right?

The other day among friends we submitted ourselves to four sparkling wines: one from Champagne, one from Oregon, one from South Africa and one from England. All I asked is for the knowledgeable tasters to tell me which one they liked the best. The champagne was very good, but it was the Nyetimber from England that was judged the favorite. And, many thought it was champagne.

It was the result I was hoping for. I recently wrote a magazine article on the growing success of the English sparkling wine industry. I was blown away by the quality of these wines and their similarities to champagne. British winemakers are using the same grapes grown in similar soil and using the same traditional winemaking process. Temperatures in the southern region, thanks to climate warming, are as perfect as those in Champagne. In fact, as temperatures rise in Champagne, England has a better future. More than 70 percent of the wine that comes from these vineyards is sparkling.

Would anyone have judged the English wine superior had they seen the label? I doubt it. In fact, restaurateurs who carry Nyetimber in my town say it takes some convincing. But when the adventurous diners try it, they are universally delighted.

Subsequent to the sparkling wine tasting, we blind tasted four reds and asked to guess on their grape variety or region. I was convinced the first one was a blend from the Rhone Valley and the second was from Rioja. The third I couldn’t guess and the last I thought to be another Rhone.

All of them were from the Paso Robles region of the Central Coast. They were stunning, expensive wines Three were from the 2014 vintage, the fourth was a 2010.

The Booker Vineyard The Ripper was grenache, so I at least had the grape variety right. The second was a grenache/syrah blend from Law Estate — hardly close to Rioja. The third was the 2010 L’Aventure Cote a Cote, a blend of mostly syrah and mourvedre. The last wine — the 2014 Saxum Broken Stones — was a blend of grenache, syrah and mourvedre. All were stunning wines but I liked the Law Estate the best and close behind was the legendary Saxum.

As I said, blind tastings are humbling experiences when you stick your neck out. But they taught me a lot.