Spencer Spetnagel

9.0

Lemon verbena and minerality dominate the high tone nose. Playful and light across the palate, but has gorgeous depth to fill all the surfaces. A lingering and nuanced finish. Can’t wait to put my efforts into these vines. Thanks Isabelle for this vintage. — 7 years ago

Roman Sukley

10

2005 Sine Qua Non "The 17th Nail in My Cranium" Sta. Rita Hills Syrah
Buckle your chinstraps folks because tonight we’re headed to the wine world equivalent of the summit of Mt. Everest. The absolute pinnacle in the Universe of wine for yours truly. The “it just don’t get any better than this” moment as far as grapes are concerned. Let me begin first with the name of this magic elixir. If memory serves, it was derived from a combination of the fact that this was the 17th Syrah produced in the Garage d’Or otherwise known as Sine Qua Non, and, in that same year, Manfred was felled by a rogue barrel requiring several staples to close the gash to his cranium, hence... "The 17th Nail in My Cranium"
The wine is a blend of 96.5% Syrah and 3.5% Viognier which was aged 38+ months prior to bottling. % alcohol. 4 hour decant at cellar temperature. Achromatic Raven black motor oil in my Zalto. Undoubtedly, the wines I find most compelling are of the “swirl, sniff and contemplate” variety, and this one might just set the benchmark. Explosive aromatic potpourri of blackberry jam, roasted coffee, fresh ground black pepper, graphite and spice with a faint floral arrangement lurking somewhere in the background. On the palate, sweet cherry compote and black currant with undertones of roasted game and black olives. A big, full bodied wine that’s light on its feet. A tightrope walker. A powerhouse with impeccable manners. Elegant and lithesome. A ballet dancer. Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov in his prime. Complex, with layers of flavors in beautiful, perfect harmony. Crosby, Stills & Nash singing “Suite Judy Blue Eyes.” The Beach Boys, “Good Vibrations.” Perfect balance. Pure, silky mouth feel. Immeasurable finish. And I mean that literally, as in it just continues on and on. Just utter perfection. A wine that is in fact so entirely perfect as to eliminate the need for a search for an alternative. The last word. To paraphrase The Bard, this wine “might (just) be the be-all and the end-all.”

— 7 years ago

Kelly Kornet

9.1

Good red wine at a great price. — 8 years ago

Bryan Vanderkruk

9.0

Dry, oaky, lots of dark fruit, cherries, chocolate, delicious. Pairs great with smoked meat and duck confit. — 8 years ago

with Corrie

Thomas Brenner

8.9

America's first Petite Sirah, coming from the Livermore Valley on the San Francisco Bay: Big and bold, yet smooth, with a telltale heart of blue and raven-black berry fruityness and spice. Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!”
Quoth the Raven “Livermore.” — 8 years ago

Shay A

9.5

This run of about 13 PHENOMENAL wines I'm posting are from the SQN wine dinner/WNH interview I did at @Shawn R 's house last night. I was like a kid in a candy store on Christmas. What an absolutely EPIC night! Love ya brother!

Gotta be honest...I loved this way more than I was expecting to. Not only did Shawn host us for an SQN Raven Series dinner, he opened this up to get the whites started! Amber in the glass. Aromatics were mainly aged honey and a bit of caramel, but the body, texture and finish of this wine is where it shined. Rich honeycomb coated the palate, a surprising amount of acidity to the finish with hints of lemon cream. This is a top 3 white wine for me. Can't imagine trying other vintages. — 9 years ago

with Shawn

William Hughes

9.2

Great Odin’s Raven! Every bottle of this high quality, yet entry level Two Hands Shiraz, gets better than the last!
No longer that familiar black-purple ink color, rather the bricking is now a fine garnet. I could smell this all day! Aromas of tar, creosote, black plum, stewed blackberries, and a high end of wildflowers. Tar, olive juice, dark fruits with a touch of citrus oil all wonderfully mixed. I certainly think the screwcap helped the longevity, but the balance of acidity and silken tannins did their parts well. — 7 years ago

Erika B

8.9

Smoky medium@body with medium acid. tannins are medium, light enough for Thai food but also robust enough for a skirt steak. Not bad for $30 — 7 years ago

TJ Young

9.0

Blimey it’s limey, and oh so dry. 3 hours later, my lips are still puckered. No matter how much water I drink, my mouth is still dry as the desert. Oh musty oak, oh dark raven! — 8 years ago

with Cass

Clare McNamara

9.5

Definitely the Becker favorite ✌🏻 — 8 years ago

with Christopher

Michelle Waddington

9.0

Lightly sweet and smooth — 8 years ago

Roman Sukley

9.9

2008 Sami-Odi 'Hoffmann Dallwitz' MCMXII Syrah
Sourced from 94 vines, planted between 1888 & 1912.
Harvested 14th March 2008.
Yields of 32 hectolitres per hectare.
388 Bottles filled.
Label: ‘Villie-Morgon’ postcard;
Image sourced Paris 2008. A special treat from my friends @chuck_gudas in conspiracy with @fraser_mckinley, a rare treat of an early Sami-Odi offering. We decanted this wine for several hours, and then re-visited 24 hours later, and the wine continued to evolve and improve. Explosive nose of freshly baked cherry pie. More bright red fruits on the palate with a brambley undertone, and soft silky tannins. Wonderful mouth feel with a long, lingering finish. Thank you Chuck and Fraser! — 8 years ago

John T

8.9

Very pleasant Texas Malbec. Consider it a solid red table wine. — 7 years ago

Chris

9.1

Newly in love with Shiraz, I recently purchased a couple locally in our wine shop. This is smooth, soft to the nose and exactly the same to the pallet.
Very enjoyable! — 7 years ago

Paul J

9.3

Classic barnyard nose! Smoke, tobacco, pencil shavings, and mild cherry. Very nice and not over powering. I think European wines definitely taste better in Europe! Conspiracy???? — 8 years ago

with Brooke

Norman

9.3

The Raven was better but I still loved this wine. Debating if I should have switched order. Probably. — 8 years ago

with Ginny

Allyson Vaccaro-Pelton

9.0

Earthy and dry — 8 years ago

Judy

9.2

Earthy notes, clean — 8 years ago

Sam Bernardo

8.9

Pretty darn good for a semi sweet — 8 years ago

Norman

9.6

Got very little of this and I missed out. Amazing — 8 years ago

with Rich, Jason and 2 others