2016 Qupé, Marsanne, Santa Barbara County, California, USA
Critics reviews
William Kelley - 27/04/2018
About this WINE
Qupe
Bob Lindquist turned a one time hobby into a full-time job when armed with a small bank loan he established Qupe Vineyards at Santa Maria in Santa Barbara Country. Today he produces 20,000 cases a year with all the wines being made at the same winery as those of Au Bon Climat.
He produces 3 different bottlings of Syrah - Central Coast, Los Olivos (blended with 40% Mourvedre) and Bien Nacido. Lindquist specialises in Rhone-style wines but aslo produces superb Chardonnay. The Bien Nacido Cuvee is a deliciously rich and aromatic blend of two-thirds Chardonnay and one-third Viognier.
In 2015 Bob Lindquist received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhone Rangers organisation. Only the third to receive it, the other two being our other Californian friends – Randall Grahm (Bonny Doon) and Bob Haas (Tablas Creek).
Central Coast
Central Coast AVA is an all-encompassing appellation used for wines blended across several counties in the broader central coast viticultural region.
The associated counties (and their AVAs) are Alameda (Livermore Valley); Contra Costa; Monterey (Arroyo Seco, Carmel Valley, Chalone, San Lucas); San Benito (Cienega Valley, Lime Kiln Valley, Mount Harlan, Paicines); San Luis Obispo (Arroyo Grande, Edna Valley, Paso Robles, York Mountain); Santa Clara Valley (most of Santa Cruz Mountains, San Ysidro); and Santa Barbara (Santa Maria Valley, Santa Ynez Valley).
Marsanne
Marsanne is the predominant white grape variety grown in the Northern Rhône where it is used to produce white St. Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage, and Hermitage. It is a tricky grape to cultivate, being susceptible to diseases and being particularly sensitive to extreme climatic changes - if growing conditions are too cool, then it fails to ripen fully and produces thin, insipid wines, while, if too hot, the resultant wines are blowsy, overblown and out of balance.
In the Northern Rhône it tends to be blended with around 15% Rousanne and produces richly aromatic, nutty wines which age marvellously - the best examples are from Hermitage and particularly from Chapoutier. Increasingly it is being grown in the Southern Rhône and Languedoc Roussillon where it is bottled as a single varietal or blended with Roussanne, Viognier, and sometimes Chardonnay. It is also grown very successfully in Victoria in Australia where some of the world`s oldest Marsanne vines are to be found.
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Description
The 2016 Marsanne (which includes fully 25% Roussanne from the Ibarra-Young and Bien Nacido vineyards) opens in the glass with a lovely bouquet of smoke, lemon rind, candle wax and toasted macadamia nut. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied and elegantly textural, with bright acids, lovely purity and a crisp, stony finish. While the bulk of this cuve was bottled under Stelvin screw cap (as it has been since the 2014 vintage), Qup continue to bottle a palate of wine under cork for customers that wish to cellar itwhich is recommended for those with the patience to wait until the true interest, complexity and texture of Marsanne emerge. It's great value.
William Kelley - 27/04/2018
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