We tried last night (11/6/13) some New Qupe Wines Nov 6, 2013
1. Qupe Viognier Ibarra-YoungVnyd/SYV (12.6%) 2012: Pale gold color; lovely floral/Viog/pear/peach quite
perfumed nose; bit tart floral/Viog/pear/peach some restrained flavor; med.long strong perfumed/floral/Viog/
peach/pear attractive finish; not as lush/ripe as previous Viogs but speaks Viog loud & clear in a non-
DollyParton style; quite a pretty Viog. $30.00
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2. Qupe Viognier Sawyer-LindquistVnyd/EdnaVlly (13.2%; DemeterCertified) 2012: Med.light gold color; low-key
bit mineral/chalky/stony/metallic strong pear/floral/Viog bit smokey/oak quite aromatic nose; bit softer/
richer/lusher less perfumed strong pear/Viog/floral rather quiet flavor; very long spicy/pear/Viog bit
mineral/stoney finish; a bit quieter and less exhuberant fruity but more interesting than the I-Y; quite
a lovely/low-key balanced Viog. $35.00
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3. Qupe Chard Block 11/BienNacidoReserve/SMV (13.5%) 2009: Med.gold color; rather strong toasty/butterscotch/
smokey/oak strong ripe/melony/Chard/spicy/lemony attractive nose; soft/ripe/lush some toasty/smokey/oak very
strong melony/Chard/ripe/pineapple/lemon/spicy flavor; very long lush/ripe some toasty/smokey/oak/butterscotch
ripe/melony/Chard/spicy/pineapple finish; an attractive ripe Chard at a good price. $30.00
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4. Qupe Roussanne BienNacidoHillsideEstate/SMV (EB; 12.5%) 2010: Med.dark gold color; beautiful honeysuckle/Rouss/
floral/honeyed light smokey/toasty/oak bit earthy/mineral some complex nose; fairly tart rich/lush/structured
strong floral/Rouss/honeysuckle/appley/spicy light smokey/oak flavor; very long ripe/lush/floral/honeysuckle/
Rouss/spicy/appley light smokey/oak slight earthy/mineral finish; a rich/balanced/structured Rouss; not as
powerful as previous yrs but should age well for 10 yrs. $40.00
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5. Sawyer-LindquistVnyd PinotNoir (EdnaVlly; DemeterCertified; 13%) 2010: Med.color; rather toasty/charred/oak/
pencilly/smokey bit Burgundian slight herbal/earthy/dried rosemary light cherry/PN nose; rather toasty/charred/
pencilly/oak slight Burgundian/earthy/muushroomy some cherry/PN bit lean/tight quite attractive flavor w/
light/tight tannins; very long Burgundian/toasty/charred/smokey/pencilly/oak some cherry/bright/earthy/PN
finish w/ light tannins; a bit lean/austere/tight/wirey bit Burgundian Pinot that needs several yrs of age yet.
$50.00
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6. Qupe Syrah CentralCoast (13.5%) 2011: Med.dark color; very attractive Syrah/blackberry/spicy light toasty/smokey/
oak rather attractive nose; fairly tart smooth/balanced some blackberry/Syrah/spicy/black cherry cola light toasty/
oak flavor w/ light/smooth tannins; med.long light spicy/blackberry/Syrah light toasty/oak finish w/ light/smooth
tannins; an attractive smooth/balanced Syrah w/ plenty of pure Syrah fruit at a great price. $17.00
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7. Qupe Syrah AlisosVnyd/SBC (13.7%) 2010: Med.dark color; lovely spicy/blackberry/Syrah/black cherry/bit DrPepper some
complex nose; bit tart spicy/blackberry/Syrah/DrPepper balanced flavor w/ modest/smooth tannins; long slightly tart
spicy/blackberry/Syrah/DrPepper balanced finish w/ light/smooth tannins; a nicely balanced Syrah but not as
distinctive as the other SV Syrahs. $35.00
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8. Qupe Syrah PurismaMtnVnyd/SantaYnezVlly (13.9%; DemeterCertified) 2010: Dark color; strong riper licorice/black
cherry/blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry slight leathery/meaty lovely nose; bit tart ripe/licorice/black cherry/boysenberry/
blackberry/Syarh light meaty/gamey/maybe a bit bretty flavor w/ some tannins; very long ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/
Syrah slight bretty/meaty/leathery finish w/ some smooth tannins; shows more ripeness than the other SV Syrahs;
very fairly priced at $35.00
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9. Qupe Syrah BienNacidoVnyd/SMV (13.5%) 2010: Med.dark color; strong very spicy/black cherry/blackberry/Syrah light
licorice/pungent light toasty/oak quite spicy some peppery/cold-climate lovely nose; rather tart very spicy/black
cherry/blackberry/Syrah light licorice/peppery/cold-climate slight toasty/smokey/oak slight bretty/gamey flavor w/
modest/smooth tannins; very long strong black cherry/blackberry/Syrah/very spicy bit peppery/cold-climate light
toasty/oak finish w/ modest/smooth tannins; shows lots of BienNacido/black cherry character and a very good value
at $25.00
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10. Qupe Syrah BienNacido HillsideEstate/SantaMariaVlly (EB; 13.5%) 2008: Dark color; rather smokey/pungent/pencilly/
light oak slight Rhonish/coffee strong black cherry/black cherry cola/Syrah/blackberry rather complex nose; somewhat
smokey/pungent/pencilly/oak strong spicy/black cherry cola/Syrah/blackberry light Rhonish/coffee/peppery very
balanced complex flavor w/ some smooth tannins; very long/lingering very spicy/black cherry/cola/Syrah/blackberry
bit Rhonish/peppery/coffee complex finish w/ round/smooth tannins; a lovely/balanced Syrah w/ some nice Rhonish
character at a good price. $45.00
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11. Qupe Syrah Sawyer-LindquistVnyd/EdnaVlly (13.5%; DemeterCertified) 2010: Med.dark color; quite black pepper/
cold-climate strong black cherry/Syrah/blackberry bit Rhonish/espresso/black olive very spicy/complex nose;
rather tart/lean some cracked black pepper/cold-climate very strong blackberry/Syrah/very spicy slight Rhonish/
roasted/espresso/smokey flavor w/ some lean/hard tannins; very long tart/lean strong black pepper/cold-climate
strong very spicy/blackberry/Syrah some smokey/black olive/Rhonish/roasted/espresso finish w/ some hard tannins;
needs several yrs to soften a bit; my easy favorite of the SV Syrahs; quite a beautiful Syrah w/ a long future
ahead of it at a great price. $35.00
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12. Qupe Syrah Sonnie's Sawyer-LindquistVnyd/EdnaVlly (13.5%; DemeterCertified) 2010: Dark color; very strong
Rhonish/smokey/roasted/espresso/olive tapenade some cracked black pepper/cold-climate very strong very spicy/
blackberry/Syrah/peppery/RCCola beautiful/complex nose; bigger/extracted strong Rhonish/roasted/eespresso/smokey
strong very spicy/blackberry/Syrah fairly tart some smokey/oak complex flavor w/ fair tannins; very long/
lingering strong Rhonish/espresso/roasted/black pepper/black olive tapenade very strong blackberry/Syrah/very spicy/
peppery rich/very spicy finish w/ fair tannins; will go out 10-15 yrs; bigger/more extracted more Rhonish/complex
not as lean as the regular S-L; an exceptional classic Qupe Syrah & very faiirly priced at $55.00
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13. Qupe Syrah X-Block/BienNacidoVnyd/SMV (13.8%; 30'th Anniv 1982-2012: 20 yrs in the Shed with Jim;
Planted in 1973 to Riesling on own-roots/grafted to Syrah in 1986; 100% whole-cluster; 20 mo. in
Ermitage Fr.oak barrels; 8 brls) 2008: Very dark color; strong blackberry/black cherry/Syrah/black cherry cola
bit Rhonish/roasted/espresso some pungent/smokey/oak bit dusty/OV rather complex nose; bit tart big/lush strong
blackberry/Syrah/black cherry cola some roasted/Rhonish/espresso/black olive some smokey/toasty/oak bit pungent/
ozone/WWII beacon/graphite slight meaty/gamey dusty/OV very complex flavor w/ ample/smooth/well-integrated
tannins; very long/lingering intense blackberry/black cherry/Syrah/black cherry cola some pungent/smokey/oak
rather Rhonish/espresso/roasted dusty/OV very complex finish w/ ample/smooth tannins; my favorite of all these
Qupe Syrahs; a terrific Syrah w/ a good balance of intense SBCnty Syrah fruit and roasted/Rhonish character;
ample tannins but not hard or harsh on the palate; one of Calif's great Syrahs and will go out 10-20 yrs.
$100.00
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14. Qupe Syrah StolpmanVnyd/SantaYnezVlly (14.6%) 2006: Med.color w/ some bricking; some raisened/plummy/ripe
some black cherry/framboise/Syrah/blackberry rather pencilly/toasty/oak pleasant enough biit tired nose; soft
bit pencilly/oak light blackberry/Syrah/framboise bit tired flavor w/ lighht tannins; med. rather pencilly/oak/
smokey light blackberry/black cherry/Syrah/framboise finish w/ light tannins; seems a bit tired and somewhat
old before its time.
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15. Tensley Syrah ColsenCanyonVnyd/SBCnty (15.0%) 2012: Very dark color; intense blackberry/Syrah/black cherry/
framboise/kirsch very ripe/chocolaty some toasty/oak bit over-the-top intense nose; huge fruit bit off-dry very
ripe framboise/kirsch/black cherry/Syrah/Smuckers boysenberry jam some toasty/charred/oak chocolaty/Oz-style
flavor w/ light tannins; long intense fruit/kirsch/black cherry/Syrah very ripe/chocolaty some toasty/oak
finish w/ light tannins; a somewhat over-the-top/huge fruit/Oz-like/steroidal Syrah. $30.00
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And the usual stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. I have, of course, followed BobLindquist from the very start; the '82 PasoRobles Syrah from EstrellaRiverVnyd
grapes; one of the first great Syrahs produced that yr in Calif. That wine was still alive at 20 yrs when I had
it w/ Bob in Paso at a HdR.
Bob's Syrahs are not as big & extracted as many/most that come out of SBCnty. And for that reason, they often
don't show as dramatical when they're young. Which is why he was taken to the woodshed some yrs ago (where he
happened to run into SteveEdmunds hunkered down there) by Parker for his wines not being as good as they used
to be. Simply put, Parker just doesn't get Bob's Syrah. You have to have followed them from the very start.
Bob's Syrahs always show impeccable balance and really don't start to show their glories until they get some
age on them. It's that balance that allows them to age so well.
From BienNacido, Bob takes two blocks of Syrah; the X-Block and the Hillside. The X-Block was the original
Syrah block planted there and probably the oldest Syrah in SBCnty. I believe that RandallGrahm is the only
other winemaker to get grapes from that block, save a few tons that escapes to others from time to time.
Bob regards it as the best Syrah coming out of BienNacido, but thinks the Hillside block will, with age, equal it.
The X-Block is planted on the far Southern reaches of BN as the slope climbs up out of the gravelly flats.
The Hillside block was planted high up on the ridge South of the wnry by the Millers at Bob's request and most
other producers who get BN Syrah get from this block. I seem to recall they also have another small Syrah block
planted further up the canyon to the East of the wnry.
I've been pretty impressed w/ the wines I've been seeing coming from their Sawyer-Lindquist Ranch up in the
EdnaVlly. I expect them to show even more impressive as that vnyd matures.
The S-L vnyd was recently sold, but it will continue to be BioDynamic farmed at Bob & Louisa will continue
to get those grapes. CharlesBanks recently bought a majority share in Qupe (don't know about Verdad), but
Bob will continue to be the winemaker. This is a good move as it will allow Bob to focus on what he does best....
the winemaking.
Tom