In my early exploration of wine I have been easily convinced that what differentiates a good wine from a great wine is really a sense of place. Sure there are other elements of grape growing and vinification that clearly affect the end product, but some wines that are grown and produced perfectly still don't reach greatness. This gap to me most often represents the full expression of the terroir. I decided to explore my theory by visiting Qupe's tasting room in Los Olivos. I knew that winemaker Bob Lindquist grew and sourced a lot (around 50%) of his fruit from the Bien Nacido vineyards outside of Santa Maria. I've written about this vineyard before and felt that tasting several wines from different grapes and vintages but the same winemaker would help highlight to me what the sense of place can add to a wine.Bien Nacido is located outside of Santa Maria on California's Central Coast. North of Santa Barbara, but south of Paso Robles it is generally a cool climate vineyard most known for its beautiful Chardonnay and Pinot Noir fruit. Qupe doesn't just source their fruit from Bien Nacido, but also shares a winemaking facility at the vineyards with the distinguished Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat. While this association certainly aided Bob and his family in their winemaking start, they have independently moved towards the production of Rhone varietals and certainly developed their own reputation for producing outstanding wine.
The tasting room in Los Olivos also pours the Verdad and Ethan wines, which are a Spanish varietal focused line by Bob's wife Lousia and a few wines made by their son Ethan (which were showing spectacularly by the way). Quick side note, Ethan was pouring in the tasting room and did not introduce himself as the winemaker of this line. I later found a video in which I realized who was pouring and would have loved to ask a million questions had I known. Maybe next time.
2007 Chardonnay Bien Nacido Reserve - Block Eleven - This vintage produced a very small crop of Chardonnay, due to weather, so this bottle is 78% Chardonnay and 22% Roussanne. It has a nicely perfumed nose of tropical fruits, cream, and a touch of oak. On the palette it displayed pineapple, appricot, some nice creamy roundness with a touch of oak spice and a bit of mineral on the very long finish. This was an absolutely delicious, balanced wine and gets a 4 out of 5. It retails for $30, with 946 cases produced.
2007 Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard - Just recently bottled, this Syrah was a very ruby red with purple hues. It had a bright nose of red cherries, some vanilla, and a herbal/licorice/fennel thing that was very interesting to linger on for a minute. The taste gave way to deep purple fruits, some great herbal action, and just a hint of black pepper spice. The wine was balanced well with medium tannins and receives from me a 3.5 out of 5. The wine retails for $25.
2007 Syrah 'Aliso's Vineyard' - This wine, not sourced from Bien Nacido, was harvested substantially later than normal due to a cool year, and only produced 144 cases. It is 100% Syrah, and shows deep purple hues that fade to an orange at the outer rim. It had my favorite nose of the day with a sweet black berry compote component, and some clove. The wine was earthier than the other Syrah, with less of a fruit forward taste. I got plums with their skins, and lots of spice. The finish was significantly spicy and tannic indicating that this wine could be layed down for quite some time. This wine was my favorite of the tasting and gets a 4 out of 5. It retails for $35.
So my experiment to educate myself on the 'taste of a place' fell a little short only because the tasting room was only pouring two Bien Nacido sourced wines. Overall I enjoyed the wines and found them to express a cooler climate than the Paso Robles Syrahs I tasted later in the weekend. If you have the opportunity to taste through some of the Lindquist's wines I highly suggest it, as they are actually quite affordable for the quality they deliver and the sense of Central Coast that is expressed in them.
The tasting room in Los Olivos also pours the Verdad and Ethan wines, which are a Spanish varietal focused line by Bob's wife Lousia and a few wines made by their son Ethan (which were showing spectacularly by the way). Quick side note, Ethan was pouring in the tasting room and did not introduce himself as the winemaker of this line. I later found a video in which I realized who was pouring and would have loved to ask a million questions had I known. Maybe next time.
2007 Chardonnay Bien Nacido Reserve - Block Eleven - This vintage produced a very small crop of Chardonnay, due to weather, so this bottle is 78% Chardonnay and 22% Roussanne. It has a nicely perfumed nose of tropical fruits, cream, and a touch of oak. On the palette it displayed pineapple, appricot, some nice creamy roundness with a touch of oak spice and a bit of mineral on the very long finish. This was an absolutely delicious, balanced wine and gets a 4 out of 5. It retails for $30, with 946 cases produced.2007 Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard - Just recently bottled, this Syrah was a very ruby red with purple hues. It had a bright nose of red cherries, some vanilla, and a herbal/licorice/fennel thing that was very interesting to linger on for a minute. The taste gave way to deep purple fruits, some great herbal action, and just a hint of black pepper spice. The wine was balanced well with medium tannins and receives from me a 3.5 out of 5. The wine retails for $25.
2007 Syrah 'Aliso's Vineyard' - This wine, not sourced from Bien Nacido, was harvested substantially later than normal due to a cool year, and only produced 144 cases. It is 100% Syrah, and shows deep purple hues that fade to an orange at the outer rim. It had my favorite nose of the day with a sweet black berry compote component, and some clove. The wine was earthier than the other Syrah, with less of a fruit forward taste. I got plums with their skins, and lots of spice. The finish was significantly spicy and tannic indicating that this wine could be layed down for quite some time. This wine was my favorite of the tasting and gets a 4 out of 5. It retails for $35.
So my experiment to educate myself on the 'taste of a place' fell a little short only because the tasting room was only pouring two Bien Nacido sourced wines. Overall I enjoyed the wines and found them to express a cooler climate than the Paso Robles Syrahs I tasted later in the weekend. If you have the opportunity to taste through some of the Lindquist's wines I highly suggest it, as they are actually quite affordable for the quality they deliver and the sense of Central Coast that is expressed in them.
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