Region: Central Coast, California, US
Composition: 86% Syrah, 6% Grenache, 4% Counoise, 3% Mourvdre, 1% Cinsault
Background: Qupé is Bob Lindquist's "stone age winery" and his effort to bring people good wine at a price they can afford. The Central Coast Syrah is a blend of grapes sourced from eleven different vineyards (including Bien Nacido, Rancho Arroyo Grande, and other vineyards from which Qupé makes single-vineyard-designation wines) in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. The lots from each vineyard are fermented by themselves, and then blended together in stages as Lindquist makes the single-vineyard wine picks. The wine is aged for about a year in mostly neutral French barrels (and a tiny bit of new oak), before the 14,000-odd cases are bottled.
How can this wine be labeled "Syrah" with all that other stuff in there? Well, California law requires that only 75 percent of a wine need be labeled varietal in order to call the wine that. Since this wine has 86 percent Syrah in it, it can be called Syrah on the label. The same goes for anything with a county label (Santa Barbara County, Sonoma County, etc) on it: 75 percent of the grapes must be from that county, but up to 25 percent can come from somewhere else. Things get more strict if a wine claims it is from a specific American Viticultural Area (such as Dry Creek, Rockpile, etc): in that case, 85 percent of the grapes must be from that AVA. And if you claim a vineyard designation on the label; well, 95 percent of the grapes must be from that vineyard.
Notes: Really dark ruby in the glass. Slightly hot nose of spice (thyme, rosemary, something almost sprucey... cedar?) and blackberry/raspberry/licorice. A fair amount of that fruit and some earthy forest floor flavors are on the palate along with some very soft tannins and nice acids, all finished with a warm, pleasant, peppery finish. It's not the world's most complicated wine, but is enjoyable and very drinkable.
Cost: $15
Overall: B
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