TN Quipe Santa Barbara, Los Olivos Vineyard Viognier 1991

Indeed surprising, thanks for report (Quipe or Qupe?)

The label says Qupe, but there is a typo in my notebook that lists my wines. Some of the longest lasting white California wines I have had came from around Santa Barbara, including many reserve Chardonnays from Au Bon Climat. In some areas there, fog rolls in to reduce the temperature and sunlight, so some grapes are grown under rather cool conditions there.

Thanks for the very interesting note. I assume that you mean Qupé, Bob Lindquist's operation in Los Olivos. I have very fond memories of some of his Syrahs, but can't recall ever having had his Viognier. Regarding the comparison to White Hermitage, they are made from a mixture of Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier in which Marsanne is usually the major component, no?

Mark Lipton

Yes, the label for the wine mentions Lindquist. I don't know why the name Qupe was used for the wine brand. This wine is the only one I have ever had from Qupe. Although classic white Hermitage can have a bit of Viognier, I don't think I would mistake it for Viognier. I was making the comparison more on the body(concentration etc) of the wine. The French Condrieus can have considerably less body than this wine, although some claim that many of the present Condrieus are a bit below the quality they can be due to vineyard expansion with new vines, etc. On the other hand the better classic white Hermitages can be very full and last very long, but some claim that there has been some decline in many white Hermitages and they may no longer last as long as was once the case for many.

I've had a bit of Hermitage Blanc from the late '90's that are hit and miss (about 30% over the hill and 20% marginally oxidized) but my recent experience with Chave Hermitage Blanc from 2003 on leads me to think that these may be very long lived wines.