On Feb 1, 6:44�pm, cwdjrxyz > wrote:
> On Feb 1, 1:08�pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
>
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> > On 1/31/10 10:51 PM, cwdjrxyz wrote:
>
> > > A single bottle of �Quipe Santa Barbara, Los Olivos Vineyard Viognier
> > > 1991 surfaced. I had not been able to find it for a long time. I
> > > assumed it would be well past the peak. Most Viogniers that I have had
> > > are best very young and many become rather flat and lose fruit very
> > > soon. I have heard of a very few Viogniers, mostly rare sweet ones,
> > > that have aged very well, but none have come my way.
>
> > > This wine was properly stored since release. There were no issues, the
> > > fill was very high, and the cork was in top condition. �The color was
> > > light yellow. To my surprise, the wine showed no decline at this
> > > extended age. There was still a floral character, difficult to define,
> > > some white fruit, and even hints of honey and vanilla. There was
> > > plenty of acid and a few tartrate crystals on the cork. The wine was
> > > fuller than many of this variety - somewhere between a French Condrieu
> > > and a classic white Hermitage. Needless to say, this wine escaped the
> > > fate of being used to cook some shrimp with some lemon juice added.
> > > The shrimp had to do with brine, herbs,and spices.
>
> > Thanks for the very interesting note. �I assume that you mean Qup� 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?
>
> 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.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

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.