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.

On Jan 31, 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.

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

On Feb 1, 8:14*am, DaleW > wrote:
> On Jan 31, 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.
>
> 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.

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 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

--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Feb 1, 1:08*pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> 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 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?

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.

On Feb 1, 6:44�pm, cwdjrxyz > wrote:
> On Feb 1, 1:08�pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > 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.