2004 Qupe Syrah (Central Coast)

[hotwine]

My first Qupe. Had read about it for years but only now seeing it locally. Wasn't sure what to expect, since some notes posted here on earlier vintages weren't so promising.

Not to worry.

Inky deep red in the glass, opaque. A very French nose, heady like a southern Rhone, with red and black fruit on a soft forest floor whispering "come hither!" Yes, ma'am. Silky and supple on the entry with the fruit playing with a bit of white pepper, red fruit coming forward on the palate, grounded by just enough oak to give it structure, trailing off gracefully on a very long finish. Very nicely done and well worth the $18. 13.5% alc/vol. With beef stew and gumbo; the beef was grass-fed black Angus, super lean and fork-tender. Oh yeah, finished with a Giradelli 60% dark chocolate square. OK, so it was two. burp. (Holy cow, this is nice juice!)

[Bucko]

Tanzer obviously likes them as well, Gil:

Qupe Sep/Oct 06
By Stephen Tanzer

2004 Qupe Cellars Los Olivos Cuvee 88
($22; 48% syrah, 32% mourvedre and 20% grenache) Deep red. Strawberry, violet, smoke and meat on the nose. Distinctly dry on the palate, with good peppery lift to the flavors of strawberry, smoke, spices, red licorice and black tea. Finishes with light tannins and lingering spice character.

2004 Qupe Cellars Syrah Alisos Vineyard Santa Barbara Valley 88
($40) Bright ruby-red. Crystallized blackcurrant, blackberry and meat on the nose, lifted by a cool minerality. Tangy, juicy, penetrating and quite dry, even a bit ungiving, with rather tightly wound black fruit flavors. Finishes with building tannins and some dryness.

2004 Qupe Cellars Syrah Stolpman Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley 90
($35) Ruby-red. Enticing aromas of blackberry, smoked meat, licorice and loamy earth. Juicy and densely packed, with a spicy quality to the penetrating fruit. Mounts impressively on the back end, finishing long and spicy, with a subtle sweetness. Youthfully tight but not hard.

2004 Qupe Cellars Syrah Colson Canyon Vineyard 89(+?)
($35) Saturated ruby-red. Slightly reduced aromas of blackberry, minerals, graphite and meat. Tightly wound, juicy and dry but not hard, with solid acids and firm mineral spine currently dominating the dark fruit and mineral flavors. Doesn't quite have the personality for an outstanding rating, but that may come with aging.

[VouvrayHead]

I like Qupe...
Have a bottle of their 20th aniversary X Block Syrah resting peacefully until 2021 or so....

[wondersofwine]

Nice notes, HW. I have heard mostly good things about Qupe but missed my chance to attend a dinner featuring Qupe wines in Raleigh last spring.

[hotwine]

Thanks Wonders. The Qupe website indicates this is the low-end bottling, comprised of juice from 14 different vineyards, and they made 15,400 cases. Would like to try the single-vineyard efforts, and a dinner would be a good setting.