The 2020 vintage comes from some of the best sites for Santa Barbara County Grenache - Santa Ynez Valley and Ballard Canyon. Warm days and cold nights helped to naturally limit yields while allowing our various Grenache sites to develop the full array of cool-climate Grenache notes: bright strawberry, blood orange, baking spices, and purple flowers. Though rich and concentrated, the palate is smooth, and the finish is as long and lingering.
Vineyard
Qupé has been crafting cool-climate Grenache from Santa Barbara County for over 40 years. We know where the best fruit comes from, and we leverage our long-term relationships to have our vineyard partners farm specific sites to our very strict requirements – low yield, clean, unblemished fruit, all certified sustainable. We want this wine to speak of its cool-climate origins, while showcasing the diversity of the Santa Barbara County. All the grapes came from select vineyards in the Santa Ynez Valley, where sunny days and very cold nights encourage a long, even ripening of Grenache and result in a diverse flavor profile with a rich, long finish. The final blend yields a quintessential Santa Barbara County Grenache.
Winemaking
As with all our red wines, this wine was crafted with traditional methods in our modern, state-of-the-art winery: hand harvesting at night to benefit from our cold evenings, small picks at a broad spectrum of ripeness to ensure maximum complexity, and flavor development. We employ a mix of quite small open-top tanks and medium-sized closed tanks for a short cold-soak before a rather quick fermentation that allows us to maximize color and medium-weight, balanced tannins, and a long, smooth finish. After fermentation, the must is gently pressed to stainless tanks to settle overnight before being racked to French Oak barrels for 18 months of aging on very fine lees.
Specs
Composition: 100% Grenache
Vineyards: Santa Barbara County
Alcohol: 14.5%
Case Production: 500
2023 Qupé Grenache, Santa Barbara County
Tasting Notes
The 2023 vintage was a classic vintage for the Santa Barbara County Grenache. Warm days and cold nights helped to naturally limit yields while allowing our various Grenache sites to develop the full array of cool-climate Grenache notes: bright strawberry, blood orange, baking spices, and purple flowers. Though rich and concentrated, the palate is smooth, and the finish is as long and fresh as the summer evenings that inspire this wine.
Vineyard
Qupé has been crafting cool-climate Grenache from Santa Barbara County for over 40 years. We know where the best fruit comes from, and we leverage our long-term relationships to have our vineyard partners farm specific sites to our very strict requirements – low yield, clean, unblemished fruit, all certified sustainable. We want this wine to speak of its cool-climate origins while showcasing the diversity of the Santa Barbara County. 90% of the wine comes from 20+ year old vines growing in the warmer soils of the Los Olivos district (not far from the winery) that yield a medium-dark color, with spicy red fruit notes and aromatic lift. The remaining 10% is grown in the sandy, gravelly hillside soils of Ballard Canyon, where we find slightly cooler days and even colder nights that reveal blood orange and baking spice notes. The final blend yields a quintessential Santa Barbara County Grenache.
Winemaking
As with all our red wines, this wine was crafted with traditional methods in our modern, state-of-the-art winery: hand harvesting at night to benefit from our cold evenings, small picks at a broad spectrum of ripeness to ensure maximum complexity, and flavor development. We employ a mix of quite small open-top tanks and medium-sized closed tanks for a short cold-soak before a rather quick fermentation that allows us to maximize color and medium-weight, balanced tannins, and a long, smooth finish. After fermentation, the must is gently pressed to stainless tanks to settle overnight before being racked to French Oak barrels for 18 months of aging on very fine lees. As bottling approaches, the wine is clean racked under nitrogen to tank for final blending and resting before bottling using our own bottling equipment.
Specs
Composition: 96% Grenache, 4% Syrah
Vineyards: 90% Los Olivos District, 10% Ballard Canyon
Alcohol: 14.5%
Case Production: 350
What’s Included
6-bottles:
3x 2020 Qupé Grenache, Santa Barbara County
3x 2023 Qupé Grenache, Santa Barbara County Case:
6x 2023 Qupé Grenache, Santa Barbara County
6x 2020 Qupé Grenache, Santa Barbara County
Price Comparison
Not all wines for sale on winery website, $396/case MSRP
About The Winery
Winery: Andrew Murray Vineyards
Owners: Andrew Murray
Location: Los Olivos, CA
Andrew Murray fell in love with the emerging Rhône varieties, Syrah and Viognier, in the late 1980s while traveling through France’s Rhône Valley. Leaving his UC Berkeley paleontology studies behind, he pursued his new mistress, Syrah, with an internship in Australia. His three-month tryst evolved into a 15-month romance with the famed Australian Shiraz. Returning to the states, he earned a bachelor’s degree in viticulture and enology from UC Davis’ renowned wine program, then founded his eponymous Santa Ynez winery and vineyard.
He sought out growers who shared his passion for excellence and who dared to farm their vines to perilously low yields with the most advanced viticultural methods in the industry. This uncompromising winemaker’s lucid philosophy is summarized succinctly in three words: Passion – Evolution – Wisdom; the Passion of an unflagging love affair with Rhône varieties; the Evolution of winemaking techniques where even the most subtle nuance is divined from each new vintage; and the Wisdom gained with 20 years of winemaking experience.
Andrew’s focus and dedication to his craft have culminated in what Robert Parker, Jr. calls, “…one of the shining stars in the Santa Barbara firmament.” This perennially youthful perfectionist has been named ‘Tastemaker of the Year’ by Food and Wine Magazine, as well as, ‘One of the most fearsome talents in food and wine.’ Still, despite myriad accolades, Andrew remains the same modest, approachable, contemplative man he was when he first embarked to Australia back in 1992. He is eternally committed to vinicultural ‘Kaizen’ – the unrelenting pursuit of continuous improvement.
As Robert Parker, Jr. put it, “Andrew Murray’s offerings are a breath of fresh air given their exceptionally high quality and realistic prices – reader take note.” We hope you’ll come visit us and delight in sampling the fruits of Andrew’s passionate labors.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, WY
Good evening CaseMateys! Lab Rat reporting for duty!
2020 Qupe Grenache, Santa Barbara County
My notes will be a bit more scant than usual as I am super tired and a bit under the weather…
Pop (unscrew) and Pour
Nose: Bright strawberry and something a bit richer (plum?) are front and center. There’s a hint of earthiness and something in the licorice/anise range along with a slight floral note I’m going to call violet. The licorice faded out leading to a slight peppery note.
Palate: Definitely fruit leading the charge. Nice acidity lending to a “juicy” feel. Tannins are pretty smooth/well integrated. There’s a bit of earthiness. In early tasting, I’m not getting any of the licorice I sensed on the nose. Mouthfeel is very nice. Not overly drying. Finish is smooth and medium-long.
A few hours later and no real change.
So far, this seems like the kind of wine that would be a crowd pleaser. It’s probably not going to blow your mind or knock your socks off, but it is definitely an easy drinker that would likely pair well with a range of cuisines. I think it would pair nicely with Thanksgiving/holiday fare!
I have some remaining to taste tomorrow and will report back.
Thanks, as always, to WineDavid and the WCC/Casemates crew for the opportunity to contribute to the community!
2020 Qupé Grenache, Santa Barbara County
Tasting Notes
Vineyard
Winemaking
Specs
2023 Qupé Grenache, Santa Barbara County
Tasting Notes
Vineyard
Winemaking
Specs
What’s Included
6-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not all wines for sale on winery website, $396/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Nov 17 - Tuesday, Nov 18
Qupé Grenache
6 bottles for $119.99 $20/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $199.99 $16.67/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2020 Qupé Grenache
2023 Qupé Grenache
Good evening CaseMateys! Lab Rat reporting for duty!
2020 Qupe Grenache, Santa Barbara County
My notes will be a bit more scant than usual as I am super tired and a bit under the weather…
Pop (unscrew) and Pour
Nose: Bright strawberry and something a bit richer (plum?) are front and center. There’s a hint of earthiness and something in the licorice/anise range along with a slight floral note I’m going to call violet. The licorice faded out leading to a slight peppery note.
Palate: Definitely fruit leading the charge. Nice acidity lending to a “juicy” feel. Tannins are pretty smooth/well integrated. There’s a bit of earthiness. In early tasting, I’m not getting any of the licorice I sensed on the nose. Mouthfeel is very nice. Not overly drying. Finish is smooth and medium-long.
A few hours later and no real change.
So far, this seems like the kind of wine that would be a crowd pleaser. It’s probably not going to blow your mind or knock your socks off, but it is definitely an easy drinker that would likely pair well with a range of cuisines. I think it would pair nicely with Thanksgiving/holiday fare!
I have some remaining to taste tomorrow and will report back.
Thanks, as always, to WineDavid and the WCC/Casemates crew for the opportunity to contribute to the community!
Cheers!