2020 Qupé Syrah, Bien Nacido Hillside Estate, Santa Maria Valley
Tasting Notes
Hard to believe, but this is our 27th release of this special single vineyard; 1994 was the first. This vineyard block just keeps getting better with age. It is rich without being heavy, and with moderate alcohol, has great balance for aging. We’ve aged it 2 years in barrel and 2 years in bottle, so it shows well on release. It is deeply colored with well-integrated flavors of blueberries, cola, and hints of black pepper. If you do keep a cellar, you could put this away for another 10-15 years!
Vineyard
This wine is 100% Syrah from the Z Block at Bien Nacido Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley. Z Block was our first “custom” planting at Bien Nacido, planted in 1992 on a perfect southwest-facing hillside.
Winemaking
We used time-tested, traditional winemaking techniques … open top fermenters … 25% whole clusters … and manual punch down twice a day until the fermentation is dry. With this Syrah, I also do a small portion (about 10-12%) of saignee barrel fermentation, which gives the wine a nice toasty, mocha aspect.
After pressing, the wine was aged for 24 months in French Oak Burgundy barrels. For the first year in, about 40% new barrels then racked, blended, and returned to neutral barrels for the additional time. I then selected my favorite 18 barrels and bottled.
Specs
Composition: 100% Syrah
Alcohol: 14.5%
2022 Qupé Syrah, Central Coast
90 Points, Vinous 90 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
Tasting Notes
The 2022 vintage was a classic and nearly perfect vintage for the Central Coast Syrah. Warm days and cold nights helped to naturally limit yields while allowing our various Syrah sites to develop the full array of cool-climate Syrah notes: bright cherry, blackberry, white pepper, purple flowers, licorice, tar, and smoky meats. 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 Syrah from the Central Coast 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 Central Coast. 50% of the wine comes from 30+ year old vines growing in the sandy, limestone-rich slopes of Arroyo Grande where we achieve incredibly rich and dark color, with spicy red fruit notes and vibrant natural acidity. The remaining 50% is grown in the sandy, gravelly soils of the Santa Ynez Valley, where we find slightly warmer days and even colder nights that reveal blackberry, blueberry, and peppery notes. The final blend yields a quintessential Central Coast Syrah.
Winemaking
As with all our Syrah bottlings, 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 achieve incredible 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 the tank for final blending and resting before bottling using our own bottling equipment.
Specs
Composition 100% Syrah
Alcohol 14.5%
Case Production 6,600
What’s Included
6-bottles:
2x 2020 Qupé Syrah, Bien Nacido Hillside Estate, Santa Maria Valley
4x 2022 Qupé Syrah, Central Coast Case:
4x 2020 Qupé Syrah, Bien Nacido Hillside Estate, Santa Maria Valley
Qupé was founded in 1982, along Foxen Canyon Road, in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley. Amazingly enough, this was right next door to where Andrew Murray Vineyards was founded less than a decade later. Qupé’s founder, Bob Lindquist, is a giant in the world of wine, where he is a pioneer in every sense of the word. Qupé’s founding in 1982 paved the way for our own founding in 1990. Bob loved Syrah before anyone else. He quickly grew Qupé into a worldwide phenomenon of a Rhone-focused wine brand that also crafted delicate and delicious Chardonnay. Bob pioneered hillside sites, from cool climate appellations, with sandy, calcareous, and rocky soils. Andrew Murray Vineyards grew up in the shadow of this legendary and historic brand.
By way of tenacity and some good fortune, Andrew was able to purchase the Qupé brand and all assets (including an amazing array of library wines) in October of 2024. Andrew and his family and his very capable winegrowing team have brought the brand home, to where it started on Foxen Canyon Road, when it was just a couple of barrels and a glint in Bob’s eyes. All of us at Andrew Murray Vineyards are extremely excited about the future. We look forward to righting the ship and bringing Qupé back to its former glory by focusing on the brand’s core values of sustainability, quality, and affordability. The current array of wines are absolutely delicious. We invite you to seek them out in your home markets, stores, and restaurant wine lists. The wines are rich and nuanced and thoughtfully crafted. If you are a fan of Andrew Murray Vineyards, then we are confident that you will also enjoy the entire range of Qupé wine.
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
2020 Qupé Syrah Santa Maria Valley Bien Nacido Hillside Estate
Pretty exciting to have a Qupé Syrah to review! We still have 3 magnums from a (much) earlier Casemates offer of 2008-2013 Syrahs. We enjoyed what we had opened, so this one was a welcomed opportunity.
This wine is definitely one to consider for those who like Syrah.
First pour: Bottle was chilled and opened to breathe for about twenty minutes. Serving temp was right at 66°. Composite cork showed very little staining, with very little penetration. Color is a very inky purple. I was tempted to put ‘aubergine’, but it’s darker than that. The nose was definitely a sumptuous dark fruit (boysenberry/blackberry), forest floor, and spice. Swirling the glass yielded long quick legs. ABV is listed at 14.5%.
Fist sips backed up the aromas. Black fruits are dominant, slight alcohol that fades quickly. Woodsy with some floral and peppery notes on the palate that follow. Nice tannins that were not overwhelming. Mrs. Rat called out black raspberry with a little bit of smokey oak and plum. This is a very flavorful Syrah.
Initial pairings: with Gouda this was a great match., the Gouda softened and complimented the tannins. Cheddar, not quite as ideal, as expected, the sharpness wasn’t an ideal match. Trying the 72% cacao chocolates was good- but not as nice as the match with the Gouda.
Main course for the evening was some Amish chicken with bbq sauce on bakery buns with roasted Parmesan rosemary (from the garden) potatoes. This matched up well with the Syrah.
With the main course served, I considered what could we do for a Syrah comparison. The 3 magnums of Qupé were way too much for two. But- I knew we had a case of mixed Andrew Murray wines in the cellar. With that in mind, I selected a 2018 Tous les Jours Santa Ynes Valley to pop open. The two wines are clearly Syrah, but definitely different. The AM was very smooth. The Qupé matched better with the Gouda, the AM better with the bbq sauce of the chicken. It was hard to pick which was better.
We were very glad to see Qupé picked up by Andrew Murray, as we enjoyed the prior and now current wines. No hesitation in recommending this bottling for those looking for a flavorful Syrah! At the case price, an exceptional deal!
I’m excited to finally try 2022 Qupe Syrah. I’ve had a number of Qupe bottlings in the past, but i haven’t had any from the Andrew Murray era. Here we go!
Nose: dusty, pencils, cedar. It doesn’t come out as fruity, but more savory and woodsy. I’m not getting a lot of bacon/olive character either. This is definitely “tobacco box” / “pencil shaving” territory. Pretty short on the nose too.
It has a nice mouthfeel, but does end pretty quickly. Back with the dust and earth, lavender, and green peppercorn. Also i’m getting the zip of an underripe blackberry. It definitely fills the mouth with flavor, and it’s got a good lingering finish – much longer than it is on the nose.
With some air it started to develop the brininess i like from cold climate Syrah. As it is bottled under screw cap, i suspect it will continue to develop over the evening while it gets some air.
I like it.
A lot, in fact. Syrah has been my go-to “popular” variety for a long while, and this is a good bottle. It’s bright and tangy. It worked great with a herby pizza i made, but it’s also showing good stuff without food as i write this.
2020 Qupé Syrah, Bien Nacido Hillside Estate, Santa Maria Valley
Tasting Notes
Vineyard
This wine is 100% Syrah from the Z Block at Bien Nacido Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley. Z Block was our first “custom” planting at Bien Nacido, planted in 1992 on a perfect southwest-facing hillside.
Winemaking
We used time-tested, traditional winemaking techniques … open top fermenters … 25% whole clusters … and manual punch down twice a day until the fermentation is dry. With this Syrah, I also do a small portion (about 10-12%) of saignee barrel fermentation, which gives the wine a nice toasty, mocha aspect.
After pressing, the wine was aged for 24 months in French Oak Burgundy barrels. For the first year in, about 40% new barrels then racked, blended, and returned to neutral barrels for the additional time. I then selected my favorite 18 barrels and bottled.
Specs
2022 Qupé Syrah, Central Coast
90 Points, Vinous
90 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
Tasting Notes
Vineyard
Winemaking
Specs
What’s Included
6-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale on winery website, $376/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, Oct 6 - Tuesday, Oct 7
Qupé Syrah
6 bottles for $69.99 $11.67/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $129.99 $10.83/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2020 Qupé Syrah, Bien Nacido Hillside Estate
2022 Qupé Syrah, Central Coast
2020 Qupé Syrah Santa Maria Valley Bien Nacido Hillside Estate
Pretty exciting to have a Qupé Syrah to review! We still have 3 magnums from a (much) earlier Casemates offer of 2008-2013 Syrahs. We enjoyed what we had opened, so this one was a welcomed opportunity.
This wine is definitely one to consider for those who like Syrah.
First pour: Bottle was chilled and opened to breathe for about twenty minutes. Serving temp was right at 66°. Composite cork showed very little staining, with very little penetration. Color is a very inky purple. I was tempted to put ‘aubergine’, but it’s darker than that. The nose was definitely a sumptuous dark fruit (boysenberry/blackberry), forest floor, and spice. Swirling the glass yielded long quick legs. ABV is listed at 14.5%.
Fist sips backed up the aromas. Black fruits are dominant, slight alcohol that fades quickly. Woodsy with some floral and peppery notes on the palate that follow. Nice tannins that were not overwhelming. Mrs. Rat called out black raspberry with a little bit of smokey oak and plum. This is a very flavorful Syrah.
Initial pairings: with Gouda this was a great match., the Gouda softened and complimented the tannins. Cheddar, not quite as ideal, as expected, the sharpness wasn’t an ideal match. Trying the 72% cacao chocolates was good- but not as nice as the match with the Gouda.
Main course for the evening was some Amish chicken with bbq sauce on bakery buns with roasted Parmesan rosemary (from the garden) potatoes. This matched up well with the Syrah.
With the main course served, I considered what could we do for a Syrah comparison. The 3 magnums of Qupé were way too much for two. But- I knew we had a case of mixed Andrew Murray wines in the cellar. With that in mind, I selected a 2018 Tous les Jours Santa Ynes Valley to pop open. The two wines are clearly Syrah, but definitely different. The AM was very smooth. The Qupé matched better with the Gouda, the AM better with the bbq sauce of the chicken. It was hard to pick which was better.
We were very glad to see Qupé picked up by Andrew Murray, as we enjoyed the prior and now current wines. No hesitation in recommending this bottling for those looking for a flavorful Syrah! At the case price, an exceptional deal!
Thank you Casemates and Qupé for this offer!
@benguin986 I wasn’t expecting this offer to have both the Central Coast and the Bien Nacido. I love love Bien Nacido. Great review!
I feel so late being the second rat! Yeek!!
Greetings!
I’m excited to finally try 2022 Qupe Syrah. I’ve had a number of Qupe bottlings in the past, but i haven’t had any from the Andrew Murray era. Here we go!
Nose: dusty, pencils, cedar. It doesn’t come out as fruity, but more savory and woodsy. I’m not getting a lot of bacon/olive character either. This is definitely “tobacco box” / “pencil shaving” territory. Pretty short on the nose too.
It has a nice mouthfeel, but does end pretty quickly. Back with the dust and earth, lavender, and green peppercorn. Also i’m getting the zip of an underripe blackberry. It definitely fills the mouth with flavor, and it’s got a good lingering finish – much longer than it is on the nose.
With some air it started to develop the brininess i like from cold climate Syrah. As it is bottled under screw cap, i suspect it will continue to develop over the evening while it gets some air.
I like it.
A lot, in fact. Syrah has been my go-to “popular” variety for a long while, and this is a good bottle. It’s bright and tangy. It worked great with a herby pizza i made, but it’s also showing good stuff without food as i write this.
Anyone know who the winemaker(s) is/are?
@losthighwayz Not sure I care!
/giphy gripping-able-stranger
Love this deal. Andrew Murray endorsed!
@Winedavid49
but was he the winemaker?
and will he be visiting the chat?
@Winedavid49 are these AM wines or from the old regime?
In for a Case, thanks WineDavid!!
rough-marginal-centaur
tried to order in multiple browsers, but is site broken? clicking order button just moves the page a few pixels.