Qupe Bien Nacido Vineyard Hillside Roussanne 2014
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Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Roussanne Bien Nacido Vineyard Hillside Estate, from a block planted in 1997 with the Tablas Creek clone, offers up an expressive bouquet of white truffle, beeswax, preserved lemon, smoke and quince. On the palate, the wine is texturally glossy and full-bodied, with lovely cut, energy and concentration and impressive reserves of depth and energy. While this is a rich wine, it remains bright and succulent and I'd expect it to develop beautifully in bottle.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2014 Roussanne Bien Nacido Hillside Estate spent 18 months in in once-used barrels before being racked to neutral oak for 6 months. Pear and orchard fruits, hints of marzipan and brioche, medium to full body, excellent purity, and a lively acidity all make for a charming, beautifully balanced Roussanne that's drinking nicely today.
Other Vintages
2017-
James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck
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Wilfred
Wong
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Wilfred
Wong
In contrast to the Old World, Qupé focuses on cool climate expressions of Rhône varietals due to a distinctive geographical feature that sets them apart from most other regions of California, as all vineyards are all located in East-West valleys (vs North-South) which function as open windows to the cool Pacific Ocean. The benefit to the vineyards of being along the coast and running East-West is that the cold, moist air gets pulled in and creates a layer of morning cloud cover over the vines which reduces temperatures and sun exposure on the grapes. This is why cool climate varieties excel in the coastal regions of the Central Coast and allows Qupé to focus on cool climate expressions of Rhone varietals. East-West valleys on the Central Coast that Qupé sources from include Edna Valley, Arroyo Grande Valley, Santa Maria Valley, Los Alamos Valley and Santa Rita Hills/Santa Ynez Valley.
The name "qupé" was chosen to honor the Chumash, the indigenous people of the Golden State's Central Coast and Channel Islands. In Chumash, "qupé" refers to the poppy, a flowering plant traditionally used for food and medicine. In 1903 the California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) was officially designated the state flower, and every spring masses of the bright orange blossoms still blanket local hills and back country.
Full and silky in body but also charmingly crisp, Roussanne is native to the Rhône Valley of France. It is responsible for some of the finest Northern Rhône white wines. Roussanne adds richness and acidity to Marsanne’s soft, fruitiness, making age worthy and highly respected whites. Somm Secret—Roussanne takes its name from the French word, roux, meaning rouge or red because of the berry’s pink glow. In California, virtually all of the 339 acres of Roussanne come from true clones brought over by Tablas Creek and John Alban.
A lesser-known but elite AVA within the larger Santa Barbara district, the Santa Maria Valley AVA runs precisely west to east starting near the coast. The valley funnels cool, Pacific Ocean air to the vineyards more inland, allowing grapes a longer hang time to ripen evenly and achieve their full potential by harvest time. Combined with minimal rainfall, consistent warm sunshine, and well-drained soils, it is an ideal environment for grape growing.
Many of the wineries here are small and highly respected, having established a reputation in the 1970s and 80s for producing excellent Central Coast wines like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. More recently, Syrah has also proven quite successful in the region. Many vineyards are owned by growers who sell their grapes to other wineries, so it is common to see the same vineyard name on bottlings from different wineries. Bien Nacido Vineyard is perhaps the best-known and most prestigious.