Shar + Ginny = True Love

Until last night, I had never (knowingly) tried a wine blended from Chardonnay (Shar) and Viognier (Ginny).  Qupé, a winery in California's central coast, has struck a fine balance between the weightiness of Viognier and acidity potential of Chardonnay.  The key word here is potential.  Many Chardonnay-based wines from California are big and brutish.  Fortunately, the Chardonnay that Qupé blended into this wine has crisp acidity.

The Skinny
Qupe "Bien Nacido Cuvee" '03 ($17)

• From the Santa Maria Valley, California
• A blend of 50% Chardonnay & 50% Viognier
• Very bright, near-transparent yellow-gold in color
• Subdued scents of orange, apricot, and honey along with hints of vanilla
• Medium-bodied; a tangy  attack, followed by a long, rich finish.  Well-balanced.  Still somewhat young and simple, but will likely age well for a few years

**** (4 stars out of 5)

I was impressed by the subtlety and balance of this wine.  These qualities make it quite food-friendly.  I recommend a tangy/spicy Asian dish like seared tuna steaks with ginger and shitake cream sauce.  Yum.

Comments

[Steve-o]

There are a few Chard/Viognier blends out there; I ended up with a nice case of Domaines des Deux Soleils 2003 Les Romains Les Garrigues Blanc (which is from Languedoc-Roussillon) at about $10 a bottle. I think it's nigh on impossible to find in the US - and while not worth extrordinary efforts to obtain, I find the blend to be quite delicious, and similar in character to the description you give of the Qupe.

If you can find a nice C/V blend that is unoaked, it makes for a nice change.

[beau]

Steve,

Thanks for the comments. My interest has been piqued w/r/t C-V blends. Is Domaines des Deux Soleils an Appellation wine or a Vin de Pays? I'll keep my eyes open for it or another C-V blend.

Cheers,

Beau

[Steve-o]

It's Vin de Pays (and I think they're located in Combaillaux). As much as I enjoy the wine, because of it's total absence in the US market, it's not easy to get any information on the winemaker or the wine itself.

In my limited experience with the blend, it seems these grapes is a natural pairing and any reasonable bottle you came across is worth trying - so long as the winemaker doesn't approach the chardonnay in the 'typical CA' style (I would imagine that you'd essentially end up with just something heavy and thick without enough acidity to be interesting - Fetzer apparently makes a C/V blend that I'm in no particular hurry to try).

Is it my favorite white blend? Not at all. But it's distinctive and easy to pair with food (I had it with some middle eastern food the other night, for example).

[thecaveman]

The Fetzer effort is oaked to the tits. A biy yucky in fact. I have never seen that Languedoc wine but the majority of Southern french viogner tends to come out more austere than the Cali variety (ie. more like Condrieu though not nearly as complex). I do remember drinking a Cali viogner (Jepson) that was quite good as well as recently a Sable Ridge that was a perfect mix of Cali fruitiness with a Rhone style freshness.

And I drank a Côtes de Provence 2003, La Procure, Dupéré Barrera that would do wonders with Charlie chicken.
Bill

[Beau]

Hmmm. The phrase, "oaked to the tits" creates some odd mental imagery!

Jepson does indeen make a solid Viognier. I was also surprised at the Smoking Loon Viognier. A bit big and nearly one-dimensional, but far more drinkable than a comparable $8 Chard.

An unrelated question: I've got a 2000 Saint Joseph by Guigal. Would you drink now or hold for a few years? Any food recommends?