I've always been a huge fan of Qupé, run by cellar-mate and friend of Au Bon Climat's Jim Clendenon, Bob Lidquist. These guys punch out serious heavy-duty syrah with a style unique from both the Rhone valley and Australian Shiraz. This selection was one of their many single vineyard offerings.
The nose was big and black-fruit intensive. On the palate I got fig, plum, and other such fruits, with an inky texture and big pepper and spice flavours. This was well balanced and smooth despite its bigness and high alcohol content (15.6%). I think this is a very good expression of a true blue California fruit driven style. Unfortunately, this dissipated somewhat with an hour's decanting, which notched the rating down slightly for me.
Very Good+ to Excellent
$40 at Marquis
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