Wine is an industry that casts a broad net, from extreme traditionalists to incurable tinkerers, and all points in between. On the more experimental end of the biz, there are plenty of ‘thrills of victory’ and even more ‘agonies of defeat’. But it is through this process of innovation and experimentation that new ideas are born. Take for example Dave Phinney, who essentially turned a stuck fermentation into one of the most important new faces in the wine industry years ago, The Prisoner, via clever blending and creative marketing. There are dozens of wineries now trying to reproduce the success of that wine with a variety of ‘Prisoner look-alikes’.
Today’s story isn’t about Prisoner, or even a widely imitated bottling. We’ll get to that shortly. Wine Exchange and Qupe Winery connected in the early 80’s when both were pretty new on the scene. With all of the fuss about the California ‘Rhone Rangers’ years back, a lot of folks credit Randall Grahm with founding the movement. But the first winery we ever tasted that hung their hat on Syrah, circa 1982-83, was Qupe. Even today those early, breakthrough Syrah bottlings still have a place in how we see California wine history.
Qupe owner at the time, Bob Lindquist, worked in a spot affectionately known as ‘the Shed’ along with Au Bon Climat and, over the years, a number of other aspiring winemakers in Santa Maria. Besides his Syrah lineup, and a consistently good Chardonnay from Sierra Madre Vineyard, we credit Bob with creating a wine that was both innovative and delightful, a 50-50 blend of Viognier and Chardonnay. Fresh, bright, and floral from the Viognier, with the midpalate thrust and structure provided by the Chardonny, it was a winner and we sold buckets of the stuff.
Our key point is that we had never seen anything like it before, nor effectively since (yeah there was one Viognier- Chardonnay from southern France some years later, but that was it). Bob visited the store not long ago with his newest efforts from his current project, Lindquist Wines (he sold Qupe in part to Terroir Wines who sold it to Vintage Wine Estates). Among the wines he presented was a 50-50 blend of Viognier and Chardonnay under the Lindquist label. This was once again as exciting as the first efforts we tasted way back when.
The harmony and interplay between the floral, honeysuckle, and peach aspects of Vioginer and the punch of the apple/pear core of the early harvest Chardonnay through the midpalate made for a delightful mouthful, with layers of varied flavors, plenty of weight and lift, and uncanny freshness for a wine of that composition. To us, the Quoe was a breakthrough blend back in the day, and the Lindquist Family Viognier-Chardonnay Bland Edna Valley 2019 still is. Bob was quick to give credit for the idea to mutual favorite Mas Dumas Gassac. But in that wine, Viognier and Chardonnay account for only about half the blend, the balance being Petit Manseng, Chenin Blanc, and ‘other’. This is a delicious, truly one-of-a-kind white.
Antonio Galloni apparently shares our enthusiasm for this very special blend, “The 2019 Viognier 50%/Chardonnay 50% is another terrific wine in this range from Bob Lindquist. Interestingly, the blend of Viognier and Chardonnay yields a wine that is crisp and steely. Viognier aromatics add an intriguing layer of florality to the citrus peel, crushed rock and white pepper flavors. I would prefer to drink this steely white over the next few years, while the flavors remain bright. The 2019 is incredibly distinctive…93 points.”
There don’t appear to be many (any?) folks trying to imitate this gem, but that’s fine as long as this one performs at this level. There is, literally, nothing like it. As for comparisons, Mas Dumas white also costs nearly twice as much. For under $20, the Lindquist Family is a particularly compelling choice.