A Return To Qupe Chardonnay

Posted on Oct, 11. 2011 by Will Richey

Categories: Wine

I finally made it out to The Commonwealth Restaurant and Sky Bar a couple weeks back to meet some friends for drinks. I am not the first to say it but this restaurant is an instant C-ville classic. The decor and the service are impeccable, the Sky bar is a great environment to relax and have a few drinks. This will certainly be the first stop we all take our out of town guests when they visit and want to see something that is specifically and interestingly C-ville. I wasn’t able to work my way around the food much on this visit but did enjoy the BBQ Croquettes. This may be my new favorite place to sip through a bottle of wine.

Also new for me is the amount of awesome wines I have been tasting out of California over the last few weeks. There have been some real stand outs but the first on the QPR scale is the 2010 Qupe, Bien Nacido “Y Block” Chardonnay.

At the lower price points this is exactly what I would love to say is classic California Chardonnay. The nose and first taste of the wine are filled with a harmony of clean fruit, vibrant acidity and even a refreshing minerality. The wine finishes strong, mounting to a fullness of balanced top shelf French Oak giving that classic California deliciousness to the overall effect.

I love this wine for the dissonant balance of parts -and what I mean by that is that it has so much going on separately: acid, mineral, fruit, oak, and yet the temperate treatment of each of these parts makes them harmonize on the palate. It is a fluent four course meal in every sip, at once a refreshing and delicious Cali. Chard.

I recommend this wine particularly to those of you who enjoy New World wines, it is a great food wine and will pair with anything from Fish to Steak.

2010 Qupe, Bien Nacido “Y Block” Chardonnay
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Retail Price: $19.99
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