2021 Lindquist Family Ibarra Young Marsanne
This wine is 100% Marsanne from the Ibarra-Young Vineyard right in the heart of the Los Olivos District of Santa Barbara County. This vineyard was first planted in 1971 to Cabernet Sauvignon, on its own roots. I began leasing the vineyard for Qupé from Charlotte Young in 1986 and grafted it over to Rhone varietals. I got the first crop of Marsanne in 1987…and as far as I know, produced the first varietal Marsanne in California!
The vineyard was planted and farmed by Miguel Ibarra from its inception until Miguel retired after the 2015 Harvest. Charlotte passed away in 2008, and now her three daughters run the property. Beginning in 1999 the vineyard was converted to organic.
When Qupé was sold after the 2018 Harvest, we gave up the lease. In 2020, Alice Anderson of Amevive Wines took over the lease and has been doing the farming since. She and her partner Cristopher De Felice have brought in animals, and are farming organically, regeneratively, and employing Biodynamic methods as well. We continue to make small amounts of Syrah and Marsanne, which is a nice “goes around, comes around” situation!
2021 was a beautiful vintage here on the Central Coast, one of the cooler vintages we’ve had this century. The Marsanne was harvested on September 27th at 20.4° brix, 3.35 pH and 6.1 acidity. Marsanne tends to lose its acidity fairly quickly as it ripens, so I like to pick it on the early side…luckily Alice does too!
The grapes were whole cluster pressed, chilled and settled in tank for 48 hours, and then racked off of the juice lees to neutral barrel for fermentation and aging. It was aged for 9 months before bottling in June 2022.
This is a wine to drink fresh over the next year or two…or wait un til it is at least 10 years old. With age it gains complexity and a distinct honey nut character. With proper storage, this is a wine you could put down for at least 20 years!
Cheers,
Bob Lindquist, April 2023
*90 Jeb Dunnuck
