2021 Acquiesce Winery Picpoul Blanc with Fresh Scallops
The Winery
The word Acquiesce as a verb means to “surrender, to become quiet”. This has been their mantra since establishing the vineyard and winery. The goal was to yield to nature and let the vineyard speak as to the varietal. They have done just that but quietly they have turned the white wine world on its head!
Photo from Acquiesce Winery
Acquiesce Winery continues to impress with their white wine portfolio on French varietals. There is so much to state about Susan Tipton, owner and winemaker of Acquiesce Winery. The key takeaway is that she established her winery in Acampo (just north of Lodi) with the expressed purpose of bringing French white wine varieties to market. Lodi had been primarily known for red wines, but she turned heads with some of her unique wines such as Picpoul, Clairette Blanche, Ingénue (blend of Grenache Blanc, Clairette Blanche, Bourboulenc & Picpoul Blanc), Roussanne and more. Here are some reviews of her wines and her impact:
https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2020/08/30/2018-acquiesce-ingenue-french-and-more-french/
Her awards are too numerous to list for her wines! However two recent awards stand out for Susan Tipton: 2022 Woman Winemaker of the Year by International Women’s Wine Competition. The other is being named 2023 Winery of the Year by Visit Lodi.
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Previous vintages have made my yearly Best Wines Tasted for years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. As usual this was a beautiful white wine, produced by winemaker/owner Susan Tipton. Visually this varietal is faint in color and almost translucent with a pale yellow hue. Picpoul means to “sting the lips” yet this wine was much more embracing and had a disguised light sweetness on the finish. The finish produced a full mouthful of wonderment. This wine was made to pair with oysters in Europe with its bright acidity but can be paired with a variety of shellfish and seafood!
On the nose lemon & pineapple were the predominate scent coupled with flower blossoms. Lemon and a silky mouth filling sensation on the palate accompanying by a light green apple taste. This wine looks like a “light weight wine” but its elegance packs punch of enjoyment. For my taste, it is an exquisite delicate wine, the previous vintages have scored 98 points and just the 2021 has won the following awards:
Double Gold -98 pts- International Women’s Wine Competition
Gold – 96 pts – 2022 California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition
Gold – 90 pts – 2023 American Fine Wine Competition
Gold -90 pts – 2022 Orange County Wine Competition
The current vintage, the 2023 of Picpoul Blanc sells for $36.50/bottle for this pedigree wine! It has already won a Gold medal at the 2024 Los Angeles International Wine Competition.
Their 3 acres of Picpoul Blanc on the estate simply can’t help but win awards! The clones are Tablas Creek cuttings from the famous Chateau de Beaucastel in the Chateauneuf-du-Pape AOC.
From the 2023 USDA Grape Crush Report for California, only 48 acres were planted and producing Picpoul Blanc. San Louis Obispo 12 acres, Monterey 9 acres, El Dorado 8 acres and San Joaquin 7 acres with the balance scattered about the state.
The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Paired with fresh scallops grilled on the BBQ last evening. Marinated with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, minced garlic, sea salt, pepper, a few red chili flakes and parsley. First time BBQ-ing scallops and like the pan fried ones much better, but nothing ventured nothing gained! Still a very good food and wine pairing!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Served with a pre-package Asian Style salad with chicken that was delicious. It included chopped vegetables, white chicken meat, fire roasted Edamame, wonton strips, almonds and sunflower kernels. Dressing was a sesame ginger miso blend.
Sláinte,
Michael