2021 Quintessa, Rutherford, Napa Valley, Calfornia, USA
Critics reviews
Fabulous intensity and power without ever straying over the line, clear liquorice and cocoa bean, restrained and vivid blackberry, cassis and red cherry fruits overlaid with spiced cardamom and cumin. Grilled campfire smoke as it opens, this is a delicious vintage of Quintessa. Rebekah Wineburg winemaker.
Drink 2026 - 2045
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com (July 2024)
The 2021 Red Wine is an attractive offering from Quintessa. Crushed red berry fruit, cedar, mocha, spice and tobacco open gracefully. All the elements are nicely balanced in this understated Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend.
Drink 2025 - 2036
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (May 2024)
91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Carmenère, 1% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot. Average 22 days’ skin contact. Aged 22 months, 65% in new French oak barrels, 32% in neutral oak, 3% in terracotta amphorae. Certified organic (CCOF) and biodynamic (Demeter).
Deep ruby, nearing purple in colour. Youthful, with dense blackberry and violet aromas and a subtle orange-rind and spice character. Ripeness and viscosity to the palate, with high, sticky tannins that coat the mouth and very fresh acidity. Incredibly concentrated – this should go for ages. Lengthy finish. Absolutely one to stash for a special occasion or keep for a 2021-vintage baby.
Drink 2028 - 2045
Samantha Cole-Johnson, JancisRobinson.com (February 2024)
Marked by scents of cherries and raspberries, with just the barest hints of cedar and mocha-tinged oak, Quintessa's fruit-forward 2021 Proprietary Red Wine is wonderfully smooth and supple in the mouth. It's medium to full-bodied, suave and silky, all class and elegance, without any sense of excessive bulk or rusticity. If one were to have a complaint about it (hardly likely), it's that it comes across as almost too polished, too elegant, too easy to drink.
When I was asked if I'd like to join Quintessa's General Manager, Rodrigo Soto, for a short vertical tasting during his visit to New York City last September, I was glad to be able to squeeze it into my schedule. This superbly situated estate, off Silverado Trail in eastern Rutherford, is turning out some excellent wines under the leadership of Soto and Chief Winemaker Rebekah Wineburg. With 280 acres and anywhere from 6,000 to around 14,000 cases of the Propriety Red Wine produced in a given vintage, it's a wine that combines quality with reasonable availability.
Drink 2024 - 2040
Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate (January 2024)
So much graphite and volcanic character on the nose with metal shavings and gunpowder. Black ink, iron and rust, too. Blackberry and blackcurrant undertones. Full-bodied but not overpowering, with chewy and juicy tannins that are long and very subtle. Superb finish. From biodynamic grapes with Demeter certification. 91% cabernet sauvignon, 4% cabernet franc, 3% carmenere, 1% merlot, and 1% petit verdot. Drinkable now, but better in 2027.
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (July 2024)
The 2021 Quintessa Red Wine is a compact, coiled-up, polished red. Intensely aromatic and perfumed, it leads with a distinct burst of cast-iron minerality, dusty sage, red and blackberry fruits, and perfumed rose petals. Medium to full-bodied with a dense core of succulent boysenberry fruit, plums, and kirsch, all of which have tremendous staying power matched only by the wine's burly, robust and muscular tannins, which offer a real contrast to the supreme elegance of this wine. More time in the bottle is needed to let these tannins soften. If you open it before 2025, let it breathe several hours ahead of time, perhaps even double-decant it. 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Carmenere, 1% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot aged 22 months in 65% new French oak and 3% terracotta amphora.
Drink 2024 - 2045
Jonathan Cristaldi, Decanter (April 2024)
About this WINE
Quintessa
Quintessa is a single 75-hectare estate, belonging to the Franciscan Group, which lies in the heart of Rutherford. The estate includes a valley, a lake, a river and 5 hills with 5 distinct soil types. It is unique in the sheer diversity it encompasses. Valerie Huneeus, a scientist and viticulturist, has developed the vineyards from the ground up, utilising the latest vineyard technology.
Quintessa is an American Bordeaux blend or "meritage" comprising Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (30%), and Cabernet Franc (10%). It is aged in small French barrels (75% new) for 18 months. The inaugural vintage was 1996 and already Quintessa is being talked of as a Californian classic.
Rutherford
Rutherford, located in the heart of Napa Valley, California, is particularly celebrated for its exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon. This small yet prestigious appellation, or American Viticultural Area (AVA), is nestled between the towns of Oakville and St. Helena, covering approximately 6,650 acres of vineyards.
Rutherford's prime location on an alluvial fan created by the Napa River and its tributaries results in gravelly, loamy soils that provide ideal drainage for vine growth. The region’s terroir is further influenced by its proximity to the Mayacamas and Vaca mountain ranges, which help shape its warm Mediterranean climate. This climate, characterised by hot days and cool nights, ensures that grapes retain acidity while developing rich, complex flavours.
The defining feature of Rutherford's terroir is often referred to as "Rutherford Dust," a term popularised by the legendary winemaker André Tchelistcheff. This phrase captures the unique soil characteristics that impart a distinctive, dusty, earthy quality to the wines, particularly the Cabernet Sauvignon. These wines are known for their robust structure, with deep flavours of dark fruit like blackberry and blackcurrant, complemented by secondary notes of cocoa powder, cedar, and a fine-grained tannin structure. The result is a wine that stands out in its youth and has the potential to age gracefully, developing even more complexity over time.
Rutherford's history is deeply intertwined with the development of Napa Valley as a premier wine-producing region. The area's viticultural roots trace back to the mid-19th century, when George C. Yount, a pioneering settler, planted the first vineyards in Napa Valley. The region was named after Thomas Rutherford, who received land from Yount as a wedding gift and began cultivating grapes. Rutherford’s reputation grew significantly through the contributions of historic wineries like Inglenook, which played critical roles in establishing Napa Valley's international acclaim.
Cabernet Sauvignon blend
Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.
In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.
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Description
Fabulous intensity and power without ever straying over the line, clear liquorice and cocoa bean, restrained and vivid blackberry, cassis and red cherry fruits overlaid with spiced cardamom and cumin. Grilled campfire smoke as it opens, this is a delicious vintage of Quintessa. Rebekah Wineburg winemaker.
Drink 2026 - 2045
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com (July 2024)
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