#2 Wine Enthusiast Top 100 Cellar Selections 2024 edition
#19 Wine Enthusiast Top Cellar Selections (2022 edition - 2019 vintage)
#84 Top 100 World Wines (2022 edition - 2019 vintage) ~ James Suckling
99-Points by Decanter.
Certified Organic & Biodynamic!
What is immediately surprising is just how seamless this young barrel sample of Quintessa 2022 Cabernet is, effusing a plush, soft, and silky fruit profile with layers of creamy dark berry fruits, nuanced by fragrant sagebrush and sweet toasty cedar wood. What an effort! One of the most satisfying wines from this challenging vintage. Crafted by winemaker Rebekah Wineburg with Quintessa's estate Cabernet grapes that are farmed according to biodynamic and organic standards.
Winemaker Notes ~ Rebekah Wineburg
The 2022 Quintessa is a charming wine, opening with intense aromas of black cherry and cassis that are complemented by notes of tobacco, bay laurel, cedar, and dark chocolate. Plush and inviting on entry, this wine’s flavors align with its aromas. The palate reveals dark fruits and an undertone of crushed rocks, tar, and graphite. On the finish, this vintage displays the signature fine-grained tannin of their Quintessa terroir, backed by voluminous texture and fruit.
Blend: 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Carménère, 1% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot
The Quintessa estate has been farmed according to organic principles since its planting in 1989 and with biodynamic practices since 1996
- Quintessa Estate is a Napa Valley wine producer, located in the Rutherford AVA (American Viticultural Area). It produces just one wine from its 280 acre (113 hectare) estate, a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant blend that is consistently met with high acclaim.
- The estate's founders, Agustin and Valeria Huneeus, have sought to produce one wine that expresses the terroir of the property each vintage. As a result, while always Cabernet Sauvignon-based, Quintessa's final blend is never exactly the same. While Cabernet Sauvignon dominates, there are also plantings of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Carmenere on the estate property. The property's hills, lake and river contribute different mesoclimates, and there are several different types of soil. The 26 separate vineyard blocks are all vinified separately, and then the final blend is decided before bottling each vintage.
- Agustin Huneeus was born and raised in Santiago, Chile, where he grew Concha y Toro into the largest winery in the country, before leaving the country in 1971 due to political unrest. Valeria Huneeus is a viticulturalist and has a PhD in biochemistry. After working for several prestigious wineries in Napa, they found what was to become the Quintessa property in 1989. The land had not been planted to vine before, so the Huneeus' could plant to their liking.
- Huneeus has an extensive history in the viticulture and oenology industry. In 2010, he purchased The Prisoner and Saldo from Orin Swift Cellars until the brand was sold to Constellation in April 2016. He also owns Faust and Illumination in Napa Valley and has a partnership with Flowers Vineyards & Winery on the Sonoma Coast.
Quintessa, Rutherford, Napa Valley, California 2022
Style
RedVintage
2022
Bin
94B+ Right-hand side
