Quintessa, 2023
Quintessa, 2023
- 75cl
- 14.5%
- Red Still
- Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Carmenère
- Organic
- Biodynamic
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Drinking window: 2026 - 2050
Est. delivery in 2027
Quintessa sits in Rutherford, Napa Valley - an eco-minded estate founded by Agustin and Valeria Huneeus in 1989. Spanning 280 acres, the estate is a natural mosaic of hills, valleys, and diverse soils, all farmed organically and biodynamically. They farm 160 acres of vines; Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Carménère, divided into 26 separate blocks, each harvested and vinified individually to preserve site differences. The winery itself was designed to fit into the hillside, using gravity-flow to move grapes gently through the process, with naturally cooled caves for aging.
Quintessa is the estate’s flagship red - a blend of primarily Cabernet Sauvignon, often joined by Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Carménère. Each parcel is picked and handled individually, then aged separately in French oak before the final blend is crafted. The wine is rich and layered, but never heavy.
What the critics say:
"A marvelously bright red from winemaker Rebekah Wineburg, remarkably fragrant in its mineral elegance of the dusty red pulverized earth that is so characteristic of the Rutherford AVA, also appearing on the palate as fine, gravelly, cocoa-powder infused tannins. Pure-fruited, with ripe cassis and blackberry notes, salted dark chocolate, and a full-bodied personality, radiant with exotic floral notes of hibiscus and red rose, with a touch of dried sage and rosemary that adds further complexity. Incredibly elegant and built for long-term cellaring. The full blend includes: 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 2% Carménère, 2% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot. After 20 days of maceration, the wine was aged for 22 months in 60% new French oak barrels and 3% in a terracotta amphora."
"Luscious dark fruit that’s soft and supple. Aromas of blackberries, currants, violets, graphite, licorice, spices, dried flowers and chalk. The palate is densely packed, with dark fruit, fine minerally tannins and bright acidity, bringing a rustic, ferric feel and a bright, fresh and focused profile. What an exceptional release. Made from 90% cabernet sauvignon, 5% cabernet franc, 2% carmenere, 2% merlot and 1% petit verdot. Aged in 60% new French oak. Drink or hold."
The Quintessa property sits on a series of distinct soil types within Rutherford — volcanic, alluvial, and sedimentary — which gives the blending team a remarkable palette to work with across a single estate. Elevations range from the valley floor up into the hillsides, adding freshness and structural tension that pure valley-floor sites in Napa sometimes lack. The famous Rutherford dust — a local shorthand for the fine, silty loam that gives wines from this bench their distinctive, earthy mid-palate texture — is very much in evidence here. Warm days and cool nights from the bay influence keep the fruit from tipping into overripeness.
Rutherford is one of Napa Valley's most celebrated sub-appellations, sitting in the heart of the valley between Oakville to the south and St Helena to the north. It is most associated with Cabernet Sauvignon of a particular character: rich and generous, but with a dusty, earthy mid-palate quality — the so-called Rutherford Dust — that distinguishes it from the more opulent fruit of Oakville or the firmer structure of Calistoga. The rules here are broad (Napa Valley AVA requirements apply), so the character of Rutherford wines is more a product of its soils and growers than any regulatory framework. Quintessa's single-estate approach makes it a particularly pure expression of what this ground can do.
After the drought years that dominated much of the early 2020s, 2023 brought Napa something it had almost forgotten: a genuinely wet winter. Atmospheric rivers dumped substantial rainfall across California through the early months, replenishing reservoirs and pushing water tables up in ways the valley hadn't seen for years. The growing season that followed was cooler and more drawn out than recent vintages, with harvest arriving later than many growers had become accustomed to. That extra hang time matters — it tends to produce phenolic ripeness without the sugar accumulation that forces winemakers into picking decisions they'd rather not make.
The result across Napa is a vintage that feels more detailed and less obviously plush than the blockbuster heat years. Cabernet Sauvignon shows real structure — tannins that have something to say — alongside fruit that doesn't overwhelm the conversation. These are wines built for the medium to long term. The best examples from Oakville, Rutherford, and Stags Leap will reward patience; give the serious reds until at least 2028, and the top names considerably longer. If you're reaching for bottles now, give them air and time in the glass.
OUR GROWERS
Quintessa Estate
