Today’s Story: Quintessa
Quintessa was established in 1989 by Agustin and Valeria Huneeus in the Rutherford AVA of the Napa Valley. Though Quintessa was the Huneeus family’s first venture into Napa, both Agustin and Valeria were wine industry veterans in Chile. Agustin helped build Concha y Toro into the largest winery in Chile as their CEO, while Valeria is a microbiologist and viticulturist who discovered the land that ultimately became Quintessa’s home. The property consists of 280 acres, 160 of which are planted to vine with the balance home to the winery and 100 acres of natural woodland. The 160 acres of vineyards are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Carménère across 26 individual blocks that are fermented separately. The vineyards are farmed organically with the occasional use of biodynamic practices, while wines are made utilizing gravity flow to maximize the gentleness of the winemaking process. Quintessa produces one premium Cabernet Sauvignon wine each vintage, while also bottling limited quantities of Sauvignon Blanc under the Illumination label.
To read my review on their 2018 Illumination Sauvignon Blanc, click here.
Today’s Wine: 2012 Quintessa
85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Carménère, 2% Petit Verdot; 14.5% ABV
The 2012 Quintessa is opaque deep ruby in color. I gave this about 2 hours to decant as it is still very youthful, allowing the nose to blossom into aromas of blackberry, blueberry, plum, licorice, sweet tobacco, chopped herbs, wet slate, cedar spill, and vanilla. On the palate, I get classic notes of blackberry, cassis, plum, violets, tobacco, chocolate, clove, black pepper, and oaky spice. This is full-bodied with high acidity, medium (+) tannins, and a long finish.
Price: $200 (paid $150 from winery). There’s no denying this is a delicious, high-quality, and well-made Napa red blend, however I don’t think I can justify the QPR especially at today’s market prices. It certainly fits into the more people-pleasing realm for me as well, which is generally not my style preference.
JB's Wine Talk 