Quintessa 2011

Professional Ratings

• 95 Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
  COMMENTARY: An absolute phenomenal effort from a vintage with only a handful of stars. I tasted this wine blind against some of the world's top wines and this wine performed remarkably. TASTING NOTES: The 2011 Quintessa Red wine shows beautiful, elegant, and persistent aromas and flavors similar to the Right Bank of Bordeaux and the best from the top microclimates in Sonoma County. The wine exhibits red fruit and stony earth aromas and flavors. Pair it with a succulent ribeye and your palate will be singing a happy tune. (Tasted: February 22, 2018, St. Helena, CA)
• 94 James Suckling

  This is fresh and vivid with blackberries, dark chocolate and fresh mushrooms, as well as bark and dark, trumpet mushroom-like notes. Medium to full body with fine tannins and a creamy, fine texture. More savory notes come through. Subtle and complex. From biodynamically grown grapes. So delicious now.

• 93 Wine Enthusiast
  For the 2011 vintage, Winemaker Charles Thomas blended Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot from the winery’s 280-acre biodynamic and organically farmed estate in the heart of Rutherford. The effect is memorable, the wine pungent in red plum and cherry. Light, layered and elegantly smooth on the palate, it has a backdrop of black pepper and clove. Cellar through 2025.
  Cellar Selection
• 92 Connoisseurs' Guide
  Deep, beautifully focused, ripe currant fruit teams with lovely oak sweetness from beginning to end here, and, while the two are stunning and as neatly fit as can be, the wine goes beyond fruit and the barrel with layers of dusty soil and mineral complexities running its length. It is both substantial and uncannily sleek and light on its feet, and it is structured as to age famously. Its tannins are ample yet fine enough to allow mid-term drinking, but we have every reason to believe that this outstanding offering will only grow better and better over the course of the next ten years.