Quintessa 2017
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Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling -
Wilfred
Wong - Decanter
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Wine
Spectator
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The 2017 Quintessa is eloquent in its message. The wine is powerfully structured, with an elegance to its tannins, and notable layers of complexity that reveal themselves as the wine opens in the glass and as it ages in the bottle. The aroma begins with lovely black cherry and cassis coated with dark chocolate. Notes of thyme and sage interplay with hints of cinnamon, cedar, and incense. The wine develops on the palate with lively acidity that offers balance to graceful layers of red and black fruit. Savory nuances of tar and tobacco follow, through a long, lingering finish marked by fine tannin. Combining structure and drive with elegance and finesse, the 2017 Quintessa is a memorable vintage.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Already bottled, the 2017 Quintessa displays a deep garnet-purple color. The nose needs a little coaxing before it reveals bold, expressive notes of crushed red and black plums, black currant jelly, wild blueberries and kirsch with nuances of camphor, cloves, cedar and lilacs plus a hint of oolong tea. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has beautifully expressed, elegant red and black fruit layers, with a sturdy, grainy frame and plenty of freshness, finishing long and earthy.
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James Suckling
Crushed berries, incense and blackberries with black-olive undertones. Extremely perfumed. Medium to full body. Very intense for a 2017. Crafted and polished. Long and caressing. Elegant. Drink or hold.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The Quintessa Red has always been about elegance and style, and indeed the 2017 vintage exhibits precisely those hallmarks. TASTING NOTES: This wine wraps aromas and flavors of black fruit, licorice, and savory spices together in an attractive and cohesive package. Enjoy it with smoked turkey and fragrant seasonings. (Tasted: October 17, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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Decanter
Power and concentration from the first nose, underbrush and spice box notes show traces of the drought of the 2017 summer, turning into liquorice, bitter black chocolate, sweet fig and tight-berried fruit as it opens. Flavourful and compact, with subtle hints of thyme and sage, lacks some freshness but this is a well structured enjoyable bottle. From a beautiful, one-block vineyard in Rutherford, with vines on terraces planted around a lake. 76% new oak. Blend completed with 1% Petit Verdot. Tasted twice.
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Wine Spectator
Solid, featuring blackberry and black currant notes, carried by a well-integrated brambly structure, ending with a lively licorice snap accent. Reveals a dark earth component at the end, while the fruit powers through easily. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Carmenère. Best from 2021 through 2032.
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A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
The Rutherford sub-region of Napa Valley centers on the town of Rutherford and covers some of Napa Valley’s finest vineyard real estate, spanning from the Mayacamas in the west, to the Vaca Mountains on the other side of the valley.
Inside of the Rutherford AVA, bordering the Mayacamas, is a stretch of uplands called the Rutherford Bench. (These bench lands technically run the length of Oakville as well). Mountain runoff creates deep, well-drained, alluvial soils on the bench, giving vine roots plenty of reason to permeate deep into the ground. The result is wine with great structure and complexity.
Rutherford Cabernet Sauvingons and Bordeaux Blends garner substantial attention for their enticing fragrances of dusty earth and dried herbs, broad and juicy mid-palates and lush and fine-grained tannins. The sub-appellation claims some of the valley’s most prized vineyards today, namely Caymus, Rubicon and Beckstoffer Georges III.
It is also home to Napa’s most influential and historic personalities. Thomas Rutherford, responsible for the appellation's name, made serious investments here in grape growing and wine production between the years of 1850 to 1880. Gustave Niebaum purchased a large swath of land and completed his winery in 1887, calling it “Inglenook.” Today this remains the oldest bonded winery in California. Georges Latour founded Beaulieu Vineyard in 1900, making it the oldest continuous winery in the state. Latour also hired the famous enologist, André Tchelistcheff, a man credited for single-handedly defining the modern Napa winemaking style.