Quintessa - Napa Valley 2019

matthewjukes.com

19 / 20

byMatthew Jukesthe9/14/2022

I always want Quintessa to taste both Californian and French simultaneously. I have no idea why this is apart from the fact that I have been buying this wine since the late nineties when it first came over to the UK, and it was always the most elegant of the Napa brigade. The 2019 is a perfect example of this model, with oodles of class shot through silky, top-flight Napa Cabernet fruit.

Anthocyanes

93 / 100

byYohan Castaingthe9/9/2022

Fermé avec une légère pointe de réduction. Bouche massive et veloutée, de la puissance et une affirmation de soi réelle. Un vin qui montre ses muscles. Manque toutefois d'élégance. 92 % de cabernet-sauvignon, 3 % de cabernet franc, 2 % de merlot, 2 % de carmenère et 1 % de petit verdot.

The Wine Independent

96 / 100

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe8/24/2022

Composed of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot, 2% Carmenere, and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is deep garnet-purple colored. It explodes from the glass with bombastic scents of blackcurrant cordial, baked plums, and blueberry preserves, giving way to a fragrant undercurrent of dried roses, cedar chest, camphor, and Sichuan pepper. The full-bodied palate reveals impressive restraint, offering a refreshing backbone and loads of savory accents to counter the generous fruit, finishing with a quiet intensity and great plushness. The result is a very cleverly done Cabernet!

Wine Enthusiast

100 / 100

the6/15/2022

This is a winemaker’s master class in blending and understanding of a longstanding site. Dried herb, cedar and pencil shavings accent lifted red fruit and brilliant acidity on the palate, with a supple yet still youthfully grippy texture that is framed by structured, graceful tannins.

Jeb DUNNUCK

97 / 100

byJeb Dunnuckthe4/5/2022

I was blown away by the 2019 Red Blend from Quintessa, which is up with the crème de la crème of the vintage. Based on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Carmenère, this full-bodied beauty has a perfectly balanced, seamless, yet expansive and classic 2019 style as well as gorgeous aromatics of cassis, flowers, chalky minerality, and integrated oak. It’s hard to resist already, but I have no doubt this will evolve for 20 years if stored properly.

Jane Anson

97 / 100

byJane Ansonthe1/19/2022

Concentrated, powerful and creamy damson and blackberry fruit, rippled through with sage, fennel and warm earth. Hard not to be seduced by the precision and chiselled freshness that plays with a more gourmet brioche and chocolate finish. You'll find the same energy and vitality as in the 2018 vintage, and the same graphite and slate texture to the tannins. A year without too many extremes of temperature, and by this point the vineyard work was extremely precise - 26 different blocks, 86 separate picking sections, far greater accounting for the impact of terroir in the vineyard practices. Winemaker Rebekah Wineberg, consultant Michel Rolland, 60% new oak for ageing.

Jamessuckling.com

99 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe12/8/2021

So much earth and spice with walnut and wet earth. Like fog laying over the valley in the morning. Black fruit. Medium-to full-bodied with super-fine tannins that are long and persistent, with graceful progression and length on the palate. So long, with real definition. September 2022 release. From biodynamically grown grapes. Hard not to drink now, but will age wonderfully.

Vinous

94 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe9/1/2021

The 2019 Quintessa is one of the best wines I have tasted here in some time. Broad swaths of tannin wrap around a core intense dark plum, mocha, licorice and spice. The 2019 clearly needs a few years in bottle to come together. Quintessa is a large, sprawling property with many different exposures. My feeling is that it may not ultimately be suited to making a single large production flagship wine, but that perhaps a series of smaller production wines might showcase the site better.