Lengthy earlier than she tasted it, winemaker Rebekah Wineburg knew that the Quintessa 2021 Pink can be completely different. The wine had been the end result of intensive “terroir research” that exposed insights into the geology and microclimates of the sprawling Napa property, which runs from the Vaca Mountains to the Napa River on the hilly jap fringe of Rutherford.
However she couldn’t have predicted the transcendent expertise of first tasting the Bordeaux-style pink mix, which depends totally on Cabernet Sauvignon. Or the shock she felt upon studying that Wine Fanatic’s Napa critic Elaine Chukan Brown had given it 100 factors in a blind tasting: a uncommon good ranking.
“This wine is the purest and most clear expression of the property we’ve ever made,” says Wineburg, who likens the sensation of tasting the wine to strolling by Quintessa’s picturesque panorama. “It’s actually gratifying to see that someone you respect a lot—to see that the critic—noticed the identical factor.”
In truth, the Quintessa 2021 Pink is the primary wine Brown has ever awarded 100 factors for Wine Fanatic. In the course of the wine-scoring course of, critics style wines in a cohort of an identical kind. “On this case, different Cabernet blends of the identical classic from Napa Valley have been tasted collectively with out revealing the producers till after the tasting,” says Brown. “Taking this method helps to fantastically reveal stand-out wines.”
And this wine stood out. Brown, who deems it “beautiful” of their assessment, was struck by aromas of lavender, dried herbs and grapefruit pith, complemented by flavors of agency fruit and cocoa. “The stability of delight with integrity and refinement was spectacular,” they recall.
The Backstory
To make such a spectacular wine, the Quintessa crew needed to get their arms soiled–specifically, by getting within the dust.
With the assistance of terroir consultants Pedro Parra and Brenna Quigley, they carried out an investigation of the underground operating beneath Quintessa’s 280 acres beginning in 2019 to know how completely different blocks have produced, past simply noting their soil and elevation.
“Every of our 5 terroir models have completely different bedrock geology, completely different chemistry and completely different reactions to drought and soil temperatures—all of that is the character of the wine because it’s expressed,” says Wineburg. “With the ’21, you possibly can see the work that we’ve accomplished to learn the way we are able to higher steward and inform the vines.”
An enormous a part of this stewardship is the unglamorous work of pruning. The structure and measurement of the vine must “match the capability of the underground,” just like the soil’s skill to carry and provides water. 2021 was the second 12 months of serious drought, so the method at Quintessa, which has practiced biodynamic farming since 1996, tailored accordingly.
“We might inform we have been going to be beginning the season with much less gasoline within the tank, so we pruned in accordance with the situations of the 12 months, but additionally the situations of the underground,” she says. “And we have been rewarded with wines that have been fantastically balanced.”
The crop, whereas smaller, was in a position “to ripen however not overripen, to have focus and density but additionally class and lightness.” It wasn’t nearly having an excellent website, however anticipating the wants of the vines. In truth, these vines had been there for 30 years, however by no means earlier than had the crew labored so efficiently with the geology’s particularities, not in opposition to it or despite it.
Some vintages shock you, and develop as they age. However the 2021 supplied fast payoff. “From the second of harvest, you knew it was one thing particular,” says Wineburg. “There was depth of fruit taste and acidity and minerality, and agency but supple tannin.”
Why It’s Nice
On the east facet of the property, the land is product of white volcanic ash with very low clay. This lends itself to wines which might be ethereal with a floral character, which might be “lengthy and linear with a high quality chalky texture,” notes Wineburg—qualities that come by within the 2021 Pink.
Of their 100-point ranking, Brown praises “the construction of considerable, powder-fine tannin and a mouthwatering end.” They conclude, “This wine is refined, detailed and scrumptious, with as a lot class as vitality.”
“The combination of element and complexity within the Quintessa with construction to age, luxurious aroma and taste, and pleasing texture exceeded what is usually present in Cabernet and Cabernet blends,” Brown recollects of the tasting.
Wineburg is keen to proceed the work of isolating geologic variations at Quintessa to provide extra wines which have such a targeted and exact expression. “If you already know that there’s this distinction underground, let’s deal with that individually within the vineyard,” she says. “Let’s not put every little thing collectively within the tank as a result of I’ve a tank that matches it.”
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