Quintessa 2015

Ever since the winery’s start in 1990, the goal at Quintessa was always to have the most beautiful wine estate in the world, with the best winemaking team making the best wines. That much is clear. The winery is always at the top of the Napa Visit list– a picturesque 270-acre plot in Rutherford right in the heart of Napa Valley with a massive, state of the art tasting room and 17,000 square foot wine caves on the premises.

On the winemaking side, the team includes superstar consultant Michel Rolland, joining Andy Erickson (Screaming Eagle/Leviathan) and superstar young winemaker, Rebekah Wineburg who joined the team in 2015 after stints at Staglin and Rudd.

The 2015 Quintessa is a beautifully layered masterpiece, loaded with seduction and tension. It starts with a bust of jammy black fruits and baked pie and finishes with dense yet silky tannins. When you pop the cork you’re treated to aromas of black cherry clove, bay leaves, and cocoa. The finely grained tannins harmoniously work together with the dense fruit delivering a mouthful of vivacious fruit and lively acidity that finish long and complete. This will drink like a dream for decades to come.

This comes with the usual high marks from the expert reviewers, but most of them tasted this a few years ago. I had this one the other day and it was absolutely killer. I wonder if any of the 100-point wines from the 2015 vintage could possibly match up with this one today.