2013 Quintessa Red
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Tasting notes
92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Carmenère, 1% Petit Verdot. Average 21–25 days’ skin contact. Aged 21 months, 85% in new French oak barrels. Certified organic (CCOF) and biodynamic (Demeter). Deep ruby with the barest hint of garnet at the rim. Black-cherry-juice nose with subtle, minerally crushed-rock edge. Intensely flavourful with cedar spice, cigar box, dried herbs, black plum and savoury spice. The oak on this is evident but is beautifully balanced and so spicy, with an incredibly long, amaro-tinged finish. Mouth-filling and huge but oh so flavourful. The tannins are tactile – lightly sticky with lightly warming alcohol. In its drinking window but with so much potential. (SCJ)
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
The 2013 Proprietary Red is 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot and Carmenere that was raised all in French oak. It's a gorgeous Cabernet delivering lots of red and black currant and plum fruits as well as complex notes of iron, tobacco leaf, and lead pencil-like nuances. These carry to a full-bodied, concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon with a beautiful mid-palate, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It’s clearly at the early stages of its prime drinking plateau and has another 15-20 years of longevity ahead of it.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Carmenѐre. ‘The 2013 growing season can be described as an early, even and excellent vintage. A warm dry spring brought early budbreak and, with the exception of one heat spike in late June, temperatures were consistent resulting in notably healthy vines. Cooler sunny weather throughout October allowed the final grapes still on the vine to develop superior phenolic and flavour maturity. This vintage has given us an extraordinary gift, exceptional promise and potential to exceed expectations—another year that has been described as nearly perfect.’ Intensely purplish crimson. Lifted nose and very sweet and ripe. A little more like stereotypical Napa than the 2012 though enlivened by a mineral graphite note on the end. Big build with a massive charge of ripe tannins still in evidence. (JR)
Still showing terrifically youthful purple color, the 2013 Proprietary Red Wine delivers waves of cedar, vanilla and black cherries. It's richer and more concentrated than typical for the estate yet still silky in feel, with a medium to full-bodied palate and ample length on the mocha-tinged finish. It should drink well for another 15 years or so.