James had an interesting conversation on January 7 over Zoom with Rebekah Wineburg and biodynamic guru, Rodrigo Soto, respectively winemaker and estate director at Napa's Quintessa. They tasted a vertical of Quintessa wines, including the Quintessa Napa Valley Rutherford 2016, 2017, and the 2018. Quintessa is a 280-acre site with a diversity of geology, biodiversity, exposures, and microclimates. A total of 160 acres are planted with cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, petit verdot and carmenere on 26 vineyard blocks. Each block is farmed organically and biodynamically.
During the tasting James, along with JamesSuckling.com Assistant Editor Claire Nesbitt, discussed with Rebekah and Rodrigo the benefits and recent breakthroughs in biodynamic farming and talked about optical sorting, ageability and more. Watch the video for the full conversation which includes discussion of the 2018 vintage, which is shaping up to be a very balanced vintage.
Read the full Napa report here: NEW NAPA VALLEY WINES HIGHLIGHT HARMONY AND REFINEMENT WITH 2018 VINTAGE (1,093 WINES RATED)
Below are the wines that were tasted during the call. Click the links to see the tasting notes and scores (subscribers only).
Quintessa Napa Valley Rutherford 2016
Quintessa Napa Valley Rutherford 2017
Quintessa Napa Valley Rutherford 2018
