2018 Quintessa Proprietary Red Rutherford Napa Valley 750 ml

We called our last offer of Quintessa’s Proprietary Red Wine the greatest ever off their Rutherford estate.

It was true when we said it.

That was before the flawless 2018 Napa Valley vintage produced the highest-rated Quintessa of all time. From an iconic winery whose wines merit collecting every vintage, this 99-point bottle is quite simply a must-have for serious California collectors. 

Take one sip to discover what made Quintessa a Napa Valley benchmark: With its gorgeous ripe fruit, lush and tightly knit texture, and the aromatic brilliance of a warm-vintage Bordeaux, it’s a gorgeous expression of some of the Valley’s greatest terroir. Bursting with dark berry aromas accented by forest floor, tobacco, dried flowers, and graphite undertones, it’s grand and layered, with plenty of muscular tannins that will allow it to age for decades. 

Laying eyes on the Quintessa property makes it easy to understand why the wine is so gorgeous: There might not be a more pristine piece of land in Napa Valley. Located just north of the Oakville Crossroad, it’s bordered by Silverado Trail in the east and the Napa River in the west. It’s a sight to behold, whether you’re driving by or perched high above, gazing down from the Michelin-starred Auberge du Soleil. 

Some of what makes this property special is readily apparent—its undulating landscape of hills and valleys, oriented in all directions, provides the benefit of varied exposures—while some of the magic is beyond view. The vines dig deep into white volcanic ash in the eastern hills, deep gravel in the central hills, and a mix of clay, loam, sand, and gravel in the benchlands, a diverse array of soils that provides a character most winemakers can only dream of. 

In the age of single-vineyard wines, Quintessa follows the Bordelaise blueprint, as they have from the beginning. They produce one flagship red wine from their biodynamically farmed Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Carmenère. Each of their 26 blocks is farmed, harvested, and vinified separately, then blended to capture the estate in its diverse entirety.

The 96-point 2018 vintage provided the optimal conditions for an exquisite wine. The weather was moderate through harvest, producing clusters of perfect balance and acidity, allowing phenolics and flavors to develop without over-ripeness. The mellow conditions enabled a long, leisurely, low-pressure harvest that allowed winemaker Rebekah Wineburg and her team to pick the grapes with nothing but utmost quality in mind. 

Wineburg aged the 2018 for 20 months in 62% new French oak, then another year in bottle. The result is the kind of wine that made Quintessa an icon and represents Napa Valley at its most decadent and elegant. It’s a must for the California Cabernet collector and will pay dividends for decades.