How This Napa Valley Red Wine Epitomizes the Art of Blending

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While many winemakers divide their acreage into blocks to create a series of single-vineyard expressions, Rebekah Wineburg continues Quintessa’s goal to create the best possible wine from the varied terrain of its Rutherford estate. Wineberg worked with some of the world’s top viticulture experts to map the estate and divide it into 26 distinct blocks, which enables her to maximize the quality from Quintessa’s organically and biodynamically farmed plots and blend the grapes into a harmonious whole. Made with mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and small amounts of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Carménère, the stunning Quintessa 2022 is a shining example of the dual arts of grape farming and expert blending.

With 160 acres of vines spread among 280 acres of land populated with old growth oaks at the heart of Napa Valley, Quintessa’s park-like setting is home to four distinct terroir zones offering a range of exposition, elevation, and soil type. Its 26 blocks are further subdivided into 80 separate parcels, offering Wineburg a wide range of options each year to blend Quintessa to perfection. While there is definitely a through line and recognizable house style vintage after vintage, Wineburg tells Robb Report that“the hallmarks of each block change from year to year depending on the growing season and we cater our farming practices to respect those differences.”

Since establishing Quintessa in 1989, founders Valeria and Agustin Huneeus have farmed with organic techniques, transitioning to biodynamic practices beginning in 1996. A viticulturist and microbiologist with a Ph.D from Columbia University, Valeria insisted from day one that the estate be farmed organically and leave the land better than how they found it. “She also insisted that no trees ever be removed, so the vineyard was planted in existing grasslands, preserving the native oak woodlands,” Wineburg says. Valeria is also a champion of vineyard biodiversity, which Wineburg believes is underestimated when considering the overall quality of wine. And while great wine can certainly be made without adhering to biodynamic principles, Wineburg believes this form of natural farming helps to “craft a wine that speaks of place.”

For the past five years, Wineburg has worked with alongside vineyard manager Martin Galvan and consultants Pedro Parra and Brenna Quigley, who dug soil pits to better understand what was going on underground. As the work progressed, they started to see that while the vines may have looked balanced on the surface, they began to understand the vast differences in soil profiles. These insights have also informed Quintessa’s replanting programs and changes that needed to be made in the vineyard helping the Wineburg better understand vineyard conditions across the estate. While previously she had looked primarily at elevation and aspect (the position of the vineyard in relation to the sun), the digging of soil pits to directly observe soil layers, root interactions, and rock types has allowed her to understand the vines and the conditions in which they exist. At the same time, the use of electrical conductivity mapping has permitted the team to chart subtle soil differences throughout the estate.

This understanding of soil diversity enables Wineburg and her team to make more precise viticulture decisions, like adjusting pruning techniques to enhance vascular flow, shaping canopy structure, and managing yields to suit the unique character of each block. This in turn helps her “connect specific site characteristics with flavor, structure, and aromatics.” Although the 2022 season was the third year in drought cycle, the vineyards benefitted from late-fall rains in 2021 that were followed by a dry winter. These conditions prompted early bud break (when dormant vines reawaken and growth begins), which was then followed by a cool spring and moderate temperatures. Thanks to the terroir studies, Wineburg was able to tailor early-season pruning and canopy management to the conditions, maximizing structure and quality from limited water resources. She says, “Late-season heat encouraged ripening, and the smaller clusters accelerated harvest,” which lasted from September 9 through October 1, an indicator of the wide diversity across the vineyards.

Drawn from 15 estate vineyard blocks, Quintessa 2022 is made with 93 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 4 percent Cabernet Franc, and one percent each Petit Verdot, Merlot, and Carménère. A nod to the Huneeus family’s Chilean origin, even this small amount of Carménère adds what Wineburg calls an herbal savory note and mid-palate plushness. The wine was aged in 60 percent new French oak, 39 percent neutral older barrels, and 1 percent terra-cotta amphora. “The fruit showed exceptional phenolic ripeness, great levels of acidity, and an elegant balance,” she says. Her careful attention to nature and the art of blending paid off; this vintage received ratings of 94, 97, and 99 from a variety of renowned scoring publications. It has been said many times that great wine begins in the vineyard, but armed with a deep-seated knowledge of her estate blocks, Wineburg has turned out another winning edition of Quintessa.

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