Quintessa

There is no doubting the commitment of the team at Quintessa to what they are doing. Not only is their entire estate managed organically and biodynamically, but everything goes towards producing just one wine. The grand vin is a Cabernet-dominant Bordeaux blend, characterised by classic pure Napa blue fruit flavours, structured tannins and a distinctive mineral imprint from the terroir. Supremely ageable, it regularly scores in the high-90s with critics.

Located on Napa’s Silverado Trail at the eastern edge of the famous Rutherford AVA, Quintessa’s vineyards butt up against the Vaca Mountains range. A strikingly beautiful mosaic of hills, valleys, slopes and microclimates, it provides many different terroirs, all of which are vinified separately before being carefully blended to create that year’s vintage. Biodynamics requires that everything on a farm – plants, animals, soil and micro-organisms – must be kept in careful balance. As winemaker Rebekah Wineburg says, ‘It’s a great way to think about your actions as a farmer, to figure out what your connection is to everything that you do.’ The wine is not just a reflection of terroir and vineyards, but a reflection of the entire estate and its ethos.