Quintessa 2004 Red (Rutherford)

Country: US /
Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend California
Winery: Quintessa / Rutherford

A dramatic young wine, fleshy and dazzling now for its lush fruit and oak, although the tannins have a crunchy hardness. But that merely ensures ageability. It’s beautiful the way the acid-tannin structure plays against the cherry, cassis and olive fruit, creating an architectural tension. If you open this wine now, decant for a few hours. Otherwise, it should hold for six to eight years, and develop further bottle complexity afterward.