2016 Quintessa, Rutherford, Napa Valley, Calfornia, USA

Brambled fruit combined with bitter black chocolate. Very much majoring on primary flavours at this still-early stage, with cooling blueberries, sweet raspberry puree, bay leaf, iodine, turmeric spice. Striking clarity and precision, and a moreish salinity that keeps your mouth watering right through the lingering finish. A balanced vintage overall without the usual heatwave at the end of September, but remaining warm and sunny throughout. The new oak was brought down to around 60% in this vintage. Technical director Rebecca Wineberg, consultant Michel Rolland.Drink 2025 to 2042jane_anson_mw, janeanson_com (February 2022)

The 2016 Proprietary Red Wine is blended of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Carménère, with all fruit coming from the Quintessa estate, and it aged for 20 months in 73% new French oak. Very deep purple-black in color, it comes bounding out of the glass like a pedigree pup with exuberant notions of crème de cassis, warm blueberries and black cherries with hints of redcurrants, kirsch, candied violets, crushed rocks, cigar box and fallen leaves plus a waft of truffles. Full, rich and beautifully laced with layers of floral notes and fragrant earth, the profound black and blue fruits build slowly in the mouth, achieving great energy and depth with a beautiful velvety frame, finishing long and perfumed.Drink 2021 - 2048Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate

Phenomenal aromas of crushed berries, forest fruit, mushrooms and iron. Medium to full body, with layers of soft and refined tannins that follow through to a beautiful finish. Extremely long and refined. This shows depth and structure with balance and harmony. Hard not to open the bottle now and drink it, but it appears to be closing down now. Needs four to five years to show it all.james_suckling, jamessuckling_com

What a nose – this delivers much more complexity and richness than you might expect at this age. There's plum and bramble fruit, but also loads of liquorice, aniseed, spice and iodine. Proper stuff, shows how great Napa combines luscious fruit with genuine complexity.richard_hemming_mw, JancisRobinson.com (Mar 2022)