Faust Cabernet Sauvignon 2023
(Napa Valley, California) - [JS 96] [JD 91]

About the Winery: 
Faust is the second wine of Agustin and Valeria Huneeus ' Quintessa. They developed Quintessa in 1990 to establish the property as one of the great red wine estates of the world. Valeria guided the 280-acre Rutherford vineyard with strict care for the soil and environment with a commitment to biodynamic and organic farming. The vineyard's many micro-climates, soil types, elevations, and exposures have been planted to a wide selection of rootstocks and clones, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and small plots of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Carmenère. The wine is made by Charles Thomas of Quintessa.

Notes from the Winemaker:
Elegantly structured and polished, Faust 2023 Napa Valley Cabernet is exquisitely balanced between freshness and richness on the palate. The cool forest notes that lift from the glass meld with oak spice, bay laurel, and fragrant underbrush while the wine's signature star anise gives way to beautifully concentrated flavors of Luxardo cherry, blueberry compote, and dark cocoa. Fine-grained tannins wrap around a backbone of acidity that persists-with intriguing wet-slate minerality-endlessly on the finish. The generous character of this wine makes it delicious now, but with its tight structure, it will age beautifully.

The Vintage:
The 2023 vintage was shaped by a model growing season, with a cool spring delaying bud break and flowering. The moderate temperatures persisted through summer and well past recent harvest dates, with plentiful natural resources throughout for canopies and fruit to thrive under the conditions we always hope for: low, slow, and cool. In the end, we had the luxury of waiting for both optimum phenolic ripeness and complex flavor development, to pick with the two in perfect balance.

Technical Details:
Blend: 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, complemented with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and PEtit Verdot.

Aging: 20 months in 100% French oak, 25% new

Alcohol: 14.7%