The 2023 Tenor Quintessence Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon puts Red Mountain’s bigger personality on full display. Dense and dark crimson to the rim, this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon bursts with blackberry crème, violets, star anise, and wet stone, followed by black cherry, light roast coffee, and cocoa. It’s big, plush, and polished—but with enough freshness to keep all that power in line.
After four vintages with their fair share of drama, 2023 was a welcome return to normal. Typical timing. Typical yields. Typical harvest dates. Boring? Maybe. We loved every minute of it. A steady growing season and cooler finish gave the fruit plenty of time to develop flavor, tannin, and freshness without being rushed. For us in the cellar, the consistency was a gift—great wine was simply easier to make.
Quintessence Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested in October and fermented entirely in oak barrels for 14 days, then spent a total of 30 days in contact with the grape skins to build depth, texture, and structure. The wine then spent 23 months aging in 100% new oak, building layers of richness and polish around its naturally powerful Red Mountain structure.
The result is a full-textured Cabernet with refined, dusty tannins and a long finish of fig jam and black tea. For all its size, it never loses its footing—fresh, balanced, and unapologetically opulent.
Just 71 cases were produced. Quintessence is Red Mountain turned all the way up.