WINEMAKER NOTES:
The 2021 Quartet wonderfully captures the vibrancy and depth of the 2021 vintage, a year of very little rainfall and warm California summer days. The wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot, and it exhibits the full range of aromas and flavors that the blend implies. The Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from the cooler climes of Napa Valley, drives the profile of the wine, with dark, savory tones of graphite, sage, mocha, and mint underpinning a core of black and red fruits. The Cabernet Franc provides the perfect level of spice and aromatic interest, showing notes of lavender, cardamom, and subtle fennel seed. Merlot adds a juicy blue-fruited element, and a small dose of Petit Verdot grounds the wine with earth tones and a hint of wood extract.
Blend: 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot
TASTING NOTES:
Spiced and a little earthy with ripe plums, blackcurrants, cocoa and moist earth. Full-bodied, firm and tight with chalky tannins. Long and spicy. Tight at the end. A blend 83% cabernet sauvignon, 11% cabernet franc, 5% merlot and 1% petit verdot.
-James Suckling, 94 pts.
Mostly Cabernet Sauvignon (83%), this 2021 Red Wine Quartet has impressive amounts of black and blue fruits that give way to more leafy herb and chocolate notes with air. It's medium to full-bodied, has a round, supple mouthfeel, and outstanding length. It brings lots of fruit, yet it stays balanced and elegant.
-Jeb Dunnuck, 92 pts.
Mainly Cabernet Sauvignon but with smaller amounts of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the 2021 Quartet Red Wine does a fine job interweaving complex notes of dried herbs, cassis, black cherries and raspberries. In the mouth, it's medium to full-bodied, creamy and supple, making it immediately approachable. Yes, it ends with some dusty tannins and impressive length, but this is the one to pop now while waiting for the other Arietta wines to shed some tannin and develop additional nuance.
-Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 92 pts.
