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
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
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.
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Jeb Dunnuck
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.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
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.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.