Quintus - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2021
Château Quintus, the new star of the right bank
In 2011, Domaine Clarence Dillon purchased a superb property in Saint-Émilion, now renamed Château Quintus. In 2013, Château Quintus made the acquisition of another neighbouring property, as well as a third one in 2021. These three exceptional properties now form a wine estate of 45 hectares producing one of Saint-Émilion’s finest wines. The Gallo-Romans, creators of the vineyards of Saint-Emilion, had the custom of naming their 5th child Quintus (fifth). So, Domaine Clarence Dillon has decided to pay homage to its glorious predecessors by renaming this growth Château Quintus.
Perched on a limestone promontory, culminating at an altitude of 62 metres, Quintus offers up a breath-taking 360-degree view across the Dordogne valley. Its topography, boasting a plateau and featuring north, west and south facing slopes, comprises an incredible abundance of micro-climates and limestone soils, especially well suited for extricating the finest qualities of the Merlot and Cabernet Franc grape varietals.
The environmental specificity of Château Quintus lies in its Mediterranean Green Belt, a true haven of biodiversity. The sublime natural gardens and terraces of Quintus, representing two hectares, are enchanting from the very the first glance. These boast numerous hedgerows, majestic holm oaks, low stone walls and verdant escarpments. These treasures of the landscape heritage that surround the plots of vines are important shelters for natural allies, vital to the success of the vineyard.
The 2021 vintage2021 highlighted even more the strength of Quintus’s terroir, with a rainy month of June during which the limestone promontory enabled the vine to be protected from weather risks and fungal diseases, thanks to its topography and natural drainage of the soils.
After a relatively cool month of July, when the grapes developed slowly, the month of September marked a distinct speed-up in ripening, with warm, sunny days that were really beneficial for maturity.
The expansion of the property, progressing to 45 hectares, of which 42 hectares under vine, made its mark upon these harvests, because this enlargement gives the winemaking teams an even richer palette for creating their blends. The potential of these new plots was confirmed from the 2021 vintage. A large proportion of theses plots was included in the Grand Vin's final blend.
Behind the 2021 vintage's scenes: https://bit.ly/Quintus2021Tasting NoteA superb ruby-red colour with purple glints. The first nose is concentrated, ripe and slightly discreet. Swirling reveals lovely complexity and confirms the ripeness of the fruit, with scents of violet.
On the first taste, it is wide and flavoursome with pulp. Then the wine develops flawlessly, thanks to developed, tightly-knit tannins. This Quintus leaves a splendid sensation of fruity lightness and controlled concentration, without any harshness. Excellent persistency.
"The 2021 Quintus is the most elegant wine I have ever tasted here" Antonio Galloni