2021 Château Quintus, St Emilion, Bordeaux

Cask sample. Juicy, fruity, and much less obviously tart than Dragon 2021. Though a tad pinched on the end. Minerally and chewy on the end.

Drink 2025 - 2035

The 2021 Quintus is the most elegant wine I have ever tasted here, by a wide measure. Nearly half of this fruit is from the former Grand Pontet property, and that fruit seems to bring a measure of aromatic intensity and freshness these wines have lacked in some vintages. All the elements are so well balanced. Bright saline notes linger on the finish. This is impressive for the year.

Drink 2031 - 2046

Fragrant, perfumed strawberries and red cherries on the nose, have a sweet note to them, so welcoming, really bursting out of the glass. Smooth but also quite sharp on the palate with a rush of red fruits - cherries, raspberries, redcurrants and plums fill the palate - with mouthwatering acidity balanced by touches of wet stone minerality, iodine, graphite and pencil. You definitely get the feeling of the terroir here in the chalky saltiness, as well as the stalky, bramble, spiced Cabernet Franc giving backbone and direction. Quite a bit of smoked cedar spice comes in on the end, just overshadowing the brightness and overall sense of fun to this. Well worked with promise.

Drink 2025 - 2040

A blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc, the 2021 Quintus delivers a vibrant bouquet with aromas of dark berries, plums, cassis and spices, followed by a medium to full-bodied palate that's layered and lively, built around powdery tannins and concluding with a saline, sapid finish. Given the characteristics of the vintage, this wine stands out as a remarkable achievement, rivalling some more heralded years at this address.

"It's simple, really," explains Jean-Philippe Delmas. "We produce the Saint-Émilion de Quintus from sandy soils on the plain, the Dragon de Quintus from colluvial soils at the bottom of the slope and Quintus itself from the limestone hillside. In Burgundy, we'd call them our village, premier cru and grand cru bottling, but in Bordeaux—and it doesn't sound as good!—we call them our third, second and first wines." Quintus itself spans some 32 hectares, assembled with the acquisition of châteaux Tertre Daugay, L’Arrosée and, more recently, Grand Pontet. Delmas describes the challenge of the low-pH wines of Saint-Émilion's slopes as being how to deliver supple and integrated tannins without picking too ripe or having too oxidative an élevage. As the adventure continues, the 2021s show an assured hand—and plenty of promise.

68.2% Merlot, 31.3% Cabernet Franc and 0.5% Malbec.

Extremely focused and refined, with firm tannins that run the length of the wine. Medium-bodied with lovely length and juiciness. Blackberry and earth with mushroom and bark. Hints of orange peel, too.