2022 Château Quintus, St Emilion, Bordeaux

58.5% Merlot, 41.5% Cabernet Franc. Includes parcels from Ch Grand-Pontet for the first time this year. 28% of the total production. Cask sample.

Built for the long term, so it will need time. Deep crimson hue. Subtle red-fruit aroma. Opulent and mouth-filling on the palate but fresh. Firm tannic frame behind. Powerful and long, a chalky-saline note on the finish is a reminder of the limestone-clay terroir.

Drink 2030 - 2045

The 2022 Quintus, one of the best wines produced at this estate, reveals the aromas of dark berries, liquorice, ripe plum, spices, and hints of graphite. It’s fleshy, concentrated, precise, and crystalline, with a tensile, chalky profile, velvety tannins, and a vibrant, penetratingly saline finish. 

The integration of fruit from Grand Pontet, recently acquired by the Dillon group, means that the blend now contains fully 41.5% Cabernet Franc, bringing more mid-palate structure and amplifying Quintus’s limestone-influenced character.

The 2022 Quintus represents the first vintage with the full 42 hectares in production after the acquisition of Château Grand Pontet. It contains the highest percentage of Cabernet Franc at 41.5% of the blend. Matured in 39% new oak, it has an opulent but delineated and fresh bouquet, very focused and pure black cherries, hints of cassis and light iris flower aromas. 

The palate is medium-bodied with fine-boned tannins, layered dark berry fruit laced with black tea and black pepper. Nicely structured on the finish. The Cabernet component lends a subtle savoury touch. It will need several years in bottle, but this classy Saint-Émilion should age well over two or three decades.

Drink 2032 - 2052

Rich, bold and muscular, supple and generous. Sleek with well-defined edges to the ripe blackcurrant and cherry fruit - lively and bright, with balanced acidity with some salty minerality. You can feel the concentration in the depth and intensity of the fruit, but this has definition and such purity. 

Really well worked, on the strong side, you feel a bit more of the hot vintage here in the slightly narrow finish and spice throughout. Lovely mouth-filling texture with lots of complexity, nuance and strength. This will have fans. 3.7pH.

Drink 2028 - 2040

Black berry and lead pencil on the nose with fresh flowers. Some rose stems, too. Full-bodied with racy and fine tannins that run the length of the wine. Complex and intense in flavour, it remains full of energy and verve. 58.5% merlot and 41.5% cabernet franc.

Rich and luscious in feel, with intense bright berry fruits set against fennel, anis, and bitter black chocolate. The alcohol brings some heat to the finish, which is fully charged; the slate, chalky edge to the tannins is welcoming, and there is clear complexity here. 38% new oak. No outside consultant. 

3.7ph, 38% of production in the first wine. 42ha in production since the addition of Grand Pontet in 2021. Audrey Bernard joined the technical team in March 2021, direct from Opus One, plus new director Mariette Veyssiere.

Drink 2029 - 2040