Château Quintus 2021

Fragrant, perfumed strawberries and red cherries on the nose, with a sweet note that’s so welcoming, really bursting out of the glass. Smooth yet quite sharp on the palate, with a rush of red fruits—cherries, raspberries, redcurrants and plums—filling the palate, the mouthwatering acidity balanced by touches of wet-stone minerality, iodine, graphite and pencil. You definitely sense the terroir here in the chalky saltiness, as well as the stalky, brambly, spiced Cabernet Franc giving backbone and direction. Quite a bit of smoked cedar spice comes in on the finish, slightly overshadowing the brightness and overall sense of fun. Well crafted with promise.

The brightness and transparency of the aromas are impressive, with fresh flowers, blue fruit, crushed stones, lavender and orange blossoms. Medium-bodied, with a tight and focused palate of linear and integrated tannins. Fresh and tangy. Vivid at the end. A unique expression of the vintage and St. Emilion, with so much crunchy fruit. 68.2% merlot, 31.3% cabernet franc and 0.5% malbec. Best after 2027.

Tasted blind. Pale. Very dull nose. Stringy and fruitless. (JR)

Medium-bodied, forward, fruity, bright, and fresh, the wine already expresses its core of cherries, red plums, spice, fennel, and herbs. Elegant, open, soft, lifted, and accessible, this is already quite nice in your glass. Drink from 2025-2038.

Dark ruby red, purple reflections on the narrow rim. Herbal, savoury fragrance. Mint and grape sugar, fresh and clear. The palate shows an extract that seems ripe and unforced, tannins are grippy and very natural. Well-balanced, smooth fruit extract, fresh acidity is well integrated. Elegant, pure and unusually homogeneous on the palate for this vintage. Strong tactile-mineral lime components last.

The 2021 Quintus has a medium to deep garnet-purple color. It comes bounding out with exuberant notes of black cherries and juicy plums, leading to hints of licorice, tar, and underbrush. The medium-bodied palate offers plenty of fresh black fruit flavors, with a refreshing line, offset by rounded tannins, finishing with a skip in its step.

A fresh, exhilarating bouquet like a breath of sea air on a sailboat’s deck. Small wild blueberries, redcurrants, rhubarb. Deliciously silky, like an enchanting swim in a gentle sea, melting on the palate, with fruit intensity that smoothly turns to mocha for an elegant finish.

Dark, deep, vivid purple color. Intense, refined nose: fruity, pure, subtle and floral. Precise on the attack, particularly aromatic mid-palate, complex and deep, with classy texture; the wine gains power from mid-palate to finish. It ends long, suave, sapid and delicious. This is the most accomplished expression of Quintus at this age that I know. Blend: 68.2% Merlot, 31.3% Cabernet Franc, 0.5% Malbec. Alcohol: 13.4% – pH: 3.54. Yield: 35 hl/ha. No saignée. Merlot harvested from September 24 to October 5 and Cabernet Franc from October 5 to 8.

News at Quintus in 2021, with the arrival of a new estate manager and the integration of the vines from the former château Grand Pontet, which broadens the range of terroirs. There is depth, a certain density, but also restraint—it promises seriousness. The aromatics call up ripe fruit and medicinal herbs. The palate traces silky, caressing contours, energized by a slightly chalky, spicy touch. The tannins are beautifully fine and the acidity well controlled. A lovely stylistic evolution to watch.