Quintus 2023

The 2023 Quintus is dark, fleshy and inviting. Black cherry, menthol, licorice, dried herbs and a kiss of French oak build as the 2023 gains volume with a bit of time in the glass. As is often the case, the Grand Vin is quite racy and extroverted in feel, and yet all the elements are impeccably put together.

Brambled fruit, richly textured, with juice that runs through the palate bringing you into the heart of St Emilion. Push and pull in texture between grilled smoky oak and slate-scraping pumice stone tannins, this takes its time to open, well judged and skilfully constructed. 43hl/h yield, 42ha in production since addition of Grand Pontet in 2021. Audrey Bernard joined the technical team in March 2021 direct from Opus One, plus new director Mariette Veyssiere.

The 2023 Quintus has an intense bouquet that errs toward Left Bank in style, well defined with blackberry, crushed stone and touches of citrus fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with svelte tannins, well-judged acidity, fresh and saline with a very harmonious, silky-textured finish that lingers in the mouth. This is a lovely Saint-Émilion that should age gracefully.

The 2023 Quintus is deep garnet-purple in color. It opens with notes of fresh crunchy black plums, wild blueberries, and cedar giving way to suggestions of wild sage, pencil shavings, and Sichuan pepper. The full-bodied palate has lovely tension and fine-grained tannins supporting the bright black fruit flavors, finishing on a minerally note. This is a very pretty Quintus, though slightly lacking in mid-palate, layers, and substance. The blend is 78.3% Merlot and 21.7% Cabernet Franc, with pH 3.61 and 38% new oak.

Black raspberries, spring flowers, graphite, and hints of celery seed all emerge from the 2023 Chateau Quintus, a medium-bodied, pure, graceful Saint-Emilion that has a touch (if not more than a touch) of green in its aromatics.