critic reviews
The blend here is 58% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Franc, of which 37% comes from the old Grand Pontet vines, and it accounts for just 22% of the crop. The élevage was twelve months in 38% new oak. It takes fruit only from the highest vines, on the plateau around Quintus, and the very top part of Grand Pontet. A beautifully fragrant nose, filled with sweet blackcurrant and bramble fruits, crushed oyster shells, smoke, rose petals and tar. The palate is beautifully correct, polished and bright, with a dark and spicy texture, filled with liquorice, smoke, black bean and soy, with a rich wrapping of fine, tightly knit but very evident tannins, and a bright, vivacious acidity. Plenty of dark structure and dark fruit here, with a length filled with smoky tobacco and firm tannin. We have a really impressive Quintus in 2022, showing dark and juicy energy but also great cellaring potential in the structure. The alcohol on the label is 15.5%, although remarkably this does not show as heat on the palate. Difficult to predict how this will age with this composition, but I would view it with a cautious eye. I would give a higher score if the alcohol was at a more conventional level.
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 savory touch. It will need several years in bottle, but this is a classy Saint-Émilion that should age well over two or three decades.
Rich and luscious in feel, with intense bright berry fruits set against fennel, anis, bittter black chocolate. The alcohol is bringing some heat on the finish, and this is fully charged, but 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 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 2022 Quintus, one of the best wines produced at this estate, reveals aromas of dark berries, licorice, ripe plum, spices, and hints of graphite. Its fleshy and 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.