Château Quintus: A St-Emilion estate to watch

The Gallo-Romans customarily named their fifth child Quintus, the term being Latin for fifth, hence the baptism of Domaine Clarence Dillon’s wine venture in St-Emilion on the Right Bank of Bordeaux.

Scroll down for James Lawther’s Château Quintus tasting notes and scores

Now part of a celebrated family that includes the red and white wines of Châteaux Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion, Château Quintus has been building a style and status since 2011 and this short vertical tasting of the eight current vintages helped mark the progress.Finding a place amongst such august company has not been without difficulty and, although the price of the wine has soared, adjustments have been made.The en primeur tastings of Quintus are no longer held at Haut-Brion, as they were until 2018, but directly at the estate to help strengthen identity.And although there is a wealth of winemaking experience and talent on hand in the Left Bank, Quintus is a Right Bank wine and the local conditions and factors have gradually been given greater consideration.

The idea of a top flight St-Emilion in the family portfolio was launched by Prince Robert of Luxembourg, CEO and president of Domaine Clarence Dillon.

It came to fruition with the purchase of Château Tertre Daugay in 2011, which was subsequently renamed Château Quintus. Clarence Dillon also bought neighbouring Château L’Arrosée two years later, and absorbed it into Quintus.

Both estates have a considerable history in the region.

They maintained Grand Cru Classé status throughout the various editions of the St-Emilion Classification and the estates include prized terroirs on the limestone plateau and southern côtes.

The previous owners had kept a reasonable level of investment, so the principle objectives of the new management have been to shape a single entity from the two parts and take the quality of wine to a higher level.

In this respect the wines have already gone through three phases.

‘The first two vintages of Quintus were produced solely from the Tertre Daugay vineyard,’ says estate manager François Capdemourlin.

‘The next two were an early understanding of the two estates, but from 2015 we’ve applied more precision thereby giving a clearer identity to the wines.’

Understanding the terroir has been paramount to progress, both in terms of contrast with the Left Bank and recognition of the individual parcels of vines at the new property.

‘The topography, soils and local climate are completely different from Haut-Brion so, for instance, we need a lower density of planting and higher trellising here,’ says viticultural manager Mariette Veyssière.

Individual parcels now have a varying regime of grass cover, de-leafing and crop thinning to control vigour and ripeness.

Quintus grand vin is generally produced from parcels on the plateau and upper sector of the côtes, while the second wine, Le Dragon de Quintus, comes from the mid-sector and bottom of the slopes.

A third wine, ‘Saint-Emilion de Quintus’, is produced from vineyards on the Dordogne plain.

Merlot plantings have increased, while Cabernet Sauvignon vines have been grubbed-up and the last parcels are soon to go – it struggles to achieve full ripeness here, according to the vineyard team.

The long-term plan is to have a ratio of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc in the vineyard.

Winemaking takes place in the former Tertre Daugay cellars and is fairly classic in execution. A specific gravity Tribaie machine is to sort grapes before Merlot is fermented in stainless steel tanks and Cabernet Franc in wooden ones.

Blending is done in the early part of the new year, as at Haut-Brion, and the wine is then aged in French oak barrels for 12 to 14 months before bottling.

Less new oak has been used since 2015, down to 35% instead of the 40+% used in the initial years, and barrels are subjected to a lighter toasting.

‘The Haut-Brion toast proved too marked for Quintus,’ says Capdemourlin.

The elegance of the wine has started to show, but equal standing with Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion is a giant step and only time will tell. It’s not an easy call with siblings that have a 400-year head start. 

Quintus at a glance

Owner: Domaine Clarence Dillon

Management team:

• Managing director HRH Prince Robert of Luxembourg

• Deputy general manager: Jean-Philippe Delmas

• Régisseur [estate manager]: François Capdemourlin

Area under vine: 28ha

Soils: Limestone and clay-limestone on the plateau and côtes; clay and sandy clay over molasse at the bottom of the slopes.

Average age of vines: 29 years

Grapes grown: 72% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon

Vine density 5,500-7,700 vines/ha

Average annual production: 2,450 cases (of 12 bottles) of grand vin; 3,000 cases of Le Dragon de Quintus; 1,835 cases of ‘Saint-Emilion de Quintus’

Key dates to know:

• 2011 (June): Acquisition of Château Tertre Daugay by Domaine Clarence Dillon, renamed Château Quintus.

• 2013 (October): Purchase of neighbouring Château l’Arrosée and absorption in Château Quintus.

See James Lawther MW’s Château Quintus tasting notes and scores

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