In June 2011 and October 2013, two neighbouring Saint-Emilion estates - that in the past have been of similar renown - have been united by Domaine Clarence Dillon, owners of Château Haut-Brion and Château La Mission Haut-Brion, and renamed Château Quintus.
These two exceptional estates are now united in order to produce one of the very first wines of Saint-Emilion, and the property now represents 28 hectares of vines that has today attained an average age of 30 years.
This wine will take its natural place as an equal alongside the red and white wines of Château Haut-Brion and Château La Mission Haut-Brion, thereby becoming the 5th child in this illustrious family.
The Gallo-Romans, creators of the vineyards of Saint-Emilion, had the habit of naming their 5th child Quintus (fifth). Therefore, Domaine Clarence Dillon has decided to pay homage to its glorious predecessors by re-baptising this growth Château Quintus.
The ancient Tour de Guet on the plateau overlooking Saint Emilion, almost certainly at this same site were the inspiration for the estate’s second wine, Le Dragon de Quintus – a mythical creature that stands as guardian and protector of its treasure, a spectacular terroir.
Château Quintus is located at the southwestern limit of the Saint-Emilion plateau. On this south-facing slope – among the finest exposures on the plateau – from East to West are five exceptional châteaux. The estate naturally wraps itself around a high natural promontory and also offers 360 degree breath-taking views across to the village of Saint-Emilion and over the entire Dordogne valley.
Château Quintus surely benefits from an exceptional site and a unique ecosystem: perched on a 62-meter-high limestone hillock, Château Quintus boasts some of the finest land and exposures in the region, its vines extend over a remarkable landscape.
Quintus has exceptional biodiversity that will be maintained and encouraged.
The form of the land itself is characterised by a stratum of limestone that lies in criss-cross shelves across the south-facing slopes of the plateau. The limestone to the north of the property is replaced by a varied mixture of clayey sands and gravels, dipping towards the south. Merlot represents 66% of the surface in production and the rest, 26% is planted with Cabernet Franc and 8% with Cabernet Sauvignon.
The originality of this extraordinary terroir lies in its diversity of soils, slopes and orientations. It is therefore hardly surprising that this wine was featured between 1844 and 1848 among the 14 most sought after and most expensive wines of Saint-Emilion.
Chateau Quintus wines benefit from the whole expertise of the Domaine Clarence Dillon team, who has worked to implement the same principles there that they have applied at Château Haut-Brion and Château La Mission Haut-Brion for decades.
2014 will be the 4th vintage under Domaine Clarence Dillon control.
