Chateau Quintus 2023

JAMES SUCKLING: "The purity of the fruit here is so impressive, with raspberry, lead pencil, cedar and sandalwood. Medium to full body with very fine and intense tannins that run the length of the wine. Mineral. Tensioned. Beautifully integrated and sophisticated at the end. Lightly salty. 78.3% merlot and 21.7% cabernet franc."

VINUM: "Intensiv, rauchig, dunkelfruchtig, Tannennadeln, Harz, viel Tiefgang hier; dichter Gaumen, zupackend, satte Frucht, sehr feines Tannin, ungemein druckvoll, dabei ausbalanciert und mit grossem Spannungsbogen, wirkt bei sich, hallt lange nach. Ein ausgezeichneter, finessenreicher Saint-Émilion, der reifen kann."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "This year, the 2023 Quintus is a well-performing wine, possessing a dense, complex bouquet of smoke, dark wild berries and licorice intertwined with a delicate, oaky frame. Fleshy and ample, medium to full-bodied, it’s perfectly balanced with a delicate, lively core of fruit and a long, ethereal and chalky finish. The influence of the Grand Pontet limestone plateau lends additional straightness and precision to this wine, a blend of 78.3% Merlot and 21.7% Cabernet Franc."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Zart floral, schwarze Waldbeeren, reife Kirschen, Brombeeren, kandierte Orangenzesten, mineralischer Touch. Saftig, komplex, reife Herzkirschen, runde Tannine, frisch strukturiert, mineralisch-salzig im Abgang, zeigt gute Länge, feine Süße im Nachhall, sicheres Reifepotenzial."

DECANTER: "Really perfumed and expressive on the nose, lots of fragrance - dark purple flowers, blackcurrants, highly perfumed. Smells quite intense. Supple and agile, this has nice movement with plush tannins and chewy strawberry fruit with high acidity to balance the texture. Round and full in the mouth, fleshy but with a clean limestone, graphite undercurrent. Full bodied for the vintage, generous and super charming, the juicy and chunky Merlot giving width and depth to the body. Not streamlined as such as the texture and tannins are more present but there’s a nice vein of minerality that keeps the direction. Sweet, sour, tart and chalky. A bit firm, but there’s great structure. Generous and super charming. Easy to drink. 12 months ageing, 38% new. 25% grand vin production, this year with a little more Merlot where last year had more Cabernet Franc."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "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."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Purple-violet colour. Dense if a little shy on the nose but more of a floral complexity. Succulent, even opulent, fruit with fine but plentiful tannins. Tension and freshness from start to finish. Mouth-wateringly saline end. Serious pretentions. Drink 2030 – 2045"