Château Quintus

Perched on a 62-meter-high limestone hillock, Château Quintus is located at the south-western end of the Saint-Emilion plateau. Surrounded by some of the most eminent estates in Saint-Emilion, the property boasts some of the finest land and exposures in the region. The originality of this extraordinary terroir lies in its diversity of soils, slopes and orientations. Made up of 28 hectares of vines that have today attained an optimum average age of 30 years, the estate naturally wraps itself around a high natural promontory and also offers 360o breath-taking views across to the village of Saint-Emilion and over the entire Dordogne valley.

The vines of Château Quintus extend over a remarkable landscape. 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.

A unique and harmonious creation of both nature and mankind, the Saint-Émilion landscape bears witness to centuries of history. According to UNESCO, “the Jurisdiction of Saint-Émilion is an outstanding example of an historic vineyard landscape that has survived intact and in activity to the present day”. Well aware of its special status, the Communauté de Communes de la Jurisdiction de Saint-Émilion asked to be listed as a World Heritage Site. In 1999, for the first time ever, a vineyard landscape was acknowledged as a “cultural landscape” worthy of listing as a World Heritage Site.

The cultural practices are traditional and combine the soil labour and the natural grass growth, according to each parcel and orientation. Vines are pruned with the “Double Guyot” technique with windows for a better display and aeration during the harvest. In June, we thin out the leaves in order to favour the grapes exposition to the sun. From July, in order to optimize the harvest quality, we make a thin out the vines.

Picking is done by hand. The grapes are deposited on a vibrating table that eliminates all superfluous matter like small stems and other debris. Next, the grapes are transferred to a sorting table where six people remove leaves, and damaged or immature bunches. Finally, after passing through the destemmer a final selection is made. Only intact grapes reach the harvest’s final destination, the vats. The vinification method, both modern and traditional. After sorting, wooden vats are used for the alcoholic fermentation of the wine, as well as stainless steel vats for both alcoholic and malolactic fermentation. During maceration the wine is tasted regularly.

Following the harvest comes another crucial stage in the creation of a wine: the assemblage, or blending. This involves individually tasting the wine from every vat, until a blend of chosen vats is made to see how they work together. This is a long and exacting process, but essential to understand the outline of a newborn wine. Once the blending is finished, the wine is put in barrels, new ones every year. Aging in oak allows the wine to develop and become clearer, and any rough edges on the wine’s tannins are slowly smoothed away over one-and-a-half years. The wine is then bottled, and this last step – like all which preceded it – is done at the property under our strict control.