Château Quintus

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  2 wines  from  Château Quintus . In a tasting of  518 wines 

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Primeurs Vintage 2022 Part 2

7m 5d ago

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Quintus . In a tasting of  87 wines 

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BORDEAUX 2022 VINTAGE - TOP 80 Wines. It was an advantage that 2021 was a wet year so there was a base for this 2022, says Thienpont. Excellent nose with fragrant fruit, blackberries, cerise noir, raspberries, red forest berries and fine floral hints of violets backed by subtle oak, discreet toasting and gingerbread spices. On the palate delicious tannins with silky texture, sweet fruit quoting the nose, great precision and sophistication. An exceptional VCC very close to perfection, with excellent freshness, class and an almost never ending finish. 

7m 8d ago

 Jeff Porter/Sommelier, Pro (United States)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Quintus . In a tasting of  44 wines 

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Antinori Guado al Tasso 2019 / Full-bodied, very tannic, blackcurrant notes, blackberry notes, dark cherry notes, plum notes, black pepper notes, oak notes, rich, full-bodied, warm, long. 94 points

11m 18h ago

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  3 wines  from  Château Quintus . In a tasting of  745 wines 

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This years "en primeur" tasting seemed like a journey in time. Bordeaux is back to a more moderate alcohol level and the style is lighter and more elegant. One could say the wines are reminiscent of the 80s, however made with more experience and the modern techniques today. It is not a powerful vintage. The wines are elegant, however the well made ones have an excellent persistence, depth and length. They offer a convincing potential for a long ageing and promote elegance in Bordeaux again. It is a true vintage of terroir although there is a lot of talk about a vintners vintage. However, terroir was the decisive factor in 2021.

Professor Axel Marchal has presented the 10 key points of this vintage on the occasion of the Union des Grands Crus press tasting:

"1. The start of the growing season was marked by severe frost on the 7th and 8th of April.

2. Wet and gloomy weather in May slowed down the vine growth although a providential window of fine weather helped flowering unfold in ideal conditions in early June.

3. Thunderstorms in June slowed down the onset of water stress.

4: Cool, dull weather in July increased the threat of vine diseases.

5. Véraison (colour change) was observed in mid-August, while vine growth had not stopped yet.

6. Thanks to a cool summer, the dry white wines are brilliant, lively and aromatic.

7. The wonderful Indian Summer allowed the red grape varieties to ripen in ideal conditions and preserved aromas.

8. The Merlots are fresh and aromatic while the Cabernets from the finest terroirs are well-structured with good balance.

9. The development of Botrytis cinerea in Sauternes was delayed by the cool summer and eventually triggered by rainfall in mid-September.

10. Despite low yields, the botrytised sweet white wines are of excellent quality."

It will be exciting to see the evolution of this vintage which produced in many cases yields on a very low scale. Arguably it will be a vintage praised for it finesse in the future. A vintage rated on finesse and persistence rather than on sheer power and opulence.

1y 6m ago

 Izak Litwar / BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Denmark)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Quintus . In a tasting of  73 wines 

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Château Langoa Barton 2020 – Sister property to Leoville Barton and similar to her big "sister" in terms of the quality. Big scaled on the nose and palate with creamy blackcurrants, graphite, fat tannin, strong backbone, and striking complexity. Classy stuff.  53.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot and 8.5% Cabernet Franc. 13.5% alcohol.

94+p. 

2y 4m ago

 Jeannie Cho Lee MW/ BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (South Korea)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Quintus . In a tasting of  20 wines 

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My overall impression after tasting over 300 wines from across all appellations of Bordeaux is that it is generally an excellent vintage for red wines. The 2020 red wines have as much depth and concentration as the previous two vintages, 2018 and 2019, but tastes lighter, less denser on the palate. For example, the four first growths I tasted – Mouton, Lafite, Margaux and Haut-Brion were outstanding in their sculpted expression of their own individual terroirs. Anyone who really wants to understand the character and terroir of Lafite for example, should really seek out the 2020 vintage. What I loved about Margaux in this vintage is the sculpted, precise, detailed expression despite the immense concentration of flavors. Haut-Brion was incredibly layered and complex while Mouton was expressive and deep with amazing freshness.

2y 5m ago

 Christer Byklum/ BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Norway)  tasted  2 wines  from  Château Quintus . In a tasting of  42 wines 

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2020 Château Figeac/ Ruby. Scented, minerals, floral, bright nose, detailed, lifted, layered, refined and nuanced nose, almost like a silky scarf caressing your chins while smelling it. Violets like you would not believe it! Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, juicy, silky, velvet, juicy, detailed, bright, transparent deep, incredible balance (13,9% alcohol), it just gives and gives, in small pockets of different flavours. The most intriguing Figeac to date. So effortless and yet so deep. A symphony of harmonies. And the finish lasts into the sunset. 98-100

2y 6m ago

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Quintus . In a tasting of  153 wines 

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2020 – the paradox vintage - part two

2y 6m ago

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Quintus . In a tasting of  650 wines 

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2020 – the paradox vintage 

2020 began with mild temperatures even breaking temperature record highs at the beginning of February. These conditions led to a premature budbreak. Budding developed unevenly, very much depending on the locations although the coo and humid weather in April had not a very significant impact on slowing down the growth of the vines. Finally all the vines came into bloom at the end of May without any significant coulure or millerandage. At the start of June, frequent rain intensified the pressure of mildew. From mid-June, the weather changed. The whole Bordelais saw a period of very dry weather for two months. However, the earlier accumulation of water reserves prevented water stress. Around July 18 a heat wave began to build up but the cool nighty prevented water stress on the wines again. The veraison started at the end of July and went on till the beginning of August. The heatwave in August accentuated water stress, but shorter rainy episodes avoided a complete block. The dry and sunny weather in September encouraged the grapes maturity and harvest started on September 10 with a rather mild weather. Towards the middle of September, rain prevented the fruits from wilting but as its frequency was quite concerning, the haves was pushed forward. "Le diabolique" is the title given to this vintage by Véronique Sanders. It is a very special French word, which is not correctly translated with “diabolic” in English. In France, the expression means to overcome the devil. And the vintners succeeded. 2020 is clearly a vintner’s vintage which asked a permanent reinvention of the wineries, struggling hard with this difficult vintage. However, the vintage surprises with excellent wines, exemplary freshness and elegance and very dense structure. In former times it was said that the vine has to suffer to make exquisite wines, in this vintage the people have suffered to make a great wine. The first part of notes for this tasting with over 800 wines you will find today. More notes will follow over the coming days.

2y 6m ago

 Christer Byklum/ BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Norway)  tasted  2 wines  from  Château Quintus . In a tasting of  37 wines 

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More than 180 wines was tasted from Saint-Emilion during late March and early April this year. With a margin my biggest report to date from here. Saint-Emilion is always heterogeneous as the soils and microclimates are quite varied. Some are on flatter lands, others on the plateau with gently rolling hills in almost all aspects and yet others again are on the quite steep côte, or hill. These make for very different expressions, but also different problems may occur during a year’s growing cycle. The limestone vineyards seem to have done very well. And as for Pomerol where Olivier Berrouet of Petrus said, “The effort this year was to resist the temptation”. Those that did exactly that made some astonishing and refined Saint-Emilions. The temptation being taking too much out of the must. For me, Angelus, Ausone and Valandraud made exquisite wines at the very top of what they have ever done. The first two are graceful, elegant, nuanced and refined, Angelus a bit richer than Ausone. Valandraud shows that as well as a treasure throw of complexity. 2018 as well as 2017 are the two greatest Valandraud’s I’ve tasted to date. If this continues, are we looking at Premier Grand Cru Classé A soon?  At Pavie the fruit was probably the most refined and elegant to date, but the wood was just so incredibly hard, I just hope it will handle it. If it does, it will be a spectacular Pavie.

4y 7m ago

 Markus Del Monego MW / BWW2024 Finalist, MW (Germany)  tasted  1 wines  from  Château Quintus . In a tasting of  100 wines 

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„The best vintage of my life" says Christian Moueix of the Ets. Jean Pierre Moueix in Libourne. In fact, 2018 is a vintage with wonderfully ripe tannins which taste almost sweet and are characterizing the wine with excellent structured. However, this vintage was everything else than easy-going. The first six months of the year saw the complete annual rainfall for the Bordeaux region, over 800 mm. Mildew attacked the grapes, what meant a reduction in quantity but as the leaves have not been attacked the maturity process continued and the lower yields brought concentrated grapes. Another problem where hailstorms bringing further damage. Some Châteaux like Château Guiraud have lost the complete harvest. "We went from hell to heaven" summarizes Véronique Sanders from Château Haut-Bailly in Pessac-Léognan the vintage. After the deluge in the first half of 2018, there was a dramatic change for the second half bringing great, dry weather with a lot of sun. The partially high daily temperatures were in change with lower night temperatures and created a tension for aromatic wines. The correct amount of extraction and maceration was crucial and some vintners have changed their maceration processes and made great wines with a lot of freshness. These vintners are amongst the winners of the vintage. If 2018 will belong to the greatest vintages in Bordeaux for the overall production might show the future. However already today there is a number of Châteaux performing well above the vintages of 2010 or 2016. In every case this vintage is easy to taste. The wines seem already perfectly ripe today. This is a new experience in the primeur week.

4y 7m ago