Chateau Quintus 2020

JAMES SUCKLING: "Wow. This is very chalky and salty with lots of mineral character. It shows lots of purple fruit and firm tannins. Racy and bright. Chewy yet fine tannins. Gorgeous. Gets better and better."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Supple, fresh, and vibrant with layers of silky fruits, accents of salty rocks and stones, flowers, spice, and red pit fruits, the wine is sensuous, polished, and energetic on the palate and in the finish. There is a beautiful purity and refinement in the finish that makes your want to take another sip. The wine blends 62.5% Merlot with 37.5% Cabernet Franc, 15.2% ABV. Drink from 2025-2047."

JEB DUNNUCK: "A big, velvety textured wine, especially in the vintage, the 2020 Château Quintus offers a gorgeous array of pure crème de cassis and black raspberry fruits as well as leafy herbs, graphite, and chocolate. These all carry to a full-bodied Saint-Emilion with a round, mouth-filling texture, ripe tannins, and a great finish. This estate has been firing on all cylinders of late, and this should be in the same realm as the 2016, 2018, and I suspect, the 2019."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2020 Quintus is one of the most successful renditions of this wine to date, offering up aromas of dark cherries, wild berries, sweet spices and licorice framed by nicely integrated new oak. Full-bodied, seamless and integrated, it's fleshy and layered, with powdery tannins, succulent acids and impressive overall balance despite its 15.4% alcohol. Indeed, while this is obviously a powerful, broad-shouldered Saint-Émilion, in terms of oak and extraction it's far from excessive. The blend is 62.5% Merlot with 37.5% Cabernet Franc."

WEINWISSER: "Sattes Purpur mit opaker Mitte und lila Reflexen. Verspieltes Bouquet mit Veilchen, Heidelbeeren und Schattenmorellensaft, dahinter Lakritze und Holundergelee. Am dichten Gaumen mit weicher Textur, reifes Extrakt, gut unterlegtes Tannin, stützende Rasse und mittlerer Körper. Im aromatischen Finale schwarze Johannisbeere, spürbare Terroirwürze und Estragon."

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, dezenter Wasserrand. Tabakig unterlegte schwarze Beerenfrucht, Nuancen von Brombeeren, zart florale Noten. Saftig, reife Herzkirschen, süße Textur, frisch strukturiert, mineralisch-zitronig, Nuancen von Cassis, balanciert und gut anhaftend, sicheres Reifepotenzial."

DECANTER: "Exuberant and confident, with powerful damson and black cherry fruit flavours on the nose. Chocolate and liquorice run through the palate from beginning to end, and this is full of signature St-Emilion glamour. It has a round and supple texture through the mid palate, but the alcohol hides some of the limestone nuance at this point - it will no doubt emerge more clearly with 8 to 10 years in bottle. Harvest 11th September for the Merlot grapes and 23rd September for the Cabernet Franc."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Cask sample. Fine and fresh and lively. There’s a real line here. And a definite difference between this and Dragon. Cool and suave."