Three Vintages of Château Quintus, 2018
Situated on the very edge of the Saint Martin plateau, the old Château Tertre-Daugay was blessed with some magnificent terroir. While there were a few parcels on the more sandy plateau below, close to the road which runs along the valley floor past St Emilion and on towards Castillon-la-Bataille, most were situated on more prestigious soils, the clay and limestone slip of the côtes, or indeed up on the cool limestones of the plateau itself. The estate had an illustrious history, having been in the possession of Comte Léo de Malet Roquefort, who also owned Château La Gaffelière, since he purchased it at a tense candle auction in 1978.
Sitting right next door, Château L’Arrosée has long enjoyed a similarly favourable position and terroir. What it never had, however, was a similar level of prestige, most probably because for many years there were not even any winemaking facilities here, and all the fruit was sold to the local co-operative. It was only during the 1950s, when the property came into the possession of François Rodhain, that the cellars were first built. He made great efforts to put the estate on the map, as did his successors Roger Caille and his son Jean-Philippe Caille, but I am not sure any of them really succeeded.
Both estates were perhaps ripe for development when Prince Robert of Luxembourg and his right-hand man Jean-Philippe Delmas came looking to invest in St Emilion. The first estate they acquired in 2011, the second late in 2013. With their unification, Château Quintus was born. The first wine was produced in 2011, albeit solely from the Tertre-Daugay vines. The very first vintage when both the Tertre-Daugay and L’Arrosée vines contributed to the blend was 2014, and earlier this year when at the estate to taste the 2017 vintage, I also took the opportunity to retaste the first three vintages – 2014, 2015 and 2016 – made from the ‘new’ Quintus vineyard.
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