Winemaker Notes
Beautiful red color with mauve highlights. Ripe and fairly intense bouquet of crunchy red fruit (cherry). The oak is already well-integrated. The wine starts of quite smooth on the palate, immediately going on to reveal excellent fruit. It develops softly on the palate with plenty of tannin, but that is rich and never aggressive. This 2016 Dragon de Quintus is unquestionably the most full and complete made since 2011.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A delicious and fresh St.-Emilion with ripe blackberries and a subtle, mineral note that shows clearly on the long, crisp and juicy finish. Second wine of Château Quintus.
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Decanter
This follows the pattern of the grand vin; there is freshness and finesse but it's a little rounder and more forthcoming. Suave and firm, there's quite a tannic frame here.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Darker cherry and earthier notes emerge from the 2016 Le Dragon de Quintus, a medium-bodied, ripe, impressive second wine that has good sweetness of fruit as well as purity.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Blended of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2016 le Dragon de Quintus leaps from the glass with bold blackberry preserves, stewed plums and wild blueberry scents plus suggestions of new leather, menthol and pencil shavings. Medium-bodied, the palate delivers mouth-coating black and blue fruit preserves with a velvety frame and lovely spicy sparks on the finish.
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Wine Spectator
This has a rich and warm expression of plum sauce and blackberry preserve flavors, laced with subtle black tea and singed incense notes. The fresh acidity lets the finish hang nicely. Accessible now.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Marked by its historic fortified village—perhaps the prettiest in all of Bordeaux, the St-Émilion appellation, along with its neighboring village of Pomerol, are leaders in quality on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant red wines (complemented by various amounts of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon) remain some of the most admired and collected wines of the world.
St-Émilion has the longest history in wine production in Bordeaux—longer than the Left Bank—dating back to an 8th century monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit in one of the many limestone caves scattered throughout the area.
Today St-Émilion is made up of hundreds of independent farmers dedicated to the same thing: growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and tiny amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon). While always roughly the same blend, the wines of St-Émilion vary considerably depending on the soil upon which they are grown—and the soils do vary considerably throughout the region.
The chateaux with the highest classification (Premier Grand Cru Classés) are on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. There are only four given the highest rank, called Premier Grand Cru Classés A (Chateau Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus, Pavie) and 14 are Premier Grand Cru Classés B. Much of the rest of the vineyards in the appellation are on flatter land where the soils are a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial matter.
Great wines from St-Émilion will be deep in color, and might have characteristics of blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, licorice, chocolate, grilled meat, earth or truffles. They will be bold, layered and lush.