Château Quintus is acquiring Château Grand-Pontet, a Grand Cru Classé, located in an exceptional position just a few meters from the famous village of Saint-Emilion and only 1 km to the north of its existing parcels.
This property is surrounded by three prestigious Premiers Grands Crus Classés: Châteaux Canon, Clos Fourtet and Beauséjour Bécot, on the Western plateau of Saint-Emilion.
With the addition of these parcels, Quintus also becomes one of Saint-Emilion’s largest properties, representing 45 hectares (111 acres), 42 (104 acres) of which are planted in vines. The addition of this illustrious historical terroir offers the wine-making team with ever greater possibilities for creating their wines from a very stringent selection at this Right bank estate.
The history of Quintus is closely linked to that of Saint-Emilion, one of the oldest wine-growing areas of the region. Perched on a limestone promontory, culminating at an altitude of 62 meters, Quintus offers up a breath-taking 360-degree view across the Dordogne valley. Its topography, boasting a plateau and featuring north, west and south-facing slopes, comprises an incredible abundance of micro-climates and limestone soils, especially well suited for extricating the finest qualities of the Merlot and Cabernet Franc grape varietals.
Established in 2011, Château Quintus released its 10th vintage this past year, with its highly acclaimed 2020.
Grand-Pontet and the two prior estates, united over a decade to form Château Quintus, figure among the oldest and most exalted growths of Saint-Emilion.
“In 2011, my family, our team, and I expressed our ambitious goals, with our communicated desire to craft one of the very finest wines possible in Saint-Emilion. By assembling some of the most promising parcels and terroirs we would attempt to create a new star of the Right bank; Quintus. After more than 10 vintages, I am proud to say that our exceptional winemaking team are excelling at meeting this challenge. The addition of this promising terroir at Grand-Pontet, not only re-affirms our deep commitment to this venture but also provides our oenologists with a larger and more diverse palette to be able to realise our shared dream.” said, Prince Robert de Luxembourg – Chairman & CEO.
Phenomenal biodiversity
The environmental specificity of Château Quintus lies in its Mediterranean Green Belt, a true haven of biodiversity. The sublime natural gardens and terraces of Quintus, representing two hectares, are enchanting from the very the first glance. These boast numerous hedgerows, majestic holm oaks, low stone walls and verdant escarpments. These treasures of the landscape heritage that surround the plots of vines are important shelters for natural allies, vital to the success of the vineyard.
The recent inventory of the profusion of auxiliary fauna and flora of the property, carried out with the assistance of a doctor of entomology and landscape ecology, reveals a rare abundance of species: 800 types of auxiliary fauna gathered, divided into 200 different species and 80 varieties of wild flower were counted at the estate.
To supplement these natural assets and enrich this breeding ground of biodiversity, the vineyard workers sow wild flowers on fallow land on the escarpments of the hillside slope, and in plots where vines have just been uprooted. They also plant hedgerows of local varieties, creating ecological corridors in the less wooded areas.
In order to protect this biodiversity, no insecticide product has been used at the property since 2017.
