From Marcel Merz
, at 03. February 2012 09:38
A new estate joins the Domaine Clarence Dillon family of wines. Last summer the family company announced the acquisition of a beautiful estate in Saint-Emilion.
An exceptional terroir that has been recognised as such for centuries. The estate naturally wraps around a high promontory which represents the end of the plateau of Saint-Emilion. The vineyard benefits from a majestic panorama extending towards the neighbouring village and across the entire Dordogne valley. It is in this place that, for time immemorial, a watch tower has stood to ensure the defence of the village of Saint-Emilion.
The originality of this extraordinary terroir lies in its diversity of soils, slopes and orientations. It is therefore hardly surprising that this wine was featured between 1844 and 1848 among the 14 most sought after and most expensive wines of Saint-Emilion. For close to a century the great reference book Cocks and Feret “Bordeaux et ses Vins” will consistently mention the property as a First Growth of Saint-Emilion. The vineyard was also one of the prominent Saint-Emilion estates to receive a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle de Paris in 1867.
A text found in another great book of the time “Les Grands Vins de Gironde” de Dumas et Lallemand (1899) reads: “One can not imagine a more beautiful situation for an estate, or one more favourable for the production of a First Growth wine (…). Thanks to the excellent vinification practices undertaken at this estate, the wine produced here reflects great body, ripeness and an armature that exemplify the great wines of Saint-Emilion.”
New owners, a new philosophy, a new name: Château Quintus
This wine will take its natural place as an equal alongside the red and white wines of Château Haut-Brion and Château La Mission Haut-Brion, thereby becoming the 5th child in this illustrious family.
The Gallo-Romans, creators of the vineyards of Saint-Emilion, had the habit of naming their 5th child Quintus (fifth). Therefore, Domaine Clarence Dillon has decided to pay homage to its glorious predecessors by re-baptising their growth Château Quintus.
5 (V) a number that characterises this estate with its slopes and parcels of vines reaching towards the four cardinal directions, and reclining before the very sky to which the farmers glance on a daily basis to glean what the heavens have in store.
The wine, an expression and fine blend of five major elements: the earth that nourishes the vine, the water which quenches its thirst, the fire of the sun which brings it life, the metal of the farmer’s tools which sculpt its fields and terraces throughout the ages, and finally, the wood of the barrels which harbour the wine while communicating some of their subtle aromas.
Official presentation at the beginning of April 2012 during the Primeurs week:
Château Quintus 2011 and its second wine will be introduced to the wine trade during the upcoming Primeurs week from April 2nd to April 6th. It is at that time that the final names and packaging will be presented.
As a first glimpse, you may already come and discover this magical Estate as we did this past summer by viewing this short film: http://www.domaineclarencedillon.com/Chateau-Quintus/
More information on www.domaineclarencedillon.com
Contact: Séverine Luke-Paris / +33 (0)5 56 00 29 30 / S.Luke@DomaineClarenceDillon.com
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