2018 Quinault L`Enclos (St-Emilion)

71.5% Merlot/14.5% Cabernet Franc/14% Cabernet Sauvignon. Beautiful fineese of red fruit and floral aromas. Lifted and silky in the mouth. Complex, acid-driven finish. You can just feel secondary and tertiary flavours waiting in the wings. (NT 23/04/19)
Origin
St-Emilion, Right bank, Bordeaux FRANCE
Colour
red
Wine Style
dry
Dominant Grape
Merlot
Farming Style
organic
Closure Style
cork
Maturity
drink or keep
Bottle Size
75cl
Case Quantity
6
Alcohol
14%
Wine Score
94 points, Jane Anson, decanter.com, April 2019 17.5 points, Julia Harding, jancisrobinson.com, April 2019
92-94 points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, robertparker.com, April 2019
91-94 points, Antonio Galloni, vinous.com, April 2019
93-95 points, Chris Kissack

This product is delisted and unavailable for sale.

2018 Quinault L`Enclos (St-Emilion)

Media Reviews

Jane Anson

The shape of this wine is really beginning to come into focus. It has great balance with precision and elegance. Pristine blue fruits and floral touches linger through the palate.There`s a higher Cabernet content than usual here, as the replantings have come on line. Picking began on 10 September, making it among the earliest estates in St-Emilion. This early-ripening terroir also helped to avoid too many issues with mildew, because flowering was complete before it arrived. Consequently, the estate enjoyed a 40hl/ha yield. One to watch. 50% new oak. Drink 2026 - 2040. 94 points

Julia Harding

Gravel over clay. 71.5% Merlot, 14.5% Cabernet Franc, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep cherry red. Totally inviting stony/dusty refined black fruit with pencil shavings. Purissimo. Dark, elegant, in a pin-striped suit, long and slim and so fresh and with great finesse and suppleness in the tannins that are so fine you barely feel them, though you know there are plenty of them. Approachable now but likely to relax and open. Best Quinault L`Enclos I have tasted. 17.5 points

Lisa Perrotti-Brown

This a very gravelly soil with great drainage, but not a lot of water during dry periods. Adeptly produced by the team of Cheval Blanc (who purchased the estate in 2008), the wine nonetheless maintained its poise under the dry, warm ripening conditions of 2018, coming in at a respectable pH of 3.67 and relatively moderate alcohol of 14.1%. The 2018 Quinault l`Enclos is 50% new oak and the rest in one-year-old barrels—but only 500-liter and foudres. Deep purple-black in color, it slips seductively out of the glass with notions of warm plums, blueberry preserves and mulberries with touches of spice box, tilled soil, black olives and licorice plus a waft of lavender. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is laden with muscular black fruit and licorice sparks, framed by rounded tannins and just enough freshness, finishing with a peppery kick. 92-94 points

Antonio Galloni

The 2018 Quinault L`Enclos is impressive. Creamy and ample, the 2018 stands out for its textural breadth. There is a level of intensity in the 2018 that previous vintages have not achieved, with a balance of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc that is striking for such a young wine. All of the work the Cheval Blanc team has done here over the last ten years have begun to pay off big time. Half of the property was replanted between 2008 and 2012 with more Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc from Cheval and Merlot on later-ripening rootstock. In the glass, the 2018 Quinault offers a striking interplay of floral and savory aromatic and layered fruit, with ripe, silky tannins that caress a core of plush, plaint fruit and a gorgeous, saline-infused finish. There is a level of precision in the 2018 that is positively breathtaking. 91-94 points

Chris Kissack

The talented and insightful Pierre-Olivier Clouet didn`t have any significant problem with mildew at this estate, with yield coming in at 38 hl/ha. The blend in this year is 71.5% Merlot, 14.5% Cabernet Franc and 14% Cabernet Sauvignon, quite close to the proportions planted in the vineyard. The soils have a colder clay character, but there is a strong gravelly component, which prompted Pierre-Olivier to plant a little more Cabernet Sauvignon than you commonly find in this appellation. The alcohol is 14.1%. The nose is all dark cherry and cherry stone, showing a fine mineral character, smoky and reductive in style. It is very fresh, pure, polished, with a lovely expressive grilled fruit character, along with fresh minerally nuances. A very correct style, refined but with depth and substance, all underpinned by a ripe tannic quality. It remains very true to the house style in terms of its silky composition and elegant poise. Well done. The élevage here will be in 45% new oak and 45% second-fill oak, all 500-litre barrels, while the remaining 10% will age in foudres. 93-95 points

If you like this you may also be interested in...