Region | |
---|---|
Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion |
Colour | Red |
Type | Still |
This 28 hectare Saint Emilion property in the suburbs of Libourne is now under the same ownership as Cheval Blanc. Wine-making has changed too with a much more subtle style being produced. The vineyard is planted with 70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Elevage is in double sized (500 litre) barrels which are 50% new, and 50% one year old and 10% in foudre. This gives the wine a less oaky taste than under the old regime and the wines produced here now are much more in the sophisticated, silky Cheval Blanc style. Much improved, yet still modestly priced.
View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Chateau Quinault L'Enclos
A blend of 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc, the 2020 Quinault L’Enclos has a deep garnet-purple color. It comes bounding out of the glass with eager-to-please notes of baked black cherries, boysenberry preserves, and fruitcake, followed by hints of Indian spices, vanilla pod, and chocolate box. The medium to full-bodied palate is coated with seductive black fruit preserves, framed by silky, well-managed tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and spicy.
The 2020 Quinault l'Enclos offers up aromas of cherries, plums and crushed mint, followed by a medium to full-bodied, velvety and lively palate built around powdery tannins that somewhat temper this site's proclivity for an overt, even obvious, expression of fruit.
78% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc. Cask sample.
Supple and round with plenty of charm. Vineyard-fresh fruit on the nose then medium-bodied weight and structure with just enough depth to give it a serious edge. (JL)
Drink 2025 – 2032
(78% M, 22% CF; 21hl/ha;13.9% ABV)
Black purple, tight, freshly ripe, subtly mineral; full, more than sufficient concentration, vital in acidity, and firmly, but not coarsely tannic; fresh and sweetly ripe fruit, pure and subtly mineral and transparent at its heart, and with lovely length. Very good Quinault, but its tannic frame gives this a certain muscularity. 2028–38+.
The 2020 is a blend of 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc. The Chateau did not send samples this year so we were unable to taste the wine.