Chateau Quinault L’Enclos, located in Saint Emilion, is situated in the city of Libourne. However, the estate was not always considered a part of the Saint Emilion appellation. Prior to 1973, Quinault L’Enclos was actually part of the satellite appellation of Sables St. Emilion. The winery was renovated and some of the vineyards were replanted by Alain Raynaud who acquired it in 1997. In 2008 Alain Raynaud sold Quinault L’Enclos to the owners of Chateau Cheval Blanc , Bernard Arnault and Albert Frere. Today, Pierre Lurton and the team from Cheval Blanc manage Quinault L’Enclos.
I decided to open this bottle after reading on WineBerserkers that many of the 05’s from Saint Emilion are not aging well. The wine was decanted for an hour.
Violet in color. A touch cloudy. 14% ABV. Traditional nose of red fruits, tobacco, graphite and roasted herbs. Medium to full body with nice balance. Cherries, currants, cassis and a dose of wood on the palate. There are drying tannins on a long finish. Just one data point but there is nothing here that sets off alarm bells about the 05’s from the Right Bank. Drink over the next 4-6 years.
My rating: 90 points.
Current vintages including the ’14 and ’15 are worth searching out and attractively priced at $35 or so per bottle.
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Nice review, Tom! My experience with Quinault L’Enclos is limited to just the 1998 vintage. If memory serves me correctly, this wine needs lots of aging to show its stuff. I’ve opened several bottles of the 98 at different points in time. The 98 Quinault L’Enclos didn’t really hit on all cylinders until year 14 or 15. The same may be true for the 05 vintage which strikes me as even more robust than 98. I suspect the 05 will improve dramatically with 2 or 3 more years in bottle.
There is a post on WineBerserkers about 05 Saint Emilion not aging well. I think it has more to do with the wines being “modern” as opposed to “traditional”. Regardless I went deep this vintage and thought I should decide for myself. Like I said…wine board hysteria. I have no plans to open wines like Figeac and Pavie Macquin for another decade.
Smart decisions. I even think many of the classed growth Bordeaux from the 2000 vintage need 18 – 20 years.