In 2011, when HRH Prince Robert of Luxembourg decided to establish a new wine estate in Saint-Émilion on the Right Bank of Bordeaux, the name Château Quintus came as no surprise. Paying homage to the Gallo-Romans, who are thought to have originally planted vineyards in the region in the first century AD, it followed their tradition of naming the fifth child Quintus. Château Quintus is, fittingly, the fifth expression of the Domaine Clarence Dillon company, created by Prince Robert’s great grandfather in 1935. The family group includes the Crus of Château Haut-Brion, Château La Mission Haut-Brion and Clarendelle, along with the two Michelin-starred restaurant Le Clarence in Paris and fine wine merchant La Cave du Château.

‘According to Cocks & Féret, the bible of Bordeaux wine dating back to 1874, two estates now making up Quintus were considered to be among the 10 Grand Crus of Saint-Émilion,’ Prince Robert explains. Sitting on a 62-metre promontory, the terroir presents a rich variety of clay-limestone soils and different microclimates, imbuing a distinctive elegance and finesse. A rich body and fine tannic structure are promised by the vinification of merlot and cabernet franc. This follows a balanced selection of plots for the harvest – at the top, in the middle and at the foot of the slopes. ‘My idea of wine starts from a respect for the land,’ adds Claude Diligeart, cellar master of Château Quintus. ‘Quintus is a selection of micro- plots on the property’s best land, high on the hillside, and chalk plateaux which yield a very potent wine, with very tight tannins and a very pleasant, lingering finish.’

Perched atop a hill, surrounded by the Mediterranean Green Belt, a bold, two-tonne bronze statue of a dragon, with a wingspan of six metres, overlooks the Dordogne Valley, defending the estate. ‘The dragon appealed to me because it is known for its wisdom and its farsightedness,’ says the chairman of Domaine Clarence Dillon, ‘but it is also a creature that is a guardian of a great hidden treasure, and this is what I believed we had discovered in Saint-Émilion.’ Known for capturing the grace of animals in motion, Dorset-based artist Mark Coreth took nearly four years to finish the sculpture. ‘It has been erected at the south-western end of the Saint-Émilion plateau where, in the middle ages, there used to be a watchtower which protected the town from invaders,’ explains Mariette Veyssière, estate manager of Château Quintus.

Over the past 12 years, the Château has grown exponentially, both in terms of size – it now consists of three properties spread over 45 hectares – and popularity. Last year, Prince Robert hosted a special blind-tasting in London, comparing Quintus with the five other most prominent châteaux of the Right Bank. Across eight vintages and a grand total of 48 wines, two of the Quintus wines made it to the top 10, offering the Quintus label a seat among the most acclaimed oenological powerhouses in Saint-Émilion.

chateau-quintus.com/en/