The wine has 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, giving a fine black-currant flavor on top of the nice acidity. It's already a delicious wine, full of great fruit and gentle tannins. The vineyard, in the Right Bank town of Libourne, is definitely raising its game. Apr 2017, Roger Voss, www.wineenthusiast.com
Wine EnthusiastScore: 93-95/100
This was the first vintage that technical director Pierre-Olivier Clouet started to exclusively use 500-liter barrels for Quinault l'Enclos, decreasing the surface area to which the wines are exposed and, ultimately, the impact of the oak. The percentage of new oak is around 50%, and the blend is 68% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Cabernet Franc. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Quinault l'Enclos opens with expressive redcurrants, black raspberries and black cherries scents with savory suggestions of tapenade, dried herbs and tobacco plus a waft of cloves. Medium-bodied, the palate is fantastically bright and lively with loads of red fruit accents and a firm frame of grainy tannins, finishing on an earthy note. Nov 2018, www.robertparker.com
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine AdvocateScore: 93/100
A very fine bead of tannin runs through the entirety of this wine. Medium to full body, fresh acidity and a juicy finish. Polished. Straight and firm. Mar 2017, www.jamessuckling.com
James SucklingScore: 92-93/100
The 2016 Quinault l'Enclos is a blend of 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and 68% Merlot, continuing the team's program of increasing the proportion of Cabernet, picked from 20 September and finishing on 7 October. It is matured in 50% new oak (500-liter barrels) and one-year-old barrels. It has a very pure bouquet with macerated black cherries, a touch of blueberry, a subtle flinty note just tucked underneath. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin on the entry. This feels very fresh and lively in the mouth, perhaps a little more compact than others I tasted, although that is probably because it had been taken from barrel less than an hour before my visit. It is very precise on the brisk, punctual graphite-tinged finish, an almost clinical Quinault l'Enclos that will benefit from five or six year aging in bottle. Apr 2017, www.robertparker.com, Drink: 2023-2045
Neal MartinScore: 91-93/100Drink 2023-2045
Cheval Blanc, the new owners, are increasing the proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon. 20% Cabernet Sauvignon planted in 2011, 12% Cabernet Franc, 68% Merlot. 50:50 new and one-year-old barrels. 500 litre (new approach at Cheval Blanc). Round and very fruity with some spice and cumin. Much better balanced than it used to be when aged in new oak and heavily extracted, though some sandpaper tannins on the end. Just a little bitter on the end. Apr 2017, www.jancisrobinson.com, Drink: 2023-2035
Jancis Robinson MWScore: 16.5/20Drink 2023-2035
A vintage forged in the extremes', they say poetically here. This has an unforced, fresh style, with fairly closed dark fruits but riven through with finesse. A touch short, but pleasurable drinking. Apr 2017, www.decanter.com, Drink: 2025-2040
DecanterScore: 90/100Drink 2025-2040
The 2016 Quinault L'Enclos is soft, gentle and inviting. Succulent red cherry, plum, rose petal and spice accents give the wine a lovely sense of floral lift. The Cabernet Franc is quite expressive at this early stage. Silky tannins add to an overall impression of grace and finesse. Apr 2017, www.vinous.com
Antonio Galloni, VinousScore: 88-91/100
Bordeaux / France
2023-2045