Cuvée du Quet is a chateauneuf in the reference class, made from more than 85-year-old vines from the site’s Bois Lauzon, la Gardiole and Cabrière. Selected canes from here give extremely low yields and a fantastic concentrated wine with a long life ahead of it. The grape composition this year is 80% grenache and 20% mourvèdre.
The destemmed grapes are fermented using natural yeast and undergo a long maceration, followed by approx. 1½ years on a mixture of 90% concrete and 10% old fade, after which it is tapped without a filter.
Cuvée de Quet has a dense bouquet, which gives off deep, dark fruit with the non-fruity notes of the mourvèdre grape from ‘the dark side’. The taste has enormous intensity and fullness with a marked cast of dark cherry, plum, garrique and bakelite minerals. The aftertaste has superb length but does not yet possess the deep complexity that only age contributes.
Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de Quet obviously seems very young, but the composition of the wine is absolutely excellent with ripe and super healthy fruit, a firm acidity and present, but ripe tannins. With age, the sweetness of the grenache grape will become more dominant in the wine and the structural component of the mourvèd grape less firm.
The wine should be acidified very well, possibly via a carafe in ‘one room time’. Enjoy with a good piece of beef or lamb, preferably grilled.
2019 is a superb vintage in the southern Rhône, and it is pronounced gem wine, which, optimally stored, can easily be hidden and forgotten for 20-30 years, and probably much longer.
98 points Jeb Dunnuck
” It’s another heavenly, monster of a wine from this estate that boasts a dense ruby/plum color as well as a kaleidoscopic array of red and black fruits, Provençal garrigue, ground pepper, cured meats, and new saddle leather. Uber-rich, full-bodied, and incredibly concentrated, yet never heavy, it has a thrilling multi-dimensional texture, loads of tannins, and a heavenly finish. Hedonism at its pinnacle and a Châteauneuf du Pape lover’s dream, it will probably merit a triple digit rating in 4-5 years and have 25+ years of ultimate longevity.”
