The 2006 Quinault l’Enclos exhibits the elegant style that Raynaud has achieved in every vintage over the last decade. Sweet black raspberry and currant fruit along with hints of spring flowers and smoky oak are followed by a round, gentle, restrained wine revealing outstanding purity, medium body, and a fine finish. While it is not as prodigious as the 2005, it is a strong effort for the vintage. There are also 5,000 bottles of a kosher wine which Libourne’s local rabbi produces and serves as administrator. My visit to Chateau Quinault and seeing proprietor Alain Raynaud was tinged with sadness as the world economic climate has forced him to sell Quinault l’Enclos to the owners of Cheval Blanc. Hopefully they will continue to produce wine at this vineyard, which is essentially a true clos (a walled vineyard), but the land is even more valuable as real estate since it is in the city of Libourne, and is surrounded by housing projects. Time will tell, but Raynaud deserves credit for creating a legacy from a terroir that was much maligned when he purchased it, only to prove everyone wrong.

91—93 Barrel sample. Right in the heart of the city of Libourne, the small L’Enclos vineyard has had considerable investment and produces an impressive, smooth, modern style of wine, very ripe, full of lively acidity.——R.V.(12/31/2009)—— 92